Image Credit: Tom Hill

The Eastern side of the Scottish Highlands is without doubt our favourite part of Scotland to ride in. The crowning jewel of this areas has to be the Cairngorm National Park, the highest upland area in the British Isles claiming four of the five tallest peaks in the UK.

Our five day adventure takes in a sample of some of the best singletrack this magnificent area has to offer. From huge descents from giant highland peaks, to perfectly crafted singletrack in magnificent forests, rocky flow over giant granite slabs, and technical riding through stunning landscapes, this trip has something for everyone! We’ve designed our trip to take in as much great riding as we can fit in to 5 epic days, so we stay 2 nights in each of 2 hotels, giving us the opportunity to minimise travel time and maximise riding time each day.

As always, we’ve picked small, friendly, cosy hotels where you can be sure of a comfy night’s sleep, a place to share a drink and relive the highlights of the day with your fellow riders, and sample some great Scottish food.

We ride one of the longest descents in the UK from one of these giants, a grin-inducing trail through wild mountain scenery. But it’s not all about the big mountain riding here, the variety of terrain is unrivalled, and we try to sample a little of all of it.

There are technical trails flowing through the glens where the effort to dodge granite boulders and hop over drainage channels reaps the reward of finding flow. There’s the gem that is Royal Deeside, where the beautiful forests hide dozens of incredible trails the locals have been keeping secret for years, along with legendary classics such as Heartbreak Ridge. And there’s the many great riding locations passed on the way north, one of which we stop at on our first day to whet the appetite even more for what’s to come!