Cairngorms Loop 300

It's 3:20 am and I'm lying in bed wishing I was still asleep. Despite an early night, a last-ditch attempt to "bank" some sleep, I've been fidgeting and slowly watching the clock tick over. I can't switch off my brain though. Details of the route are going through my head, I'm anxious over equipment  - do I have enough, what have I forgotten etc. Eventually, at 4:00 I've had enough, get up, shower and head downstairs to eat. Everything is packed so I open the front door and BOOM the cold clear air of the morning hits me. The sky is loaded with stars and a bright moon. Throwing everything in the van, I switch on the ignition and the dashboard tells me it's 3C....


This is to be my second attempt at the Cairngorms Loop 300, a 300km double loop around and through the Cairngorm mountains. Three weeks previously eight of us had set off from Blair Atholl after a couple of days of heavy rain. The conditions were atrocious and all but one of us were stymied by the waters of the Allt Garbh Gaick, a mere 30km into the ride (Howard wandered away upstream and managed to find an un-mapped bridge but  later pulled out of the ride too). 

This one was even higher on the way back

Conditions this time were very different. Highs of 22-23C were forecast, dropping to only 9 or 10C overnight. I'd packed accordingly but suddenly hitting this cold air had me looking at piles of gloves and other clothing as I shut the garage door. Driving down to Blair Atholl it got colder still and by the time I was there it had dropped to zero. 

It's still dark as I pedal to the start line in the Glen Tilt car park and at 6:20 I'm on my way West, the sun slowly rising behind me. 

Once on the old road at Calvine, I switch off the lights to preserve battery power. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me for the whole route and how much night riding I'll do so it's a sensible precaution.  

Loch an Dúin. So calm.

All the river crossings that had troubled us pass without incident and I'm able to pedal straight across, hardly getting my boots wet. It's not as warm as had been forecast though with the temperature inversion and I'm still riding with my jacket on.

Glen Tromie and Speyside ahead.

I'm easily in Glenmore in time for lunch. This is the last provisions stop for quite a while but, despite feeling quite hungry, I can't quite force it all down. No matter, I set off along to Bynack Stable and the big climb up Bynack Mor. This would usually be mostly ridable but I'm being very wary of the type of short-sharp power needed to get up the steeper bits and opt to preserve myself for the more spinny bits of the route. It's a lovely clear day, wall to wall sunshine, but as I climb I can feel that Southerly wind getting stronger and it's a real struggle across the plateau before dropping (carefully) down the first decent.

Looking North after the big climb

There's a rough banging noise and I realise that the clip holding my saddle bag on has come undone. I put it back together but it only lasts a few minutes. After three attempts I use one of the FixPlus straps I'd packed for contigency. No shame to Ortlieb for the clip failure either. the bag is at least 10 years old and I don't think they had this type of terrain in mind when they designed it.

Shortly later, when I'm pushing a little, my rear wheel jams. Expecting to see a piece of heather caught in it, I actually see one of my armwarmers. It has somehow fallen out of my rucksack. It's twin is nowhere in sight though.

The riding along here is a bit on and off and I'm happy to see the Fords of Avon refuge. The Fords themselves are remarkable. The water level is so low that I make it across on the stepping stones.There's a first time for everything!

Water levels at Fords of Avon were remarkably low.

There's a lot of this boulder field to be crossed before Glen Derry

There's a lot more pushing and shoving to clear the Lairig an Laoigh before I finally reach the easier tracks in Glen Derry. The colours here are amazing as the sun is turning the corner and hiding behind Derry Cairngorm. 

An old pine in Glen Derry catching the last of the days rays.

I'm particularly relived to reach Derry Lodge and get a chance to spin along the track and then the road Westwards, partially shielded now from the wind. I stop at the Red House for a bit of a breather and some food before hitting the watershed but the wind has suddenly dropped and the sun is setting so midges appear from nowhere and I'm forced to hurriedly put the backpack back on and set off.

More beautiful colours and I'm aware I've been on the go a whole day.

The Eidart bridge. It feels a bit precarious even in daylight.

I was so pleased to see this wee guy as I was riding. Made me feel less lonely!

I'd fully expected to be doing all of this bit in the dark so I end up making better progress than expected. I'd sort of imagined getting to Ruigh Aitchechean bothy around midnight but it's clear I'm ahead of that schedule. Just as the path starts to improve I hit a deep mud hole and land sideways. My right leg has disappeared up to the thigh in thick mud and the bars of my bike are buried in it up to the stem. Grabbing handfuls of wet moss, I attempt to wipe it all down. I make some improvement, at least restoring my ability to grip the bars and use the controls. 

On reaching the bothy, I decide to press on. I know it's not long to Aviemore now and a chance for some hot food at the 24 hour filling station. I'm also on "local" territory again so I know what to expect, where the hills are and when to make up a bit of time. Passing the Old Bridge Inn, I see they are still serving. Without a second thought, I park the bike and dash in for a cold lager. 

Midnight at the oasis

This is just surreal. I'm sat in my local, drinking beer, half way round an ITT!! 

Thoughts now are of food and finding somewhere to get the head down. The M&S at the filling station supplies coffee and a toasty which I consume while the drunks from the pubs are queuing up for their own refreshments. The temperatures are dropping rapidly too so I don't hang about too long and start to consider where to stop. I briefly consider switching my tracker off and just going home but that would be cheating :-)

I know of a nice wee spot by a loch but I also know that it'll be very cold there due to the water. As I'm making my way towards Forest Lodge, the road climbs away from the river and, as it does so, I start to pass through little bubbles of warmer air. One of these coincides with a small clearing so I step off the bike again, pump up my air mattress, lay out the SOL Escape bivvy bag and just crawl straight in. I'm damp, a bit chilled and tired but I reckon this'll do for a break. It's just after 2am so I set my alarm for 5am.

It doesn't take me long to drop off to sleep but I awake with bright moonlight on my face. Checking the time, it's just after 4am and I've gotten a wee bit colder. Rather than dig out warm or dry clothing I decide to pack up and set off, target Tomintoul.



I'm 30 minutes early for breakfast at the Richmond Arms so I head for the public toilets to get cleaned up a little. I manage to get the worst of the mud off and try to look a bit more human so as not to upset the hotel residents over breakfast. The staff are on to me though and sit me through in the bar area away from the other guests! 

Despite being aware that I need to keep my energy levels up I actually struggle with the full breakfast and just can't eat it all. I still have lots of snacks with me though and I know that I will make Braemar by late afternoon.

Setting off up Glen Avon the winds are now ferocious. It's a lovely glen but there is no shelter and I'm often struggling to make progress. The climb up to Loch Builg has me off the bike again after being blown off sideways a couple of times. 

Glen Avon. Lovely to look at......

....can't see the wind though!

There's no respite either on the climb up Culardoch. I'm forced to count a few steps, stop, re-start until I eventually see the slope levelling out and the view over to Lochnagar. What follows should be a fast downhill but I'm aware of the cross-winds now so I have to rein it in a bit. After another climb I hit the pine woods and then the main road for a tired schlepp into Braemar. 

Culardoch climb complete

Lochnagar - and about as much cloud as I saw over two days.

At this lower altitude, and with the shelter of the buildings, it has suddenly become much warmer but I opt to get out of the sun and have a toastie in the Bothy Bistro. I'm sat beside the wide-open door though so any odours are at least escaping. Again, I struggle to eat much. Then I'm off towards Linn of Dee again. There is more shelter here so I'm out of the wind and it's really very pleasant. Part of me wants to stop, maybe overnight, just to rest and enjoy the evening. However, I'm not carrying enough for a comfortable long stop so it's time to crack onwards.

Obligatory selfie

Bynack Lodge. A potential lazy stopover.

At Linn of Dee I'm back on the track I passed over less than a day before. This feels a bit weird, like I'm doing laps of some huge race, but at the Red House (no midge this time) I cross the Geldie and start my way south - back into the headwind - again. The top end of the Glen is fine but as the Tilt develops the track deteriorates again and I'm simply too tired to deal with it. Again, I'm reduced to pushing the bike, maybe getting on for short sections.

And then there's the "sting in the tail". A less sadistic route-setter would have ended the circuit by heading straight down the Tilt to Blair Atholl on a good, fast track. Steve Wilkinson isn't that man though and It's off up to Fealar Lodge after crossing the river. I'm reckoning on this taking up to 5 hours on account of my fatigue and give myself a wee target of trying to be back at the van by midnight.  I'd completely forgotten how steep the climb out of the glen is and it's a case of pushing up a metre or so, then stopping, then pushing, then stopping. When the track flattens out a little I can see the good estate road I'll be on but it's a long and frustrating detour to get to it. Once there though, I'm slightly happier. At least I can mostly ride now, despite the further climbs. Hitting the Allt Fearnach descent gives me a huge buzz. Suddenly I'm moving very quickly and closing the distance between myself and the end of the loop. I'm very glad of having full suspension too as I'm getting tired and lazy and I can just let the bike handle all the rough stuff. 

Turning Westwards at Daldhu the sun has set again and It's back to using the lights. I'm happier to up the power levels though as I know I'll have enough juice to get me back to the van. Inevitably, I'm again forced to push uphill and then I seem to struggle to find the turn-off I need. I keep looking at the GPS, and it's clearly marked on the map, so I ride a while, check the GPS and I don't seem to be any closer. It's frustrating and I reckon my mind is just now starting to struggle. Eventually, I see the turn off and head down towards the river crossing. My exuberance is too much and I have another over-the-bars but land on the heather, cushioning any damage. This is stupid. I'm within just a few km of the end so risk-taking really isn't warranted. 

The final climb gets me to a new piece of hard-packed track and from there it's another fast descent past the weirded-out fishers at Loch Moraig, onto the tarmac and the final couple of twists and turns down to Blair Atholl.

The route officially ends at the railway station so I head straight there to get a customary selfie with the station clock. When I look at the photo I see it's around 10:20 so I convince myself it's not been re-set since the start of BST. Only when I check the time again on my phone do I see that's it's actually correct and I'd made it back much quicker than I'd expected.

Aye - it's all smiles now....

That's a pretty significant tick in the box for me. I've upped my mileage this year, refined my kit list and even opted to change bikes for this one. Making it back in just under 40 hours was as much (more) than I'd expected. I was frustrated by the wind, which never really seemed to work in my favour and struggled to eat properly. I also think I made some sensible tactical decisions - like not pushing too hard on the difficult trails and saving my energy for the fast ones. 

A ready-reckoner for a tired mind

301km, 4,866m of ascent

I reckon my next trip might involve quiet roads, B&Bs and pubs...

More info on the Cairngorms Loop route and the "rules" around self-sufficient bikepacking ITTs can be found here: http://cairngormsloop.net/

Big thanks to Steve W for having the foresight to set this up.

Northern Cairngorms loop - revisited

I'm easily led. In trying to come up with an idea for Junes "bivvy a month", we were always likely to be constrained by me not currently having a van so when Neill suggested doing the Northern Cairngorms loop it was an easy decision, despite the fact I'd been round just last Autumn. On the other hand, it also gave Neill a chance to navigate using his newly-acquired Garmin Oregon with me overseeing it on a route with which I was familiar.

Always looking to experiment and/or improve things I opted to fit the suspension forks onto the Pact for a change. This was also partly due to a shoulder injury, figuring that a bit of bounce would relieve any stress. I also fitted the Revelate Sweetroll rather than the Harness/Saltyroll combo I'd been favouring. The Sweetroll has additional strapping points to fit it better to the Jones Loop bars and I wanted to see if this was worth it before, potentially, selling it.

Ready for the off

The weather forecast was mild, a light breeze. With the potential for midge, I also opted for a tent rather than bivvy bag.

With a planned chippy at Braemar we were in no particular need for an early start and we left the Old Bridge Inn just after 10. The "puddle of doom" was encountered on the way to Nethy Bridge, Neill opting to ride straight through it with David and I attempting, unsuccessfully, to maintain drier feet by skirting round it.

A favourite singletrack section in Abernethy Forest

The Faeshallach and Dorback burns were quite low on account of a rather dry spell so it was no real surprise to find the Brown low too. Three dry-shod crossings of the meanders took us to the path on the south side of the glen and we managed to bushwhack through from there. 

Climbing away from Dorback

With the wee steep push up to the forestry track, the fast descent out and the final spin into Tomintoul we declared the first part of the ride a success and adjourned to the Fire Station cafe. We made it just before a coach party arrived which, given the speed of service, was a bit of a blessing. 

Tomintoul represents one of the significant turning points of the route and from here we turned south. Although I was familiar with the route I was holding back at any junctions in order to give Neill full practice with his Oregon.

A corner turned

The ride up the glen past Inchrory seemed longer than I remembered but we were soon enough on the Loch Builg track. Based on my previous experience I'd warned Neill and David that this section would involve quite a bit of pushing. As it turned out, I was completely wrong. Whether it was the bars, the forks, the drier conditions or (unlikely) my improved bike handling, this bit turned out to be a real treasure. 

    Passing Inchrory 

Lovely Loch Builg singletrack

Skinny dipping was considered....

New hut (closed to the peasantry)

The same couldn't be said for the slog to the new lunch hut above the River Gairn. The wind had been strengthening all day and now we were fully into it. After a few minutes at the hut it was then the climb over Culardoch. Despite the headwind, I decided to dig in and ride the full climb. A couple of sideswipes had me almost off the wide track but I made it with no dabs. That meant a 15 minute wait at the top of the climb until Neill and David appeared. 

DRAMATIC!!!!

Neill ecstatic as he reaches the top of the climb

Given how blowy it still was I was keen to get down again and we made a fast descent into the pretty woodlands near Invercauld. I stopped at a junction here, determined not to be taking the lead and, while faffing around with my camera, looked up to see Neill charging down the wrong descent. Despite pedalling - and shouting - as hard as I could it was almost 1.5km before Neill heard me. That meant another climb before we got back on track. 

Time lost meant we were now concerned about the chippy opening hours and we were very glad to see that it was still serving when we arrived.

We didn't plan to go too far after dinner, so set out to get past Linn of Dee and see what turned up. After a couple of miles we saw a reasonably sheltered spot but decided to press on to White Bridge. The flat grassy area here looked great but was quite exposed to the wind. A search further up the glen didn't prove fruitful  (the one sheltered spot was already fully occupied) so we were left in a bit of a quandary. With dark clouds coming over the mountains and the time of evening I wasn't really in the mood to keep looking.  I've been caught before with these dilemmas and experience says "take what's on offer" so I backtracked to White Bridge just as David and Neill took another look somewhere else.

As it turned out, this was a master stroke. I found a tent-sized spot behind the bridge and was soon pitched with hip-flask in hand.

Cold and cold running water

It was a tight squeeze

It was an uncomfortable night. I just couldn't get my temperature right. It was too warm to be fully in my sleeping bag - I woke up a couple of times with sweat running down my neck - yet too draughty to lie outside it. I've so far avoided buying a lighter weight "summer" bag but this had me reconsidering. Despite that, I awoke bright and early, checked Neill and David's tents were still pitched and set about breakfast. Still there - a second coffee then. 

As I was prepping to go I spotted their tents were down too so set off in pursuit. They'd stopped at the confluence of the Geldie and the Bynack to brew up in the shelter of the old red-roofed house as their camp spot had been just too windy. 

The Geldie-Feshie watershed was next and I recalled I'd struggled along here in the gathering gloom looking for somewhere to bivvy. In daylight it looked much more appealing, with several spots looking likely candidates. 

Another easy crossing

The drier conditions were obviously helping make it more rideable too but we were still reduced to a lengthy hike-a-bike to the Eidart. I actually took a little detour here, opting to follow the path shown on the OS map and part of the official Cairngorms Loops route. Suffice to say that both can safely be ignored in favour of the more direct route now plainly visible due to its popularity. The same can also be said of the short section immediately after the Eidart bridge.

The old route does give a better view of the falls.

The track all becomes rideable again as Glen Feshie develops - though the wee landslips and the crossing of the Allt Coire Gharbhlach still require some manhandling. 

Tricky with a loaded bike

We opted for lunch at Loch Insh Watersports centre before taking the Speyside Way from Kincraig to Aviemore. 

It was certainly worth repeating the route.  The two sections I struggled with last time were both more bikeable than I remembered/encountered and timings for their passage are useful to have in planning other routes in the area.

I'm torn on the Sweetroll/Harness decision. I prefer being able to pack the Saltyroll off the bike and just clipping it into the harness but the Sweetroll does sit "better" on the Loop bars with less rubbing of the headtube. Some further experimentation may be in order. 

A Northern Cairngorms Loop

Between walking and cycling I've managed to find most ways of crossing the main body of the Cairngorms but a couple of options had somehow eluded me. In an attempt to correct this oversight and as way of familiarisation of a possible future ride I chose to combine them for a short overnight bivvy. 

The first part of the ride was definitely familiar to me. The route from Aviemore to Tomintoul passes through lots of interesting spots. Safe to say this was by far the wettest I'd ever ridden it though. Lots of puddles and muddy spots didn't promise well for the later river crossings.

A wet warning of what was to come - bottom bracket depth.
The sign has to be a joke - there's no way round this.

Some of my favourite singletrack after Forest Lodge

Looking across to Strath Nethy

The Faeshallach was flowing but I made it across through careful use of boulders as stepping stones. I doubted the next crossing would be as straightforward.

The Faeshallach - I made it across here with dry feet.

Approaching the Big Egg (gaelic Eag Mhor - the big notch)

It's a cracking place for a ride

Some care required. Having an accident here would be no yolk.

Purple poo - a sure sign it's Blaeberry season

On reaching the Dorback Burn my suspicions were confirmed. Not only has the burn changed its profile through the gravel banks, it was flowing fast and deep. Knowing that the Burn of Brown was still to come, I didn't bother faffing and just waded straight across. That was the boots properly wet now, and no chance of drying out. 

The Dorback Burn. A change of direction and deeper than I've seen it.

Looking back at the Big Egg. I was going for another pun but I reckoned an oeuf is an oeuf.

The Burn of Brown was crossed three times before I made it to the path on the south bank. This wanders in and out of the trees a lot and, having wet feet already, I'm not sure it was worth the effort compared with just making more crossings. 

I wonder how many folk this has put on the right path?

The first of three crossings of the Burn of Brown

 On reaching Tomintoul, I popped into the Post Office for some food and drink, kicked back, took off my boots, wrung out my socks and let my feet air in the sun for a while. Of course, I'd no sooner done this when a big cloud came over and killed the warm sunlight.

Going my way?

Leaving Tomintoul I was finally on some unfamiliar territory. I have to say, the middle reaches of the River Avon are really very pleasant and there was a definite feeling of heading upwards and into more remote territory as I went. The road and track certainly made for good progress, though when this ended to become rocky singletrack it was even better fun. 

Just below Queen Victorias viewpoint.I bet she didn't cycle here!

Disguising itself as a fallen tree, the carnivorous Highland Bearcow awaits an unsuspecting salmon.

Reaching Loch Builg, the track became a bit more boggy and less well defined, necessitating a little walking but with already wet feet I wasn't making much effort to avoid puddles. 

Unexpected beach on Loch Builg

The climb up Culardoch went a little quicker than I'd expected. Perhaps it was the threat of the impending rainclouds approaching from Ben Avon. They finally broke as I was at the summit so I stopped being so stoical and donned a jacket for the first time of the day. 

The descent was on loose and steep estate road. I was always tempted to go faster but I kept repeating my two wilderness riding questions; where are you? and who are you with?  The answers kept coming back the arse end of the Cairngorms and I only have my Spot tracker for company. 

The descent off Culardoch just as the rains came.

Reaching the woods near Invercauld was a welcome change of scenery. There's a definite "Braemar-ish" feel around here that somehow differentiates it from the Rothiemurchus side of the massif.

Quite a welcome sight after the bleaker high terrain

Looking towards Braemar and Glen Dee (and a bed for the night)

Been there, done that.

Braemar was an opportunity to grab some food (from the chippy) and take stock. I'd not been watching the clock, occasionally trying to judge time of day by the amount of daylight. I was happy with it being not quite 7 o'clock and headed out towards Linn of Dee to ponder a bivvy spot. 

Getting nearer

Still too early - crack on

Demanding and potentially dangerous - just like being at home then!

Nice spot - but not for me

Linn of Dee came and went - far too early. White Bridge then? Too early and some campers already there. 


The Geldie would have to do. I got there just as the rain started and even looked at the old building as a potential stopping point but the midge were numerous and good ground hard to come by. I decided to head upstream. I knew that wet ground was sure to follow and hoped it wouldn't slow my progress too much but it became a bit of a boggy trudge, interspersed with the occasional bit of pedalling. I was now in that spiral where it was getting dark and I was getting increasingly slow, leading to it being even more dark as I headed towards the watershed. What's more, the whole area was sodden meaning I could see no decent bivvy spot. As it got darker, I opted to continue on to the waterfall of the Eidart, hoping that the change of terrain would give me more options. It turned out not to be so and I (carefully) crossed the bridge with the water roaring beneath me. By now, all I could make out of the track was the line of tyre-marked puddles. Another look at the map confirmed that I'd now be heading down to the riverside and closer inspection showed a building. I expected this to be a ruin but I figured that no one would build something the middle of a bog so this was likely to be my best hope for dry ground. 

I was, thankfully, correct. An old stable, walls mostly gone and with holes in the roof it did, however present my best bet for stopover point. I had, briefly, considered pressing on to Ruigh-aitchechan bothy in Glen Feshie but I knew this was likely to take quite a while, would involve crossing the landslips in the dark and might not make me too popular with anyone else already asleep there. My tarp made a useful temporary wall patch, cutting off the breeze coming from the west and though the ground was a bit rocky, the air mattress took it in its stride. A quick change out of wet gear and I was in the sleeping bag in double quick time. I had a stove with me but that seemed like too much faff and, having managed to forget a hipflask, I made do with some water and nuts for supper.

Not exactly 5 Star

It wasn't a bad night, the midge netting on the bivvy bag kept the menace at bay and I fell asleep very quickly. The 5:30 alarm call wasn't necessary though. I'd woken a couple of times and watched as the night broke into reluctant daylight. By 4:45 I adjudged it to be bright enough to consider making a move. A quick breakfast and hasty packing session before donning my wet clothes (brrr!) and I was on the move. Thankfully, I was able to pedal most of the way out, though I doubt I'd have made as good progress in the dark. 

A faint glow of sunrise

The upper reaches of the Feshie in this area have a definite non-Cairngorms feel about them. In fact, it reminded me of my trip into Kintail earlier this year. I was also coming back onto familiar ground and soon reached the area where two significant landslips make manhandling a bike a bit precarious.

A bit tricky this one - not to be attempted in the dark!

The purples of late summer developing nicely

Some astonishing light in the morning sun.

 I'd also somehow miscalculated how far these were past Ruigh-aitchechan and kept expecting it to appear well before it eventually did.  

The last bit of bike-pushing came when crossing the Allt Garblach. This minor river crossing was transformed into a deep canyon last year when we experienced lots of flooding. What was a nice stepped descent, small bridge and stepped climb out now necessitates a lot of manhandling on steep, loose ground. 

Allt Garbhlach devastation - check out the steps on the far side

A big drop from this side too

Easy to miss this in the dark - and suffer a serious fall

Back onto tarmac for the final stretch home

After that, it was a quick spin to the road (watching out for a further landslip area) and back towards Aviemore. Not yet 8:00, I arranged a suitable postscript in the form of breakfast at the Mountain Cafe with my wife. With my own breakfast gone, I was forced to finish hers - and a couple of rounds of toast. Safe to say, I did so guilt-free!! 

Fear not - there's bacon in there too!

136km, 2,061m of ascent

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