Coast to Coast Bike Ride

Get to grips with the wild terrain of the spectacular Scottish Highlands, backdrop for the UK’s ultimate mountain bike trail! This eight-day coast to coast bike ride takes you for an adventure like no other.

When the mile-thick ice sheets finally retreated from the north of Britain at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, they left in their wake a topography gnarled, fissured and pockmarked by violent glaciation. The result is some of the wildest country in Europe; mountain massifs, rift valleys, riven volcanoes and crinkle-cut islands are just some of the extraordinary features of the Scottish landscape. Unsurprising, then, that the country has become something of a mecca for adventure travel enthusiasts, with every imaginable pursuit on offer. So whether you surf or ski, sail or kayak, hike or bike, Scotland is bound to have something special for you. (There’s also 12,000 years of history, some of Europe’s finest architecture and the prized national drink (no, not Irn-Bru!), in case you’re interested!)

Covering 400km and 4,000m of ascent and descent, this eight-day coast to coast bike ride serves up some truly epic mountain biking. Meeting in Edinburgh, you'll be transported to your starting point in Aberdeen from where you’ll head westwards through landscapes of breathtaking beauty and extraordinary variety, from lochs and beaches to moors and mountains. The trail is equally diverse, with tranquil stretches of forest fire-road, exhilarating singletrack and some rocky and challenging mountain passes to negotiate. Add to this fantastic loch-side sections, twisting forest trails and hillside tracks with magical coastal views and you have some seriously special mountain biking. Your final destination is the tip of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Britain, where the tour ends with a celebratory dinner and a well-earned drink or two!

This is an awesome adventure without rival in the UK, a week-long, coast-to-coast odyssey! In an ideal world everyone would get to experience this trip, but in the meantime we suggest you only take this on if you’re an experienced mountain biker in good physical condition. After all, you’ll be tackling some testing terrain – rocky slopes, tangle-root tracks and so on – and making several sharp ascents, including one of the steepest road climbs in Britain (400m in just 3km!). As such, endurance is another must - you’ll be riding for around eight hours per day, covering an average of 60km. If all this sounds ok with you (and you’re not exhausted just reading this!) then we’d seriously recommend this trip, undoubtedly the best of its kind in Britain.