Dirt Dash Bikepacking Events – Experience bikepacking with like-minded people, without having to organise your campsite and food – The Dirt Dashes return to Alyth and Dunoon in 2024.
Book a stay at Forillon in Alyth – The Bikepacking Scotland House in Alyth has a bike shed, loads of inspiring books and a network of routes that give you enough to do for weeks!
Gift a Cycling UK membership – With a Cycling UK gift membership someone can enjoy year-round inspiration and advice, complimentary peace of mind insurance and a bi-monthly copy of Cycle magazine.
Talks from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society – The Inspiring People Series continues in 2024 with talks from Mark Wedgwood, who cycled every OS map, and Kate Rawles, who cycled South America on a bamboo bike.
Invite your friend to the Towpath Cafe– This cafe, above Biketrax in Edinburgh, is a great place to hang out with friends, with regular guided rides and exhibitions.
‘Home Is Where The Trails Take You’, a new film from Bikepacking Scotland and filmmaker Markus Stitz, documents a gravel bikepacking journey through the Cairngorms to meet the people that call the National Park home. Featuring Sally Devlin and Calum MacGregor from Aviemore Bikes, Toni Vastano from the Old Post Office Cafe Gallery, David Keegan from Bothy Bikes, Annie Armstrong from Wild Braemar, Richard Watts from Cyclehighlands, and Nash Masson from Ride Scotland, the film captures the strong connection between local people and businesses in the Cairngorms National Park, the activity of cycling and the surrounding natural environment.
The Cairngorms National Park is home to one quarter of Scotland’s native forest and 25 percent of the UK’s endangered species. Half of the Cairngorms has been recognised as being of international importance for nature. The new 165 mile (266 km) bikepacking route, which was designed by us in partnership with VisitCairngorms, follows old military and drovers roads through the UK’s largest area of high ground, regarded as climatically, geomorphologically and biologically the most extensive ‘arctic’ area in the UK. The project was supported by the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project and National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scotrail and Schwalbe.
In 2023 Scotland celebrates not only hosting the UCI Cycling World Championships, but also 20 years of enabling adventure through the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Giving access rights over most of Scotland’s land and water makes places like the Cairngorms exceptional for gravel and mountain biking. Mark Tate, CEO of Cairngorms Business Partnership, comments: ‘The new route travels through some really special places for nature, making it even more important that we take the responsibility that comes with our right of responsible access seriously and enjoy and care for this special place together.’
While the Cairngorms are home to four of the five highest mountains in Scotland, there are no extreme climbs and descents on the route, which is suitable to ride on gravel and mountain bikes. Several businesses along the route offer bike hire and bike-friendly accommodation. The Cairngorms National Park Loop starts and finishes in Aviemore, with frequent Scotrail train connections to stations in the north and south, as well as with the Caledonian Sleeper to and from London.
Following the Speyside Way the route passes Kincraig and Kingussie, before crossing on the Gaick Pass over to Dalnaspidal, and following a section of Sustrans National Cycle Route 7 to Blair Atholl. From there the route passes the three Munros of Beinn a’ Ghlò to Daldhu, before continuing on the Cateran Trail to Spittal of Glenshee and over Scotland’s highest road, the Cairnwell Pass, to Braemar. The journey continues through Ballochbuie Forest, one of the largest continuous areas of Caledonian forest in Scotland, past Balmoral Castle to Ballater and on to the highest village in the Scottish Highlands, Tomintoul, and the most northerly Dark Sky Park in the world. The last section of the route follows the SnowRoads scenic route to Grantown-on-Spey and the Speyside Way through Nethy Bridge and Boat of Garten back to Aviemore.
‘Home Is Where The Trails Take You’ is available to watch for free on YouTube here, subtitled in English and German. The bikepacking route and shorter itineraries, which have been developed in partnership with local bike shops, can be downloaded on the VisitCairngorms Ride With GPS site here.
In December 2022 Steve Bate attempted to ride the Highland Trail 550 in some of the most challenging winter conditions we have seen in 13 years living in Scotland. In 2011 Steve was diagnosed with a condition that is slowly reducing his eyesight. He has now lost most of his vision. As the condition is degenerative, he will go blind. Due to frostbite on his toes he had to finish his ITT in Lochinver early. We spoke to Steve, who has also joined us at the Dorset and Dunoon Dirt Dash in recent years, about his ride, his kit choices and the lessons learnt from failure.
Looking at the Highland Trail 550 route – What was your rough plan for the ride, and how was the weather affecting that schedule?
My plan was to try and ride 100 miles (160 km) a day. However, the weather certainly played a big part in this. 100 miles a day doesn’t sound a great deal, however with a loaded fat bike in winter conditions, it was a massive challenge covering that amount of varied terrain. Any sections above the snow line were really slow going with the volume of pushing required. Lower down with everything frozen solid, I made good time, even with my 4” studded tyres.
Looking at your gear list – If you were to attempt another ride of this kind, what are three items you would swap, and why?
Obvious number one would be footwear. My boot choice cost me the ride. I rode 45NRTH Ragnarok tall shoes which are great, but I should have gone with my 45NRTH Wölvhammer, as they are insulated boots. I had no idea how much snow had fallen high up and how much I would have to push my bike, meaning my feet were in the snow a lot more than anticipated. I was worried about wet feet with the river crossings, but it turned out most of them were frozen! Isn’t hindsight great?
Secondly, I’d change out a water bottle for a flask as a water carrier. I rode with two insulated bottles and a flask for hot drinks or soup. But with the temperatures being below freezing, the bottles froze. Having an extra flask would have prevented this, especially on the long high sections of the ride, where all water courses were frozen. I’d still take one bottle, but with two flasks.
Thirdly, I probably wouldn’t run SRAM AXS wireless shifting again. The batteries are small and suffer in the cold. The other issue was recharging them. When they were cold, they wouldn’t draw enough current from a battery pack to recharge, so that was problematic. I’m a fan of the AXS system, but it has its limitations in subzero conditions.
Aside from the above, there wasn’t much else I’d change, I was pretty happy with my kit choice on the whole.
Reading through the lines of your very interesting blog, would riding with another rider made a difference to the ride, or possibly to the outcome?
It’s a good question. Yes in terms of: I could have shared the effort of breaking trail through the snow, and keeping morale high when it got super challenging. However, going into extreme conditions like that, I only know one or two people who could manage themselves, and continue to ride. Riding the HT550 in full winter conditions isn’t just about riding bikes. You have to have big mountain experience in winter conditions as well. I think this is the reason why we haven’t seen many winter attempts, and out of those only two have been successful. I’ve had lots of people say they want to join me for another go, which is nice, but there is a reality to that. When it’s 3am in the morning on day three, and you’re pushing through knee deep snow, in a blizzard high on a plateau going through the night, few people are really up for that intense level of adventure.
Finally, what is the most important lesson you have taken away from the ride?
I never thought frostbite would catch me out in Scotland. I think the biggest lesson is self care on a journey like this. I should have realised earlier on in the ride that my ambition of 100 miles a day wasn’t possible in those conditions. If I had let go of that earlier, I wouldn’t have pushed so hard, which was probably my downfall. In saying that, in pushing that hard, I found another gear, both mentally and physically, which I never knew I had. I’ve found those lessons are only learnt by going beyond yourself, walking the fine line of adventure versus misadventure. This time I got it wrong, but there is still value in that. I’ll be wiser and better prepared for round two.
‘Explore Your Boundaries’ was inspired by the desire to create adventures close to home, a way of seeing the familiar in unfamiliar ways. Mark Beaumont, Guinness World Record holder for the fastest circumnavigation by bike, and Markus Stitz, singlespeed round the world cyclist and filmmaker, mapped 24 Scottish council boundary routes to encourage people to stay active, whether cycling or walking, and to inspire adventures that started and finished at their front door. To create the routes, they uploaded the council boundaries GPX files onto the mapping platform Komoot and matched them with the closest existing pathways. This ‘Explore Your Boundaries’ documentary captures their four adventures in Clackmannanshire, East Lothian and Falkirk, undertaken from June to September 2021, and Glasgow, undertaken during COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference, in November 2021.
Mark Beaumont comments: ‘The thing I love about the ‘Explore your Boundaries’ concept is that it forced us to find routes which we never would have looked for. Often it felt like you were in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and yet if I stopped and thought about it, I was only 25 miles from home. It’s really interesting when you have a project, a journey, which is defined by a route which is not necessarily a trail. Straightlining expeditions have always fascinated me, and in a weird way ‘Explore Your Boundaries’ is like a straightlining expedition, albeit most of them are big circle routes. Because you’re following this predefined line.’
Filmmaker Markus Stitz comments: ‘The idea of ‘Explore Your Boundaries’ was born in the second lockdown of 2020, when we jointly turned a limitation, having to start any exercise within or close to the boundary of our local council area Edinburgh, into an opportunity. We used the council boundaries to map 24 different gravel routes throughout Scotland. From the feedback on social media those routes inspired people to ride their bikes. And they motivated us to get this film project off the ground. It was great to get the support from Clackmannanshire Council, Visit East Lothian, Visit Falkirk, Schwalbe Tyres UK and Vango to produce this documentary. For me the film also highlights regions in Scotland which are not normally in the tourist spotlight. Responsible and sustainable tourism by bike can bring new income streams and visitors to those communities, and I hope the film will inspire more people to visit in 2022 and beyond.’
The routes along the boundaries of Clackmannanshire (79km/49mi), East Lothian (169km/105mi), Falkirk (133km/83mi) and Glasgow (119km/74mi) allowed both cyclists not only to experience the varied landscapes, but also offered them an insight into the historic places they experienced along the way.
Beaumont comments further: ‘I can think of so many examples, even from the ‘Explore Your Boundaries’ we’ve done so far, where I’ve learned different parts of Scotland’s history, which would have passed me by if I was just going out to do a training ride.’
‘Explore Your Boundaries’ is available to watch for free on YouTube here, with subtitles available in English and German. More information about ‘Explore Your Boundaries’ can be found on our website, while the routes are also available to download on Mark Beaumont’s Komoot profile and Markus Stitz’s Komoot profile.
With a new film Edinburgh-based Markus Stitz and Mark Beaumont encourage more people to enjoy winter cycling in the future. Filmed on a newly created gravel bike route, which follows the local authority boundary of the City of Edinburgh, and additional locations close to the Scottish Capital during January and February 2021, ‘Explore your Boundaries’ is a short documentary that highlights the beauty and challenges of exploring places on two wheels in snow and ice.
Markus Stitz, the first person to ride a single-speed bicycle around the world, and Mark Beaumont, the Guinness World Record holder for the fastest circumnavigation in 78 days and 14 hours, are both Edinburgh residents. Teaming up to film ‘Explore your Boundaries’ was inspired by encouraging people to see familiar and local areas in unfamiliar ways, showing how great adventures can happen from your own front door.
Mark Beaumont comments: ‘When you ride somewhere in perfect conditions, define that as the summer and the sun is shining, it’s a totally different thing than the grit and the resolve that it takes to then go there in the depth of winter. I often think as a cyclist that there are a number of motivations. People want to do exercise and want to feel healthy, but for me there’s also the other side, which is just the sheer experience of exploring places and those memories. And that’s not necessarily about wellbeing in terms of fitness. As much as I can sit indoors and do circuits or get your miles in on the turbo, I can’t feed the soul in the same way unless I actually get out and ride.’
When the second lockdown was announced in Scotland in the end of 2020 the two cyclists created a collection of routes, named ‘Explore your Boundaries’, ranging from 30 to 315 miles (48 to 505 km), using the boundaries of Scottish local authorities as guidance. The routes are free to download on this site and on Mark’s and Markus’ Komoot profiles. The idea for the film was born when both rode the Edinburgh city boundary on 2 January, completing 68 miles (110 km) in about 10 hours and documenting the journey with stills and video footage.
With Scotland’s Capital mostly covered in snow from Christmas until the mid of February, Markus used the opportunity to capture the winter landscapes: ‘The last time I remember experiencing that much snow in Edinburgh was in 2010, shortly before I rode from Edinburgh to Germany. That journey introduced me to the joys of cycling in winter. Since then I love going out there and enjoying the elements, and this winter proved to be a perfect opportunity for that, and sharing the elation in a new film.’
While cycling in winter can be at times challenging, for both it is highly rewarding. As Beaumont puts it: ‘There’s definitely a kid inside me that loves ending up in quite tricky places and just creating those memories through big night rides, or being out in the snow. It’s about having fun with that concept of a bike ride, not just thinking I’m going out to get fit or I’m going out to train. It’s about trying to explore familiar places which are quite close to home, but you’re joining them up. And that’s when the best adventures happen.’
Paths for All, the Cairngorms National Park, NatureScot and Perth & Kinross Council, together with the Cateran Ecomuseum’s own Directors have committed investment totalling £82,650 to develop a second stage of heritage-based walking and cycling itineraries across eastern Perthshire and western Angus.
Travel for All Our Tomorrows will grow the number of Regenerative Tourism experiences offered by the Cateran Ecomuseum and kickstart a campaign to position it as one of Scotland’s premier car-free holiday destinations.
Regenerative Tourism encourages people to rethink how they travel for leisure and how they enjoy the places they choose to travel to in ways that ‘leave things better’ and ensure those places are available for future generations to enjoy. Active Travel, which encompasses walking and cycling, is regenerative because it reduces carbon footprint, places less pressure on the environmental resources of host communities and replenishes and restores people’s physical and mental wellbeing.
The project will work with local communities and businesses in the Ecomuseum area during 2021, to co-design and promote nine new self-guided and guided cycling and walking itineraries for all abilities, one new family friendly cycling event and one new temporary outdoor arts installation. These, together with the Ecomuseum’s existing walking and cycling itineraries, will be further promoted via a campaign that will create new digital and printed information on how to get to and around the Ecomuseum car-free and three short films.
The cycling itineraries for Travel for All Our Tomorrows will be designed by Markus Stitz of Bikepacking Scotland, who has successfully worked with other destinations in Scotland to develop cycling routes, most recently in the neighbouring Highland Perthshire region. “I am looking forward to working with the Cateran Ecomuseum on this forward-thinking project. Cycling is a key driver to establish a more sustainable, regenerative approach to tourism in Scotland, driven by working actively with local stakeholders, can provide activities that have very low impact on the environment and add a long-term income stream to the local economy. Scotland is a land with incredible natural assets and a rich history, and Bikepacking Scotland’s vision is to provide people with ideas to harvest this potential.”
Credit: Markus Stitz
Graham McQueen, Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open-Fund Senior Development Officer, said “Paths for All have invested 50% of the cost of the Travel for All Our Tomorrows project and we are really excited to see how this innovative project progresses. Smarter Choices Smarter Places is all about creating a modal shift from cars to more sustainable forms of transport and it’s great to see such a sustainable, environmentally friendly approach to tourism contributing to this modal shift.”
Pete Crane, Head of Visitor Services for the Cairngorms National Park, said “The latest Cairngorms National Park visitor survey shows that 57% of our visitors – that’s 1.2 million people each year – want to enjoy a low level walk with great things to experience, with well over a quarter of a million enjoying a bike ride. This project offers so much for visitors; the chance to safely, responsibly and slowly enjoy the amazing culture of Cateran Country and the southern Cairngorms in a way that brings our heritage to life. A great way to explore one of the quieter parts of the Highlands, along with the chance to meet and chat with those of us who live here and want to share our love of this amazing place.”
Janet Hunter, Director of the Cateran Ecomuseum, said “We’re very pleased to have been able to put together such a sizeable budget for Active Travel in the Ecomuseum and very grateful to our funders, especially given the very difficult context of the Pandemic. This investment builds on what we have already achieved during our launch phase and gives us an opportunity to grow our innovative Regenerative Tourism approach. We want people to explore the Cateran Ecomuseum on foot and by bike, travelling slowly so that they can take in the amazing landscape and discover the extraordinary heritage and stories along the way, and we want them to really get to know our host communities and all they have to offer. We’re also looking forward to building relationships with public and private transport providers to enable people to travel to the Ecomuseum car free much more easily. We are delighted that our community ambition to promote healthy, climate conscious experiences for everyone is being recognised and I’m looking forward to trying out all the new routes.”
Filmed on the ‘Drovers Trail’, our latest 331-km-long gravel bikepacking route spanning almost the entirety of Highland Perthshire, ‘Drovers’ tells the story of the ancient drove roads, an important part of Scottish history, which inspired Scotland’s greatest writers like Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. The new video from round the world singlespeed cyclist, film-maker and Bikepacking Scotland founder Markus Stitz follows him on his adventure along the route, retracing the footsteps of the cattle drovers on their journey from the Cairngorms through the Tay Valley to Crieff, which became Scotland’s most important cattle market at the end of the 17th century.
The project was led and administered by Highland Perthshire Cycling, a charity set up to promote, encourage and enable more cycling in Highland Perthshire for both locals and visitors, and delivered by us, Bikepacking Scotland. It received a grant of £9,835 from Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme 2014-2020: The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas, match funded with £15,000 from the SSE Griffin and Calliachar Community Fund.
The Drovers Trail seen from Ben Chonzie
The new gravel bikepacking route is part of eleven different itineraries, which are now available to download for free at www.perthshiregravel.com. The lengths of the individual routes range from 12 km to 120 km, starting in the Highland Perthshire towns and villages of Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Blair Atholl, Aberfeldy, and Comrie, as well as the remote Rannoch Station. Eight of the eleven routes are easily accessible by Scotrail and Caledonian Sleeper train services.
Glenturret Distillery
The different routes are designed as day journeys for different ages and abilities, but can also be combined or shortened by using quiet roads or cycle paths. They are graded as easy, straightforward, challenging or expert. The different criteria for the grading and detailed route descriptions with pictures are available on the website. While the routes have been designed for bikes with tyres 35 mm and wider, they will also appeal to mountain bikers and make great day trips for touring cyclists.
Launch of the project in November 2019 in Dunkeld
Markus comments: “Designing the various routes made me aware of not only the rich history of Highland Perthshire and the Tay Valley, but also of the huge variety of landscapes that can be found across the area. I sought to use the story of the cattle drovers to draw parallels with the adventurous spirit of bikepacking nowadays, while showcasing the immense beauty of the area, not just for cyclists. I hope the new film and the route network will encourage more people to explore the area and will also give locals new ideas to experience their immediate surroundings.”
Wild About Argyll has teamed up with Bikepacking Scotland and Calmac Ferries to promote a series of car-free walking and cycling adventures for various abilities, starting at Dunoon Pier and Benmore Botanic Gardens.
Dunoon is the jewel in the Firth of Clyde, very close to Scotland’s biggest city Glasgow. Situated on the Cowal Peninsula, the seaside resort is a gateway to the great outdoors, with an abundance of walking and cycling adventures accessible easily by public transport from the ferry pier.
Local businesses are embracing the opportunities the great outdoors offer, like Jon Smith from the St Ives Guesthouse explains: ‘Ìf you love the great outdoors, if you love friendly people, this is a place to come. We have got everything: Forests, mountain bike trails, boating, fishing, botanical gardens; nature at its finest.’
Bikes at Puck’s Rest, a Dunoon Guesthouse which caters to bikepackers.
The Rail and Sail Ticket, a joint offer from CalMac Ferries and ScotRail, makes travelling on public transport simple and encourages people to leave their car at home. With a combined ticket for train and ferry travel, which can be bought at staffed stations, online or on the train, it is the perfect opportunity for a spontaneous escape to Scotland’s Adventure Coast and the opportunity to get #wildaboutargyll without a car.
Jenny Tough, an Edinburgh-based adventure traveller and endurance challenger, who has recently taken part in the Dunoon Dirt Dash, is excited about the potential of Rail and Sail: ‘I am very passionate about human-powered endurance challenges and encouraging others to explore this beautiful planet. At the same time I feel strongly about protecting our wild places. Offering people good alternatives to ditch the car and spontaneously have an adventure to explore their own limits is a great idea.’
The stunning scenery around Dunoon.
Steve Bate MBE, adventurer and double Paralympic Champion, has been to Argyll twice in a year and loves the opportunities Dunoon offers for cycling: ‘Argyll is a fantastic part of Scotland to be explored. I have enjoyed cycling the Dunoon Dirt Dash recently after finishing this year’s road race season, which allows me a week or two of downtime. I love going on adventures when most pro riders put their bikes down. It’s great to encourage people to have an adventure close or far away from home. Dunoon’s setting and the easy access by ferry and train makes it even more tempting to return soon.’
The campaign features a short film showcasing the area and the opportunities Dunoon offers. Joanne Craven, an Edinburgh-based game designer, enjoyed working with FoSho Video from Glasgow on the film to promote the Rail and Sail offering: ‘The best thing about Dunoon is the ferry. Because even though you’re not going very far, it’s actually very easy. You feel like you’ve properly gone on holiday.’
Riders enjoying the inaugural Surly Dunoon Dirt Dash, a two-day bikepacking event taking place in and around Dunoon. Image: Neil Hanna
After a short or long day in the outdoors, Dunoon has plenty on offer to relax and great choices to stay overnight. A stroll down the promenade and the Victorian pier is highly recommended, or a visit to the historic Castle Mound and the museum. Browsing the local shops and galleries can be great fun, and local cafes and restaurants offer plenty of opportunities for lunch and dinner.
Six walking and cycling adventures are currently featured on the Wild About Argyll website. They include a walk through Puck’s Glen, a walk from Dunoon to Bishop’s Glen reservoir and a walk up Beinn Mhor. The cycling routes include the Dunoon Dirt Dashbikepacking route, a road bike loop around the Cowal Peninsula and a mountain bike ride around Loch Eck.
Rail and Sail tickets are also available to Arran, Bute, Cumbrae and Mull can be booked at calmac.co.uk/railandsail.
We spent the weekend on a trip through the Lammermuir Hills, starting an finishing in Edinburgh. Here’s a teaser, more details and the packlist will follow soon. Here are more pictures from the trip on Flickr. The GPX of the route can be downloaded here. Continue reading “Bikepacking in the Lammermuir Hills”
Fàilte! Welcome to the new home of bikepacking in Scotland. While bikepacking is possibly nothing new, its popularity is constantly growing.
With its very good access laws, Scotland is a unique country for bikepacking. Rich in history with an abundance of heritage paths crossing the vast landscape, quiet country roads, purpose-built mountain bike trails, and a great network of bothies and hostels, great local cuisine and friendly people, it is hard to beat as an off-road cycling destination.
After creating the Capital Trail and riding around the world on a singlespeed bike through 26 countries, I am back in bonnie Scotland. Bikepacking Scotland is a work in progress, but my aim is to give you ideas for routes, gear reviews and inspiration to explore Scotland’s wonderful scenery on two wheels.
You can follow Bikepacking Scotland on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to the free newsletter here. Please spread the word and tell your friends. And enjoy the ride, long or short!
