Bikepacking Scotland

Despite putting in the training and doing his homework, RJ Sauer had to contend with an unexpected challenge when he took on Scotland’s infamous Highland Trail 550: He only managed to sleep a few hours in five days, and not for lack of trying. Here’s his story of trying to keep it together while battling insomnia and delirium along the trail…

Huw and Annie traveled by fatbike and packraft through Knoydart, one of the UK’s least accessible peninsulas, to link up old roads that have disintegrated with time. Along the way, Annie made this film. Watch it here and see a photoset from the trip…

Photographer and videographer Jeremy Janin surprises his father with a 5-day self-supported bikepacking trip along The Cairngorms Loop in the Scottish Highlands. They had everything planned, but nothing went as planned. Watch the full film here alongside a fantastic photoset and details from their trip in Jeremy’s words…

Micro-adventurer Alastair Humphreys escapes downtown London via train on a folding-bike-rafting expedition to Suilven, a remote mountain in Scotland. Along the way he and Temujin Doran made this lovely film about the trip, the mountain, and the visual and written poetry that surrounds it…

The Second City Divide is a bikepacking route connecting Glasgow, Scotland and Manchester, England via some of the region’s best off-tarmac tracks. Gaëlle Bojko rode the 609km route and created this beautiful documentary. Watch it here and read her day-by-day account alongside photos from the trip…

Naomi Freireich and Cat Sutherland set off on an ambitious first bikerafting trip, a three-day adventure into Scotland’s Great Wilderness. Read on for a tale of pedaling along remote trails, paddling across choppy lochs, encountering strange creatures, and refusing to quit…

A beautifully shot video that follows rider Joachim Rosenlund during last years Highland Trail 550 race. Watch it here and read his story, “The Fellowship of the Highlands”… plus, a Q&A about the ride and Joachim’s kit list.

A new video that captures why Argyll “Scotland’s Adventure Coast” is an awe-inspiring setting for bikepacking. At 655 km (407 miles) the new Wild About Argyll Trail is Scotland’s first long-distance, gravel-specific bikepacking route…

A video sneak peek at the all new Reiver Raid bikepacking route by Markus Stitz, around the world singlespeeder and founder of the Capital Trail and other bikepacking routes in Scotland…

A short video that perfectly captures why riding a bike is a means to restorative escape. In this inspiring film Lee Craigie, co-founder of the Adventure Syndicate, explores her mind while bikepacking the beautiful Caledonia Way in Scotland… Plus more about that route.

The extreme physical and emotional demands of multi-day bike racing often change people. It moves some to tears, and others to the brink of collapse. The Highland Trail 550 is no different. For former pro mountain bike racer and current UK 24 Hour Champion Lee Craigie it was such a profound experience she needed to share the story. Fellow HT550 racer and contributor Ian Fitz sat down with Lee, and a bottle of fine Scotch Whiskey* to find out more.