Asking for a mate – I tried looking and couldn’t find anything through search but was sure I had seen posts. Anyway. He’s hoping to head off the main SSW at Delnapot, pick up the SSW spur to Tomintoul. I know the path condition NS of Glenlivet – it’s bit N or there to Bridge of Avon that I’ve never even walked. I imagine it’s a walk with a bike as well, unless anyone knows different?

cheers in advance.

Between Carn Daimh towards Glen Livet 2 days ago

I’m just up the road but haven’t actually tried to ride that section yet so don’t know what the track up from Mill of Tommore is like. One option would be to continue on that track, heading SE and then taking the road down to Tombreckachie at Bridgend of Glenlivet. From then on, it should be OK apart from the last pull to the top of Carn Daimh where it’s a bit peaty plus the side of Carn Sleibhe.

I tried it on the gravel bike a few weeks ago but bailed onto the road after the village of Glenlivet. It sounds as though I might have been OK if I carried on though. The ride from Bridge of Avon to near the summit of Cairn Cairnacay was mostly fine. actually I really enjoyed the first part of the climb as it went from road to track and the views from the top are lovely. It was having to hike most of the way down that did it for me. The picture below from the top makes it look like there is a path, but this basically disappears as you follow the line of the fence down through heather and then grass. It might have been a bit better on an MTB and might not be too bad South to North as you can push the climb and enjoy the descent, but I couldn’t really recommend that section North to South.

cheers @dovebiker, that would be my instinctive thought as well – and on Heatmap, looks to be more travelled by bike than the SSW section. But it’s not me that would be wishing and hoping that the track worked out – as part of a longer expedition. He’s local enough as well, so used to the sorts of terrain he might find.

Funnily enough I was on that section ^ too a fortnight ago – on foot – heather just starting to turn proper purple. Pleased to see that perma-boggy bit just to the N of the woods on Cain Daimh is in a better state of surface.

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Brilliant @roverpig (well, not exactly brilliant for you but v helpful). That’s what I suspected on the state of the path – our children have done that bit for DofE expeditions and it always looked a bit follow the tussocks. Really helpful. They’d be bikepacking with gravel bikes – not that that’ll put them off but walking or clattering down a loose trackl isn’t great.

It’s a bit steep when you drop into the sheep and cattle pasture too. Might be a pain on fully loaded bikes if you don’t fancy riding that bit. I’d follow the advice of @dovebiker and take the road down to Tombreckachie at Bridgend of Glenlivet then pick up the SW again to Tomintoul. They’ll miss that lovely view, but it’s not as though you are short of views out there.