Magnificent mountains and a fun trail for the family
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Visiting peaceful lochs and with the rare sight of the Cairngorms clear for the whole day, this family outing was a great way to spend time in the outdoors.
The mountains had a fresh covering of snow when we arrived in Aviemore in the morning, and the sky was a deep blue with only fluffy white clouds.
We were looking for a ride where we could take our one-year-old daughter Clara out in the bike trailer and, after taking some advice from local shop Bothy Bikes, decided on a trip to the osprey centre at Loch Garten.
When we got there, EJ – one of the female ospreys – was sitting on her clutch of three eggs, one of which had been laid just the day before. Clara is always pointing at the birds from our window at home, so when she spotted the massive osprey on the television screen at the RSPB centre, she was delighted.
Our route there took us on a traffic-free trail through Strathspey. From the shop, go behind the building site and turn right onto a track immediately after the wooden fence. At a blue lamppost, go left onto a path running between the houses and the railway line and follow it until it drops to pass under the railway on your right.
Now on the Speyside Way, the path swings right after the underpass and goes over a couple of wooden bridges on a lovely little route through the woods, then drops to a narrow tunnel under another railway line alongside a stream.
Go left as you emerge from the tunnel – which was just wide enough to get our double trailer through – and go uphill to follow the Speyside Way on a better track, meeting it where there are sculptures of seed pods made of metal.
Clara enjoyed looking up at the trees as we rode along, although I think she was most interested in the bright orange flag on the trailer! My attention was drawn to the snow-covered mountains across the golf course to my right, where the chasm of the Lairig Ghru was clearly visible and reminded me of previous Cairngorms adventures. It would have been a fantastic day up in the hills, too.
The Speyside Way track emerges into heather moorland with trees dotted here and there, and it looked magnificent against the bright blue backdrop of the sky. The surface is good for mountain bikes or hybrids but Clara found it a little bumpy so we took it very slowly and just enjoyed these magnificent surroundings.
After a few miles, you come to a gate (just wide enough for the trailer) and turn left onto a vehicle track signposted as Speyside Way. Follow this and go under the railway, up the hill to the right then follow the green sign to Boat of Garten.
The track parallels the Strathspey Steam Railway and meets the public road, which has been recently resurfaced and is a joy to ride after the bumpy off-road stuff, before coming to a T-junction in the village, opposite the post office.
Turn right, following the road left then right to go under the railway and over the River Spey up to another junction opposite a forest car park. We decided to take the off-road route to the osprey centre from here, going into the car park and left onto the forest trails. The right fork – marked as the red route – takes you through some beautiful woodland and we really enjoyed the trail through the trees here.
Where the track reaches the road, go right to stay on a parallel off-road path and continue on the right-hand side of the road where the Speyside Way crosses.
Soon you come to another parking area and we took the short detour (under two miles round trip) to Loch Mallachie, a peaceful spot through a delightful forest. Back at the car park, we decided to follow the road for the last short stretch to the RSPB centre.
To return to Aviemore, we had the choice of going back the way we came, getting the steam train back from Boat of Garten or opting for the slightly longer road route. Deciding Clara had had enough of a bumpy ride earlier on, we went for the quiet roads that pass through Abernethy Forest to meet National Cycle Network Route 7.
This took us left out of the osprey centre car park (where there are plenty of bike racks) and then right and right again following road signs for Tulloch Moor. The rather exposed road was beautiful today in the sunshine, though I have been up here on a cold windy day when it’s not quite as pleasant!
Even today, we had to pedal through a flood across a dip in the road which got our feet wet but thankfully didn’t go above the base of the trailer.
When you reach the B970, part of NCN Route 7, turn left and follow this all the way to Coylumbridge. Here, you can pick up an excellent cycle path on the opposite side of the road at the T-junction. Heading right, the Old Logging Way as it is known, leads through Inverdruie towards Aviemore away from the traffic.
Where it crosses the road on a raised cycle crossing, go left then follow Route 7 right at a fork in the path to cross the old Spey bridge, then turn right onto a minor road. Keep straight ahead from here, ignoring signs for Aviemore to the left, and continuing onto a track signed for Inverness and Boat of Garten, then Dalfaber on the large wooden signs.
This way leads past the steam railway and eventually comes out in the Dalfaber estate. Go left at the first junction to follow Route 7 then, when you hit a busier road, turn left to leave the cycle route and cross the two railway lines by a level crossing then a bridge. Turn right after you see the Scotmid store and right again to return to the car park at Bothy Bikes.
This was a fine circuit and, according to my wife Meg, towing a trailer is definitely one way to slow me down! It’s harder work, but great fun to be enjoying the outdoors with my family in such a wonderful setting.
