Cairkroms Mountains

While the sun had already risen at 4:16 a.m. due to our northerly location, our second day in Cairkroms National Park officially began at 8:00 a.m. with a breakfast that left nothing to be desired. In addition to the generous buffet, there was a wide variety of hot dishes available à la carte. Outside, the weather was cool and windy at 11 degrees Celsius, but sunny apart from a few passing clouds. We were happy to be able to swap our rain jackets for sunglasses.


At 9:00 a.m., our bikes were ready to go. Our co-leader, Will, had prepared them with charged batteries and GPS devices. He would now drive our support vehicle in stages to our destination for the day. Led by our guide, Paul, we set off: over 70 km and 1100 meters of elevation gain, heading north along the eastern foothills of the Cairkroms Mountains. Paul, a former Royal Marine, is in top physical condition and always communicates with impressive and expressive facial expressions. His explanations and instructions are precise and delivered with a crisp, elegant style. We—that is, Krista and Andre from Toronto, along with our trio—feel we are in good hands with Paul and can enjoy the rides without a care in the world.


First, we ride through a lovely valley framed by hills and forests. William overtakes us with the support vehicle to provide us with snacks and water further up. A first climb up a hill follows. Paul encourages us: "It's just a baby." We reach the tree line and enter a magnificent moorland. Freshly blooming gorse blooms along the roadside. A thrilling descent takes us to the Goodbrand & Ross coffee shop in the middle of nowhere. Coffee and cake give us the energy for the next "baby." This section, with its 20% gradients, is a bit more challenging. But we managed it too and reached the top, near the Lecht Ski Center, proud of our achievement and the performance of our batteries. Meanwhile, a strong headwind has picked up. The descent to Tomintaul is steep, where we have lunch at the Whiky (Whisky) Castle. After lunch, we continue on, again battling a strong headwind, through open, hilly landscapes. A little tired but happy and dry, we arrived at our destination for the day in good time.


Today's narrative by HP


Pictures


Map


Comments

  1. ReineJune 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM

    On peut vraiment dire que vous avez une super forme👏👏

    ReplyDelete

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