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Scottish Coast to Coast Mountain Bike

7 Days & 6 Nights 4.6 Read 14 reviews
  • Traverse Scotland's legendary highlands from west to east
  • Enjoy descending Mount Keen - the most easterly Munro
  • Ride through the wild heather-clad landscape of the Cairngorms on natural single-track
  • Challenge yourself on the technical man-made trails at Laggan Wolftrax
  • Enjoy Scotland’s whisky, and lively local pub culture
The Scottish Coast to Coast is the iconic mountain bike journey through the highlands of Scotland and quite simply an awesome mountain biking holiday. Our independent self-guided mountain bike holiday on the Scottish Coast to Coast allow you to travel at your own pace, enjoy Scotland’s best mountain biking whilst experiencing the fascinating culture and landscapes. Your adventure starts in Fort William and after 200 miles of excellent riding in the Scottish Highlands finishes in Montrose on the East Coast. Enjoy everything from great man-made trails to smooth natural single-track. Every holiday we offer features hand-picked overnights in B&B’s, country inns, and guesthouses, each is unique and offers a biker friendly welcome, atmosphere and delicious local cuisine. Also included are transfers for you and your bike from Glasgow to the start and back from the finish, daily door to door baggage transfer, comprehensive route notes, detailed maps with the route marked on, downloadable GPX tracks, an information pack and emergency telephone support.
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What To Expect

This is a no holds barred, all out adventure as you cross Scotland off-road by bike. The going can be tough, but the rewards more than make up for it and you will experience some of the best single track in the country and have it all to yourselves. Biking heaven! Due to the global pandemic and unforeseen circumstances in the 2021 season and foreseeable future we cannot offer bike hire on this tour - in order to book you must bring your own bikes.,

Trip Type:

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Activity:

Mountain Biking | Mountain Biking

Grade & Terrain

This holiday is graded moderate to strenuous and goes through remote and demanding terrain so you should be a regular and fit mountain biker who relishes the thought of a long day in the saddle. You should also be comfortable with dealing with trail side repairs or emergencies as these do happen.

When leaving and entering the villages you will need to share the road with drivers, please be careful as sometimes these roads can be quite narrow.

In general, the riding is not of a technical nature but there are some sections which are technical and good bike handling and experience of technical riding is required. Some sections, such as the climb of Mount Keen are not ride able and you will have to push or carry your bike for a prolonged period.

Please note that you are travelling through very remote locations, often without easy access to main roads. As such you should be fully prepared in case of an emergency and be aware of your surroundings and location on the map at all times. You should carry a fully charged mobile phone with you at all times, however be aware that many areas will not have a cell phone signal. 

You should also be comfortable with dealing with trailside repairs or emergencies as these do happen.

Navigation

The route is not waymarked. We will supply you with access to our Macs app for your smartphone which has your daily routes shown on detailed maps using GPX tracks and a route description. This is not a substitute for sound navigation skills and at least two of your party should have good navigation skills.

Cycling Direction

This trip can only be booked from west to east due to restrictions with the baggage carriers.

Accommodation Information

One of the highlights of this tour is the high standard of accommodation. We specifically choose the hotels, inns, guesthouses and B&B’s to ensure that you enjoy every minute of your stay. All offer a warm welcome to cyclists, traditional hospitality and delicious local food.

The accommodation listed in the itinerary are the providers we sue most often. If they do not have availability we may use other accommodation of the same or better standard.

Single Rooms

This trip is unfortunately not available to solo bikers, but if you require single rooms within your party we will, of course, accommodate your request. As all our holidays are priced per person based on two sharing there is a single supplement payable to cover the additional costs we incur.

Meals

A hearty breakfast is included each morning. Lunch and dinner are not included so you are free to choose from the available options. Most of your accommodations will more than happy to provide a packed lunch on request and this can be booked on arrival. Dinner is available either at your accommodation or nearby pubs and restaurants.

Included
  • 6 Nights in hand-picked B&B’s, small hotels and guesthouses
  • 6 Breakfasts
  • Transfers from Glasgow to Fort William and from Montrose to Glasgow
  • Baggage transfers
  • Information pack
  • Access to detailed maps and GPS tracks in the Macs Adventure smartphone navigation app
  • 24/7 Emergency telephone support from our office
Excluded
  • Travel to / from Glasgow
  • Bike hire is Unavailable
  • Lunches, dinners, drinks & snacks
  • Personal equipment
  • Travel insurance (required)
Extras
  • Additional nights along the route
  • Transfers from Glasgow to Edinburgh

When To Go

The Scottish Coast to Coast by MTB is available from March to October. You can start your holiday on any date in the season. Option prices will be displayed as part of the booking process.

Getting to the Start

Our standard pickup with your bikes is at 9:00am on day 1 of your trip at Glasgow Airport, City Centre or your hotel in (Central) Glasgow. We will drop you and your bikes off at 14:00 on day 7 of your trip at Glasgow Airport, your hotel in Central Glasgow or the train station.

We are able to pickup/dropoff at other locations such as Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Edinburgh or Edinburgh Airport for an additional charge.

Getting to/from Glasgow

Glasgow is well served by public transport including bus, train and plane.

Parking in Glasgow

If you are driving to Glasgow the best option is generally to book a stay and park deal at one of the Glasgow Airport Hotels. You can then overnight, leave your car at the secure airport parking and we will collect you from your airport hotel. Dropping you back at the end of your trip.

Baggage Transfer

Your bags will be transferred from your accommodation as per your itinerary and moved onto your next overnight accommodation. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20 kg per person.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.

General Information

Unfortunately, due to Covid19 and the global pandemic, we are no longer able to offer bike hire on this tour. The tour is only bookable if you are able to bring your own bikes.

Equipment

A mountain bike in good condition is essential. Most riders prefer riding an XC type bike although everything from a hardtail to all mountain will be fine.

Your information pack has a detailed suggested equipment list which includes standard mountain biking gear such as helmet, cycling clothes, warm and waterproof clothes and a daypack.

Bike Hire is NOT on offer on this trip: Unfortunately, as a result of the pandemic the local suppliers for bike hire are no longer open and we are unable to offer bike hire for this trip.

Travel Insurance

It is a requirement of booking this tour with Macs Adventure that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the activity and emergency evacuation and hospital care.
How fit do I need to be?
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We are no longer able to offer Bike Hire on this tour

Itinerary

Day 1 Fort William to Spean Bridge 13 miles / 20 km Day 2 Spean Bridge to Laggan 31 miles / 50 km Day 3 Laggan to Aviemore 34 miles / 54 km Day 4 Aviemore to Tomintoul 30 miles / 48 km Day 5 Tomintoul to Ballater 26 miles / 48 km Day 6 Ballater to Edzell 41 miles / 66 km Day 7 Edzell to Montrose 13 miles / 20 km

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