Bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop

Inspired by Huw Oliver’s film at Kendal Mountain Film Festival, Amy & I agreed there and then we needed to go bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop. There’s this really magical period in the UK around late April/early May where the trails are dry but not overgrown, the days are warm, with over 12 hours of daylight & the midges aren’t out yet – aka, the perfect time for a Scottish bikepacking trip. Thus the plan was formulated!

The Cairngorms Loop is a 300km route through the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands – based on the classic Tour of the Cairngorms mountain bike route. The Cairngorms is a national park I’ve grown really fond of over the years – it’s a vast, mountainous landscape that lends itself perfectly to both off grid & two wheeled adventures. I really wanted to take my mind of racing. Rather than worrying about keeping a pace, minimising my stopped time etc. As such my only aim for this trip was just enjoy it & savour being a really special part of Scotland.

Day 1

After the usual deliberation about what kit we would need & what we could live without, we set out bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop on Thursday lunch time on our fully loaded bikes. Having spent the last year focussing on racing & trying to get my bike set up as minimal as possible, it felt a bit strange to be riding a bike with a full camping set up; tent, sleeping bag, stove – even coffee paraphernalia!

It was stunning spring day, ideal conditions – although expecting it to get cold overnight (& probably rain at some point!). The route started off with old drovers’ roads & double track lanes – however we soon found ourselves on some really challenging natural singletrack alongside Loch an Duin. It quickly became apparent this would be no walk in the park & was going to be a proper mountain bike ride.

After some fairly steady riding & the first of many river crossings, we passed into the heart of the Scottish highlands, through Glenmore forest & on towards Ryvoan Pass. More forest double track & bits of single track was the order of the day as we very quickly knocked over the first 80km. This would be the fastest & easiest part of the route.

I had initially suggested we camp at Ryvoan Bothy that night, expecting a damp evening with clouds darkening in colour above us. Amy & her enthusiasm was having none of it – adamant the rain wasn’t arriving & keen to get the monster of a climb up into the Fords of Avon done that night, we pushed on. It was a brute of a climb, full of awkward drainage steps to hop up – on a fully laden bike it was no easy feat & took us best part of an hour.

Once topped out above 700m & amongst patches of snow, we descended a little to find a sheltered camp spot & called it a day. It was incredibly refreshing to camp without any phone signal, feeling remote & small in Scottish highlands. Tucking into some Firepot meals, we both agreed it was a brilliant call to get that climb done that night – waking up in the knowledge that was how our day would’ve otherwise started would’ve been grim. Especially given the harsh nature of the next km’s through the Fords of Avon.

Day 2

The Cairngorms Loop is an inner & outer loop, done in a figure of 8 (kind of). The inner loop is undoubtedly the toughest, but the views absolutely make up for it – once you’ve earned them, that is!

The Fords of Avon is a wild, remote & harsh terrain for bikes. I was determined to ride as much of the tough natural singletrack as possible – being one of those wierdos that loves a challenging climb, or challenging XC singletrack. The pace was slow, hopping over rocks, dodging bogs & crossing streams. Amy was walking faster than I was riding – so I figured I was probably best to save my legs (& derailleur/mech hanger from the many rocks)!

As tough as the terrain is, the views just majestic. Big snowcapped mountains either side & not a soul to be seen, we agreed the slow nature of hike-a-bike wasn’t a problem as it gave us time to simply soak in the surroundings.

After several hours slogging onwards & upwards, we topped out – form here an expansive glen opened up before us with a sweet singletrack descent down into a lush forest. The slow morning quickly forgotten about as we enjoyed the descent.

We arrived at Bob Scotts bothy for a lunch stop & filled our bottles with water from one of the many of crystal clear streams. I should add, all our water for the 2.5 days riding & camping came directly from streams without a single filter or purification tablet!

From here, a couple of fast km’s on landrover tracks through the Linn O’Dee led us up to the second major hike-a-bike. This wasn’t so much ‘up-hill’ just really slow terrain – on the bike for a second, then off it to clear a bog or drainage gap or some other awkward & unrideable feature. I’m someone who often rides solo, so having someone to share the frustrations of hike-a-bike with was massive moral boost. With my focus over the last 12 months being purely on racing, I often get frustrated by these little nuances. Yet this time, having company & not worrying about speed made it all so much more enjoyable for me.

The route then drops into Glen Feshie, where storm damage has eroded many of the trails. Again, slow progress & multiple large river crossings requiring shoes off & wading through – I started seeing this as just a refreshing opportunity to clean my feet!

We made it to Ruigh Aiteachain Bothy – which is a more like a 5star hotel than a bothy! If you’re planning to do the route, aim to stop here if you can. We met a game keeper who was all too keen to show us around & offer a shortbread snack.

From here it was quite a bit of tarmac towards Aviemore – at this point we were pretty grateful for some faster km’s after quite a tough & slow-going day. We called into Tesco for some resupplies before pushing on for a few hours, figuring whatever we got done that night would be a chunk off the last day.

A bit more bog-dodging & we made it to Dorback burn, where a flat patch of grass was calling us. After 12hours on the go, we set up camp, very satisfied with the days progress.

Day 3

Despite being up & on the bikes by 7am, day 3 didn’t start well – my knee was giving me problems, coupled with a strong headwind as we made our way south from Tomintoul. I faffed a lot with pain killers, finding a few excuses to stop & stretch my knee out.

The route was really straight forward all morning – following drovers roads & singletrack lanes through quarries alongside the river Spey. However there was a lot of climbing – Amy showed phenomenal resolve to just keep pushing on, determined to make progress knowing the weather would turn later in the day.

Braemar offered a chance for a fresh coffee & sandwich – a welcome change from day-old sandwiches & dehydrated meals. Here the route crosses back over the Linn O’Dee but this time taking a south turning towards Glen Tilt. Despite only 45km left of the route – the harsh nature of the terrain & relentless climbing slowed us down. And the weather finally turned – we couldn’t complain, we’d had two incredible days & nights – it wouldn’t have been a Scottish bikepacking adventure without a bit of Scottish weather!

Glen Tilt was absolutely beautiful, despite the sodden weather. After yet more river crossings (must be over 30 for the route by that point?!) there was a beautiful sweeping singletrack which carved its way through the hillside – the river down below to the left & yet more snow capped peaks ahead. Once again, I felt small & insignificant. Only this time the views weren’t the only thing being soaking up – it was a dreich afternoon!

Amy had lost feeling in her hands by this point, using her palms to change gear & praying she didn’t have to use the brakes! Eventually, after a little more hike-a-bike we made our way out of the glen & found ourselves on a beautifully smooth gravel track. It was bliss. From here it was downhill, plain sailing back to Blair Atholl, to the finish of our bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop adventure – where a warm hearth & pub meal would be waiting in the Bothy Bar at the Atholl Arms hotel.

Beer in hand & warm meal ordered, it started to sink in what an incredible few days we’d had out in the Scottish Highlands bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop. We chatted highs & lows and flicked through photos, it had been properly memorable – A damp afternoon couldn’t spoil what had been a truly spectacular few days bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop.