Alan and I have just returned from a gravel riding trip up into the Cairngorms. We haven’t done a trip together for ages so it was great to have nearly a week to explore the area and tick off some of Ed Shootes rides
We met up in London and got the sleeper train up to Aviemore. I love going on the train it is by far the best way to travel up to Scotland. It would have been a 12 hour drive for us to get up there and its far better to drink a bottle of wine in the buffet car, crash out, and wake up in Aviemore, refreshed, and ready for a days cycling rather than a long mundane drive.
Day One :
We cycled just over 50 miles to Glen Tilt and wild camped for the night.
Day Two :
Glen tilt to Braemar which was quite a tough day the weather was pretty wet and the climb up past Glenshee Ski Centre was a tough one. The Airbnb at Braemar was most definitely a welcome sight!
Day Three :
It was a really wet morning so we just dossed about but once it had blown over we went for a cruise in the afternoon up through the Mar Lodge estate and up to Bob Scotts Bothy. A beautiful ride with amazing views over the River Dee Valley.
Day Four :
We did one Of Ed Shoote’s rides “ Invercauld And The River Gairn” which took us onto the fringes of the Balmoral estate over the River Dee and onto the Invercauld Estate. Fantastic Descent at the end.
Day Five:
From Braemar back to Aviemore. We had had some heavy rain overnight so we took a different route back to avoid some deep river crossings. We went back up through the Invercauld Estate which meant we had a long climb at the beginning of the ride but as luck would have it we had a 30 mph wind behind us and it pretty much blew us up! A great day the perfect end to the holiday.
