Cairngorms – Ryvoan Pass

This is a very popular route between Glenmore and Nethybridge. Most folk do it clockwise and anyone who has been through it will remember the very rocky section climbing up to Ryvoan Bothy and the rough section from there to the Abernethy Forest.

Anyroadup – it’s all being resurfaced. I’d seen a photo so headed round that way on Monday and met the digger. Basically, they’re churning over the soil and rock and re-laying it so it’s now a much smoother, sandy/soil surface with the occasional little bit of rock peeking out. Pretty much “sanitised” from a mountain bikers point of view.

Expect Strava times to plummet…..

Assume you mean the clockwise climb from Glenmore.

Are they putting a bridge across the ford as well? To be fair, it was probably impassable for most and resurfacing will improve access to the general public. I tried to tow our twins up there in a Burley when they were little and the rocky section defeated me 🙂

Was contemplating a ride up there next day or 2. It is currently worth it with the work going on ? And is clockwise the best ? Would be starting in aviemore.

Having not done it before I was thinking of heading up to loch Morlich on the bike path and then bear generally left from Glenmore, up Ryvoan Bothy and forest lodge and west towards Abernethy ?

Anti-clockwise is best. The works stretch for a short distance so still worth a ride.

We were doing it clockwise ss we’d tagged it on to the Burma Road route.

Not sure where a bridge would go. There’s nothing more than a small stream to splash through.

Here’s a wee video showing After and Before

Great, thanks. To help me negotiate a slot in the family itinerary, what would be an average loop time for anticlockwise from Aviemore ? I’m guessing 3-4 hrs ?

That’s about right. On the return you can either head along the SSW from Boat of Garten or head down the Coylumbridge road and cross the Sluggan Pass down to Badaguish and back down the Old Logging Way depending on your time.

Great weather in Cairngorms this week (on hols too). I did the inner Cairngorm loop yesterday – definitely not santitised!!

Usually end up doing that down (N to S) for some reason, rigid forks means speed isn’t an issue, have seen folk come a cropper on the line choice for the descent.

Expect many more bike / ped. incidents ?

I came down it at the weekend. Disappointing to see TBH. It’s nice to have some variety.

Aye, speed on the descent might be an issue. Looking at the new surface, I expect it will weather very quickly, especially after all the horses churn it up in July.

Good to know, cheers colin. I was up at Lochan Uaine for a night ride last night and plan to head over the pass t’day to nethy and meander back to Aviemore.

And I’m heading off NW for a couple of days. Looks like the great weather is set to continue.

Except for the cold front heading in from the NW 😉

Iain – there are a couple of good singletrack bits you can tag on. Apologies if you know these already but as you come over the Ryvoan pass heading north, take the ford across the river. The double track marked on the map at 029142 heading north is actually a lovely flowy bit of singletrack, well worth doing.

If you’re coming back via Sluggan then keep an eye out for the fun trails around the Badaguish outdoor centre. There’s a good one that starts at GR953123 for starters.

It’s also known as Bad Goulash among certain people in the outdoor ed industry.

Thanks Tom, will look out for those. Just back in from a blast round loch Gamhna etc,off to wildlife zoo with the weans after lunch 🙂

T-shirts and shorts and wall to wall sunshine, Cairngorm at its best !

Hoping to do that circuit early doors tomorrow …

Can’t see the point of that at all. it was fine for all activities already. A nice route ruined. 🙁

Gutted. One of favourite “fun” routes in the whole wide world utterly ruined. Not a good year for trail wreckage so far.

Just came over it from glenmore, sitting having a pint in nethy bridge now, not that much has been resurfaced, they have to cater for everyone including families/kids on bikes so I don’t mind. There’s plenty of gnarly stuff to cater for everyone else.

I was there on Monday too! I came in from the Forest Lodge side. Had a chat with the digger driver, he said they were only going about another 10m towards the Glenmore side, leaving the very stony bit for now but then they would be back after the summer to carry on with it. He indicated the Bynack More track was in for the same treatment.

The cairngorms have become a theme park for urban tourists, the NP are in the process armouring every footpath in the park. I can live with the Rothiemurchus estate upgrading all the lower tracks and paths to a standard suitable for mobility scooters, but the high peaks, Carn ban mor is a well known travesty, pass of the calves now has an awfull armoured path going over the shoulder of Bynack mor and onwards to the fords of Avon.

PS. that little loose rocky climb to the bothy, was the only section of real interest to a young mountain biker, when i introduced my son to biking it was a little challenge on the way to Nethy bridge, if he didn’t make it, he could push for a few minutes, the rest was just smooth land rover track.

Thanks scotroutes and Tom, that was a cracking early mornings spin. The bit back in by Bagaduish was a nice find too 😀

The newly surfaced bit is a bit crap after the natural part before it, I went through that section about 0830 just as the contractors were arriving, they were saying its to deal with erosion from overuse…

I wonder if that resulted from folk on hired bikes having mishaps. That’s RSPB land isn’t it?

I’ve never heard of, or seen, any bike accidents there. However, I did see quite a few 4×4 tracks over it last year. I wonder if it was the RSPB themselves that wanted better access?

On a related matter, there’s a horse/rider challenge event scheduled for 11/12th July that will see the participants riding from Glenmore, via Ryvoan and that lovely piece of singletrack up to the Eag Mhor and across to Dorback, Tomintoul, Glen Builg and down to Braemar then Glen Clova. I expect every track they use to become a churned up bog if it’s the slightest bit wet.