scottish highlands

munro_9

looking to take my son cycling in the summer, planning 2/3 nights up north (scotland that is) but looking for some ideas as to where to go. Planning to stay in youth hostels . Either road (quiet) or cyletracks. Anyone any ideas?

priory

Huntly in Aberdeenshire is set among lots of little quiet lanes and is a very pleasant little town with bandb's

http://www.huntly.net/
http://www.roomfinderscotland.co.uk/map ... townid=433
and the campsite is really good with clean showers etc ( I stayed last year and it had an award for best campsite in scotland) if you want to rough it

TerryJ

RonL

There are many routes, it depends how remote, rural, cultural or urban you wish to go. Sustrans has several maps on various recognised routes, the borders are close to the south and offer many quiet roads but hostels are limited. Contact SHA for a guide booklet of the hostels. You could use one as a base and do day trips or travel between a new site daily.
The North sea cycle route is also another option but hostels may be sparse.
Scotrail dont charge for bikes on trains ond providing you book well in advance you could get as far North as Wick or Inverness and travel between by bike.
Options are enormous, also depends on the age of your son as to distance travelled daily terrain etc.

chasctc

Not much to go on. Check out both the official (www.syha.org.uk) and independent (www.hostel-scotland.co.uk) hostels.

The Borders are well documented by the local tourist board. You might use the hostels at Broadmeadows, Melrose and Kirk Yetholm for a mini-tour and just over the border are other hostels (Kielder, Bellingham, Byrness, Wooler, Monthooley, etc).

Further north I'd suggest a fixed base as you've only 2/3 days. If Glen Affric Backpackers is still open in Cannich, you could visit the glens (affric, cannich, strachfarrar) and/or plodda falls; all are dead end. Inverness is only 30 miles away if the weather turns nasty.