Mountain Biking Collection by Katherine Moore
Burns, Lochs & Bothies of the Scottish Highlands — Cairngorms Loop
5 routes
25:24
302km
3,650m
186 miles might not sound like much, but the Cairngorms Loop features anything but easy terrain. There’s 12 000 feet (3640 meters) of climbing over the route from rocky doubletrack to challenging singletrack, narrow quiet lanes to traffic free cycleways. Even over five days as we propose here, you’ll need a certain degree of fitness to make it enjoyable.
The beauty of bikepacking in this area of Scotland is the abundance of bothies - once remote huts for use by farmers, travellers or shoots, and now open for use by all as a shelter or even just a nice lunch stop. These refuges make the wilds of Scotland all the more accessible, and are charming places to visit. On this route, you’ll really make the most of them, staying overnight in three and visiting a further two. One night will involve wild camping and the penultimate night is in a Youth Hostel. Of course you can opt to change this as you like, but I’d suggest that the true bothy experience has to be sampled at least once!
Ideally you’ll need a mountain bike for this route. Although there are quite a few linking road or gravel road sections that would be fine for a gravel or adventure bike, there are some really technical sections where you’ll wish you had a rigid, hard-tail or even full suspension mountain bike!
Very early or late summer (May or September/October) will undoubtedly be the best time of year to ride the Cairngorms Loop, when the midges are out in full effect, when the river levels are lower and hopefully the weather will be more favourable! If you visit between June and September, make sure you prepare for the midges with nets, repellent and avoid camping in damp, boggy areas.
Parts of the Cairngorms Loop are very remote and you should take full precautions with your safety, including each carrying a survival bag, emergency provisions and taking special care at water crossings or avoiding them if water levels are too high. Make sure you know the emergency procedure should the worst happen far from civilisation.
Blair Atholl, the start and end point of the Cairngorms Loop, is a small village but thankfully served by trains. You can change for Blair Atholl from many major stations, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness, all of which have local airports. If you’re travelling from London, why not take the Caledonian Sleeper Train to Edinburgh and change for local services to Blair Atholl? An alternative start to the double loop is in Aviemore, although this will not count as an ITT attempt if you’re ‘racing’.
Read more about the Cairngorms Loop here: cairngormsloop.net
Here are the rules if you’d like to complete as an ITT: cairngormsloop.net/rules.html
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Cairngorms Loop
299km
3,770m
3,770m
Last updated: November 28, 2024
Do it yourself!
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Ready to get going? Create and customize your own version of this adventure using the full route below as a template.
Activities
1. Day 1: Blair Atholl to Drake's Bothy - Cairngorms Loop
70.0km
05:18
720m
560m
Expert mountain bike ride. Very good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.
2. Day 2: Drake's Bothy to Bob Scott's Bothy - Cairngorms Loop
40.5km
04:27
760m
630m
Expert mountain bike ride. Good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary. Some portions of the route may require you to push your bike.
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3. Day 3: Bob Scott's Bothy to Carn a’Chnuic - Cairngorms Loop
72.8km
05:31
500m
570m
Expert mountain bike ride. Very good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary. Some portions of the route may require you to push your bike.
4. Day 4: Carn a’Chnuic to Braemar - Cairngorms Loop
58.6km
05:05
890m
900m
Expert mountain bike ride. Very good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.
5. Day 5: Braemar to Blair Atholl - Cairngorms Loop
60.5km
05:03
790m
1,000m
Expert mountain bike ride. Very good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.
Collection Stats
Activities
5
Distance
302 km
Duration
25:24 h
Elevation
3,650 m
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