This route is a more refined version of the Moray – Speyside ride that I explored a couple of years back. Reversing the direction to favour the descents made a big difference to the quality of the ride, some additional POIs where also added in
….So forth – ‘The Beast of Badenoch’ was created…
Named after the mythical wolf that roamed and was known to have caused havoc in these areas around 300yrs ago. Leaving the folklore and tales aside, I am a big fan of the Wolf and how it can rebalance nature. Here in the UK the Wolf has been persecuted to extension and this is rather saddening, more so the human perception to its re-introduction, they now re-roam across Europe with proven success. That’s enough about the wolf …however the book ‘The Last Wolf’ by Jim Crumley is a very informing and worthwhile read.
I have been visiting Scotland to undertake long distance Mtb journeys for some 10 years now and I have to say it is a very hard place to beat, obviously and more so now because I am getting older and softer
Getting the ‘weather window’ can make a huge difference to the enjoyment thus…
(keeping it more in the ‘type-one’ fun bracket, rather than the ‘type-two’ bracket!)
Scotland has a bit of everything and this ride champions it all – it has rich forests, rolling mountains, wild rivers and endless coasts. It also has plenty of resupply and sleep options and is generally pretty accessible and easy to ride, by usual Scottish standards, that is apart from the techie and exposed Findhorn Gorge section (that can easily be avoided, but eaqually shouldn’t be missed!). One of the main benefits of Scotland (vs rest of UK and some European countries) is that it has a very good outdoor access code, allowing most places to be ridden upon and a right to roam and camp – the premise to this is maintaining respect – that’s respect to the environment, respect to land-owners and respect to other users and following the ‘leave-no-trace’ ethos – which I’m pretty sure almost all bike-packers are mindful of (we don’t seem to get much negative press…!).
On this outing I had my cycling buddy Mark along, with whom I have been doing long distance riding with for around 8 years. Up until now he had done very little in Scotland, so it was pleasing to introduce him to the Beast of Badenoch (however given his superior fitness to mine, he probably found it quite tame and not such a ‘Beast’!). The small village of ‘Boat of Garten’ was the chosen starting point for us, mainly due to its easy access off the A9, however if coming by rail then either, Carrbridge, Aviemore or Kinguisse could be opted for Boat-oG also had some trusted parking at the community centre, a shop, a pub/hotel, plus a Pizza Restaurant (although we didn’t get to try this).
I don’t intend to provide a detailed route commentary, rather just provide a route map above and tell the story via some of the pictures, which should wet the appetites!
[click pic to enter full size and then scroll thru]
As a wrap – as you can see Scotland is a hard place to beat (however there are a couple of proviso’s – good weather – no midge!). Many other good Mtb routes also exist in the Cairngorm, like the well established and very tough ‘Cairngorms Loop’ – that takes no prisoners!
So get planning your next adventure, happy to share information, so please get in touch with any queries.
…but do beware of the Beast!
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