A regular trip for me. Make a point of riding it a few times through the year. Have persuaded loads of English friends to come up and they LOVE it! It does make the lake district seem very tame. A couple of hazards that haven't been mentioned yet but can be dangerous: 1. Deer. As the season progresses they come down from the high ground in their hundreds and they panic when you head towards them. 2. Mountain Hare. When you start to see the white furry carcasses by the road, look out! These things fly across the road! 3. Pheasants. Really stupid bird that takes a week to take off and can knock you off your bike! 4. german/Dutch Motorhomes. can't get past 40mph and wander across the road - V dangerous!!
Fast...bendy...wide open views. Its what your sportsbike was made for. Enjoy. Big on grin factor. Braemar is a nice place to stop for a drink. Plenty of bikes there in summer Sundays.
Great road. Normally I ride this road to get to Perth stopping off at the Hungry Highlander, in Braemar for food, hot coffee and to people / bike watch. If you take this route in March / April, remember to wear warm layers for going over the hills and if you are riding early morning, wear a dark visor as the low sun gets into the eyes.
Tried this route after seeing on this site....well worth the journey from Edinburgh, this route has everything you could want and more. One thing to mention though. Despite what the sign says, Spittal of Gglenshee hasn done fuel since 2008...just that the council hasn got round to taking down the sign though. Braemar is the next stop
I rode from Edinburgh to Aberdeen and took the scenic route. From Perth, follow the signs for Scone, and from Old Scone to Blairgowrie you get some god stuff, but between Blairgowrie and Braemar it is simply motorcycling nirvana. Food & Fuel Just after old Scone there is a snack caravan that does tea and bacon rolls. Petrol in Blairgowrie, Braemar has the Hungry highlander which si popular among bikers. The road Twisties, straights, mountains, forest, this road has it all,and the traffic is usually quite light. In winter it gets busy with people heading to Glenshee ski area, but thatll be in winter in snowy conditions. Otherwise youre likely to meet the occassional tractor or christian motorist. There are plenty of places to pass them, but some seriously twisty parts where you may want to hold off until youve got visibility. The surface is good. Not track smooth, but for a highland road it is quite smooth. The bridge after Blairgowrie has been replaced by an excellent twisty section that is brand new and is fantasticlaly smooth. Black ice starts here in October and can last until early April. Police do pass through here, usually in land rovers, but they are few and far between. If you do get stopped for speeding just remember that if they ask you why theyve stopped you, make sure they tell you its for speeding, not you telling them! Also if they have the radar gun remember to ask if they have the paperwork to confirm that its been calibrated for that day. Its unlikely to happen but you never know. Fantastic road.
Excellent route, even for a new biker like myself. Coming from Aberdeen we did it in reverse and headed up the A9 from Blairgowrie, next time I think well just turn around and do it in reverse. My favourite stretch (when traffic levels are low) is from aboyne to braemar, definitely the best road conditions on the route in the earlier parts of the year
This is part of an alternative route to the A9 north (A939 and B9008 being the other parts). It takes you a bit out the way if your heading to Inverness but its well worth it. When I say out the way I only mean about 70km, its nothing for the scenery you will see and the roads are great but watch out for some of the corners.
This is a truly spectacular road, I first did it at the end of March in 2004. The sky was completely clear and there was no wind. The only limiting thing was the the road salt once the altitude increased. I had to travel along the same lines that the cars took because either sid of that was a mound of salt! I did the road in 2005 with exactly the same weather (how lucky) but at the end of september and the road was just as good as I remember. Take a GPS and see how many metres per minute you climb or descend on you way to and from the top. You'll be suprised.
Did this last year 2005 and agree with verything said here - you just have to do it. Wait until the weather is warm though.
Travel this route three or four times a month with club,best bit is stopping for roast beef sandwich at the spittle of glenshee.
Fortunate to have this route right on door step, have taken a few lads from work on this route & to a man they all wanted to go back over!
Done this just recently (Aug 2005)and it is brilliant! If you have ever been to the Alps you'll know what I mean when I say it is the closest thing you'll get on the British mainland to match it! The road surface was in excellent condition, giving good grip and no potholes. I would venture to suggest it could be different after a hard winter when the snow ploughs have been at it, so some caution should be exercised early in the year. One slightly disconcerting feature struck me on the run up to and beyond the ski areas - the absence of chevron boards, prominent white line road markings and "turn" arrows before corners. Having said that most of the corners have good visibility, no trees, no farm buildings or street furniture to get in the way. It's amazing how much you rely upon these clues to make progress, remove them and it all feels a little strange. I found I was having to read ahead a lot more in order to get through smoothly at speed, but that in itself was a good part of the ride - having to adjust one's style to suit the terrain. Still excellent riding in a spectacular setting. For more fun we continued up and over to Tomintoul - it possibly gets even better!!!! A long way from England but not as far as Switzerland, go and do it, give yourself a weekend and do some more.
I make this part of every tour to Scotland I organise. The section from Blairgowrie to Glenshee Ski Area is my favourite. The corners are generally easy to read and the local authority have sited warning notices as you approach the best of the corners - very thoughtful. Best ridden early in the day before the traffic increases.
This is a spectacular ride. I am from the west of Scotalnd and travel many miles just to enjoy this road, If you are heading up there suggest you stop at the spittal of Glenshee for a steak sandwich,mmm. Anyway the road from Blairgowerie just bursts into life twisting and turning up and down fast as you like bends, after the spittal it starightens out and climbs up to the ski resort for more stunning beauty. This road can be enjoyed at any speed max grin factor
In retrospect the route is more like 80/100 kms. There are great twisties!!!
Great biking road which takes you from Blairgowrie over Glenshee and into Royal Deeside. Braemar is a good stopping off point en route. For those who don't want to return via the same route (I think the return journey is even better), the B976/B974 road from Ballater to Fettercairn can be taken which will take you back to Blairgowrie via Kirriemuir.
This isnt far short of Ballater...Amazing scenery!
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