The forecast was pretty bad with wind and rain but we decided to go ahead with it regardless. In the end, we were really lucky as it stayed dry for the most part with only a few spells of rain/sleet and snow!. Here are a few pictures and small write up from the trip:
My bike ready to start outside the mill cafe in Blair Athol - I'd made my own frame bag and top tube bag especially for this trip which both worked out really well.
The first few miles are tarmac on the old A9, not too exciting but we did spot something I'd never seen before, a Slow Worm sunning himself on the road. He didn't seem to worried about us and let me get pretty close for this pic.
We turned off the tarmac after a few miles onto forest track and began the long steady climb up to the Gaik Pass - pretty soon we were up in the hills and treated to nice scenery with a real feeling of remoteness.
Just before this point you reach a lodge surrounded by a few trees - we thought we had to cross the river here only to find that it was a mistake - we crossed back on a bridge a bit further up but then ended up coming back down the other side of the river through a peat bog. Just to the right of the above picture was a goat track which went up the steep banking - this is where you need to go to avoid the river crossing and subsequent peat bog!
After this is a nice stretch of singletrack next to the first of 3 lochs the track takes you past - its not too technical but its quite rooty and muddy and there were a couple of bits which could snag the front wheel if your not paying attention. The weather really turned on us not long after this and we were subject to a heavy sleet/snow shower and howling winds. It was pretty scary how quick the weather could turn.
Luckily, the snow/sleet didn't last for too long and the sun came out again as we headed back down toward Kingussie
This was a nice little wild camp spot we found just before the track meets the road a few miles outside Kingussie.
The ruins of Ruthven Barracks - the route doesn't take you this way unless you are diverting to Kingussie which is where we headed for a nice warm meal and a few pints of beer.
The next day saw the first few miles on tarmac again before the route turned off after Feshiebridge and took in some pleasant tracks through Scots Pine forest toward Rothiemurchus where we stopped for lunch.
This was a lovely stretch of the route, I really liked riding through the old scots pine forests.
Things got a bit more remote again as we climbed up towards the hills above Tomintoul
We stopped in Tomintoul for a tea and were told there was a wildcamping spot just outside the village - this isn't it though, we thought it was but we met t an old fella who lived in a nearby house who told us we'd be better off camping here as the ground was much better - seemed like a good idea to us so that's what we did.
The next day was damp and drizzly as we followed the river Avon toward Braemar - this was a short/easy section which nearly all on landrover track apart from one techy stretch of singletrack along side loch Builg. The weather turned during the a steep climb out of the valley before a pretty long but rapid descent down to Braemar where it began to rain heavily. We got there fairly early so decided we'd dry out by finishing the day with a few pints and a nice meal. We'd planned to stay in the campsite at Braemar and have a nice shower but the site closed to arrivals at 8pm so we ended up wild camping in the woods not far from the camp site. We definitely had one too many beers by this point as things were a bit hazy setting up camp - it was all good fun though and you don't turn 40 every year
The last day was started damp but soon brightened and we enjoyed some lovely scenery again
This section was just before Glen Tilt and was the only bit I struggled with - there was a steep slope on one side and lots of little off camber bits and a few little rocky gullies which crossed the path. I think on unladen bike it wouldn't have been an issue but fear got the better of me and I had to hop off and push on a few bits.
It was back to easy landrover track after this bridge and not long before the lovely long descent back down Glen Tilt all the way to Blair Athol
All in all, this was a fantastic trip and I'll definitely do it again. We did it over 4 days as we started late on the first day and there were a couple of guys who don't bike much but it could easily be done over 3 (or less) if you have a medium level of fitness.
