Meet on Saturday after breakfast walk along our high street with Jim to meet the local shop owners where we will collect our provisions for the weekend. Back to base to organise, share and pack all our kit, personal belongings and provisions for the two day ride before a full briefing about what we to expect over the next two days. Then we will rideawaybikepacking…Our first stop is not that far away where we will have coffee and a scone and collect a delicious sandwich. After this we will ride south on a variety of simple tracks and trails beside river, farmland, woodland and open moors. Continuing through and around the famous Abernethy & Glenmore Forests to our campsite.

There we will share the preparation and set up of our dinner then enjoy some time to get to know one another a bit better and talk about the ride. Your tent for the evening comes free of charge from Jim as he is an ambassador for SixMoonDesigns shelters.

On Sunday morning enjoy freshly brewed coffee with breakfast before packing up and then riding south back to Grantown on Spey on an alternative route which will be chosen based on your experiences and enjoyment of Saturday. Back in Grantown on Spey to de-rig the bikes, pack everything away and reflect on our trip. Afterwards please take the opportunity to explore the area a little more, eg. visit the new distillery a short walk from Grantown on Spey or browse in our lovely book shop or florists.

As an introductory bikepacking route we will head south on the Speyside Way with a short detour for some delightful forest singletrack before arriving in Nethy Bridge where we will collect the final part of the ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Now we ride deeper and deeper into the forest, keeping an eye out for birds, flowers and plants or maybe even some of the animals that make Abernethy & Glenmore Forests so special. Eventually our route takes us south of bustling Aviemore to our campsite.

On our second day we have an option of routes returning north. One possibility is carpet like gravel tracks to the Osprey village of Boat of Garten then a detour across the main road for some steeper, hidden trails leading to the River Dulnain before more singletrack options into Grantown on Spey. Should conditions, or the group consensus suggest a more direct return we can take more of the smooth Speyside Way back to yesterday’s route and then follow it back. Finally, if riders want a longer ride back, of a more exploratory nature there is an option of taking a more westerly route towards Carrbridge before navigating more forest trails to Dulnain Bridge then back into Grantown on Spey.

day 1 : c. 26 miles and 1250 ft ascent

day 2: c. 22 miles and 875 ft ascent

This longer route is more committing and has some rough climbs into the more remote parts of the Abernethy Forest. The rewards are big views into the north Cairngorms and in particular the long glen of Strath Nethy. Our first destination is Nethy Bridge to collect the final ingredients for dinner before heading south east on tarmac, then south west to a river crossing and traverse of ‘The Big Notch’. There are a couple of routes to the north or south of Loch Morlich which then lead to our campsite for the night.

On day two we will take a climb to the north of Aviemore which then takes us into a complex of forest trails just outside Carrbridge. A rough link road then takes us to an important junction where we can ride on stunning estate tracks with grandstand views of the Cairngorm mountains and the Cromdale hills. Eventually after another climb we can start the descent to Grantown on Spey which provides plenty of options for more singletrack almost right to the edge of the village.

day 1 : c. 34 miles and 1750 ft ascent

day 2: c. 30 miles and 1725 ft ascent