Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Using the Cairngorms Outer Loop route as inspiration, Allen Boardman took a long weekend to set out on a new adventure. With four days of idyllic Scottish countryside on offer, Allen’s latest video covers his trip from start to finish. Find the full video with some additional words and photos below…
Words and photos by Allen Boardman
The May bank holiday gave me the perfect opportunity to head to the Scottish Highlands with my good friend Danny. We drove up straight after work, arriving at around 1 a.m. We slept in the back of the van for a good few hours before a hearty breakfast to fuel up for a four-day adventure based on the Cairngorms Outer Loop and the Speyside Way. I was apprehensive about taking such a long trip (close to 290 kilometres), as I’ve not been overly active this year, but I didn’t let that stop me from heading out into the hills.
Unusually for me, the weather forecast was perfect, around 20 degrees, whilst England had a heatwave with temperatures heading above an uncomfortable 30 degrees. I was concerned that, with the recent rain and the warm weather, the midges would be out in force. We struck lucky again with only a couple of midges throughout the whole trip and zero rain.
We used the Cairngorms Outer Loop to get close to Tomintoul before turning toward Aberlour to start the Speyside Way. The views in the Cairngorms always blow my mind, with each trip calling me back to explore. The last time I visited this section around Gaick Forest was back in 2021, and around Glen Tilt in 2025. I just had to go back. The Speyside Way officially follows the River Spey from Buckie to Aviemore, taking in the many distilleries along the way. Speyside is one of my favorite regions of Scotland for whisky.
Trail conditions were perfect: dry, dusty, with long tracks into the mountains and alongside rivers. We had tailwinds, amazing camp spots in the sun, and views as far as you could see. “The Speygorms Loop Way” was born and made an otherwise-avoided point-to-point route along the Speyside Way more appealing. Having a friend to share the adventure and whisky with made it even better—even if the trip ended badly and Danny had to rescue me.
For more from Allen, check out his YouTube channel.
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