100 Climbs Route: Day 20, Inverness to Banchory

In August 2018, three Cycling UK members - Dominic Millar, Graham Salisbury and James Findlater – cycled a 3,300-mile, 29-day route around Britain to take on all 100 hills featured in Simon Warren’s book ‘100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’. This route plots day 20 of the journey, 124 miles from Inverness to Banchory, taking in the climbs of Cairn Gorm and The Lecht.

There’s a fair bit of riding to be done today, including a significant detour at Aviemore. But to begin with, the route takes you south-east, out of Inverness and towards the Cairngorms National Park.

Aviemore is a mountain hub for all sorts of sporting pursuits, so do make the most of your visit. For this tour’s purposes, though, just after leaving town at Coylumbridge, fork off right - eastwards - rather than following the road round. Head past Loch Morlich and through Glenmore, then start the climb of Cairn Gorm.

This might be a dead-end road, leading only to a car park for the funicular railway, the Ranger’s Centre and The Storehouse restaurant, but what an experience it provides with Alpine-style switchbacks and amazing views over Aviemore. Enjoy a bacon roll in The Storehouse before heading back down the hill to Coylumbridge and on with the route.

Ride north, generally following the River Spey, to Nethy Bridge where you’ll head east, over farmland and moors to join up with the A939 also heading east for more of the same.

The real fun starts again just after Tomintoul, with the climb up to the Lecht Ski School. If you want to complete The Lecht climb as per the book (and you really should, because it’s an incredible climb coming from the south), you’ll have to descend to Cock Bridge and turn around to attempt this awesome staircase of rises.

Once back in Cock Bridge for the second time, it’s a case of heading east to join the A944 and then the A939 to Ballater. Still eastward bound, finish at Whitestone, a little way west of Banchory.