Aviemore Cycle Routes

Aviemore Bike Rides

These two bike rides are off road through old Scots Pine forests on gravel paths which are rough in parts with short sharp climbs and many twists and turns. This makes them good fun to cycle on and very different from cycling canal banks or minor roads.

Our bikes are hybrids with front suspension rather than mountain bikes but they coped with it very well. The scenery is magnificent with the snow covered Cairngorms as a backdrop when the view is not blocked by dense but very picturesque forestry.

The area around Aviemore is a spider’s web of paths leading all over the place and intersecting each other. You really have to have a map because although there is a bit of signage, you can’t really rely on it and there are constant intersections which, in the middle of a forest, are quite confusing.

We were on the Speyside Way some of the time and spent a lot of the time in Glenmore Forest, Abernethy Forest and Rothiemurchus Estate.

From here the track winds its way through the forest until it reaches Loch Morlich. Loch Morlich is one of the most attractive lochs in Scotland with pleasant beaches, tree lined shores and the Cairngorm mountains as a backdrop. There is a path all the way round the loch and it is a very popular walk. We cycled counter clockwise around the loch and stopped at a cafe beside the camp ground called The Pine Marten. At this point we had been cycling in a snow storm for a while and so the cafe provided a very welcome respite. By the time we had finished our lunch, the snow had abated (yes, this was in May) and we set off refreshed. From here to Aviemore the route is called the Old Logging Way and it is great fun to cycle. It is a gravel surface that meanders up and down through trees. This ride was just an afternoon outing and the plan was to tackle the Burma Road the next day. This is a loop from the south of Aviemore that climbs to a height of over 2,000 feet on a gravel road known as the Burma Road. It is apparently very steep both up and down and heads northwards allowing you to make a loop from Boat of Garten back to Aviemore by the Speyside Way. When we got up on the next day, snow was falling and could be seen on all the mountains around us so we decided that the Burma Road would have to wait for another day and we opted for a low level route.

The first route is about 22 miles in length and starting in Aviemore, follows National Route 7 southwards. N7 turns up towards Coylumbridge but at Inverdruie a minor road turns off southwards and further up this road a left turn takes you to Loch an Eilein. This pretty little lochan is in the Rothiemurchus Estate and the estate has created a car park. We chatted to the young man in charge of the car park while we waited for a shower to pass. He was dressed in traditional gamekeeper garb of tweed jacket, trousers and waistcoat with a deer stalker hat and looked as if he had stepped off a film set.

There is a path all the way around the loch which will be about 3 miles and we set off in a counter clockwise direction. There is a small island in the middle of the loch (its name translates as loch of the island) and the ruins of a castle stand on the island. When we reached the southwest corner of the loch, a track leads off westwards to a point where a footbridge crosses a river. This bridge was erected in 1912 by walking enthusiasts from Aberdeen to allow access to a route through the Lairig Ghru mountain pass. The bridge has half a dozen steps on one side and these present a challenge when you have to get a very heavy bike up them, but we prevailed.

The route that we chose is a bit further at 30 miles and it starts by heading northwards on National Route 7 on the Speyside Way which is a wonderful gravel path meandering up and down through heather moorland with mountains all around. This leads you to Boat of Garten from where the Speyside Way carries on through the Abernethy Forest to Nethy Bridge. On the way a short detour would take you to the Loch Garten Osprey Centre. The Speyside Way is primarily a walking route and parts of it make for interesting cycling becoming quite narrow, twisty and hilly but good fun. Nethy Bridge has a river meandering through it which makes Nethy Bridge necessary. A minor road turns off just before the bridge and follows the south side of the river. As the houses become sparser the road swings southwards and becomes a forest track which climbs and winds its way through the forest. A huddle of buildings in the forest is named on the map as Forest Lodge and then a bit further south you exit from the forest and climb over the Ryvoan Pass which leads down past Ryvoan Bothy and then to Glenmore Lodge. Sections of this track are interesting to cycle on with boulders or mud. We were soon back at the Pine Marten cafe beside Loch Morlich which yet again coincided with a snow storm. The final bit of the ride was the Old Logging Way and was familiar from the day before and we were soon back in Aviemore.