Seventh heaven on a Strathspey ride
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THEY are seventh heaven for cyclists. Quiet roads mean you can bowl along without having to worry about impatient drivers. Fortunately, here in the Highlands we’re blessed with an abundance of such bike-friendly routes.
The real bonus is that they pass through some stunning scenery too, making the ride all the more enjoyable.
A Strathspey circuit I’ve done a couple of times is a classic example – especially the return leg. There are no serious hills to tackle, which for me at least means I can focus more on the surroundings and less on the physical effort involved.
The ride starts at Inverdruie on the Cairn Gorm ski road, where there’s parking if you arrive by car.
Admittedly the first half of the ride is on a fairly busy B road, but with most of the southbound traffic confined to the A9, it’s not too much of a drawback.
From Inverdruie head back towards Aviemore and the roundabout on the town’s southern boundary. Go left here to follow the B9152 towards Kingussie, the midway point on the circuit. After a straight stretch the road dips round a bend, passing Loch Alvie and then Dalraddy caravan park. High on the wooded hill to the left stands the Duke of Gordon monument. A pleasant walk up to it gives an extensive view across Speyside.
Three kilometres further on the road passes the village of Kincraig and then enters a tight sandwich between the A9 on the north side and the railway line on the other. The next landmark to be passed is the entrance to the Highland Wildlife Park before an easy five kilometre stretch to Kingussie.
Pass through the village and turn left after the bridge over the Gynack on to the B970.
The well-tended memorial gardens which are a riot of colour when summer flowers are in bloom are a good place for a break.
The character of the ride changes now for the B970 is much quieter and very scenic. The road crosses the railway line and passes The Dell – home of Kingussie’s renowned shinty team.
Our road goes under the A9 and bears left towards Ruthven Barracks, standing proud on its mound overlooking the strath.
There’s a bit of a pull after the barracks but the entrance to Insh Marshes nature reserve provides enough of an excuse to stop if you feel like it. The reserve is one of the most important wetlands in Europe and home to waders such as redshank, snipe and curlew.
The lovely quiet road continues with the marshland on the left and the Monadhliath in the background to a hairpin over Tromie Bridge – an attractive spot where the River Tromie gushes through a gorge. The road passes through the little hamlet of Insh, and a few kilometres further on Loch Insh comes into view. At a junction keep right and head to Feshiebridge.
You’ll need to get the gearing right here for the short steep climb after the bridge. I got it wrong first time and ended up turning round and taking some pictures at the bridge before another stab at the climb – in the right gear this time!
From here on you can really pick up the pace and with not much traffic to worry about the riding is brilliant. It’s not long after the junction to Loch an Eilein that you’re back at Inverdruie.
For me, the perfect ending is coffee and gluten free cake at the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore.
