Ride - Scotland, Glen Avon
Where
This is my sixth ride to or amongst the ancient pinewoods of Scotland. I’ve ridden the four parts of the Deeside group closest to Banchory where I’m living at the moment. Those are Glen Ferick and the Finlets, Glen Tanar, Ballochbuie and Mar.
Glen Avon is part of the Speyside group. From this group, I’ve previously ridden Abernethy, the largest stand of old pines in the country. The Glen Avon pines number less than 10. They are easy to get to from Tomintoul by following the gravel and paved single-track road on the east (?) side of the River Avon up-stream. The Builg Burn flows into the Avon about seven to eight miles from the Queens Overlook car park. The track continues up the Builg Burn for a few hundred yards and than a footbridge crosses the burn back towards Glen Avon. The pines are to be found at Linn of Avon (the pools below the waterfalls). The trees are hanging onto the rocks at either side of the river. I didn’t try to clamber through the heather to actually touch them because I was cold and didn’t like the look of the cliffs.
The first two shots below are from the drive from Banchory to Tomintoul. The third shows the flat and wide nature of the valley floor through which the river Avon flows, hence the name Strath Avon. Pictures four to six are of the area of the old pines. Four looks up-stream and I think shows the Linn of Avon. Five and six are looking downstream towards the pines on the edge of the river. The pines are enclosed within a deer-proof fence and it is hoped that by protecting them, they will be able to self seed and re-generate the forest.
The notice and maps are from the car park. They describe efforts underway to re-generate the traditional pine forests by fencing out the deer. You can see in the last picture just how much damage the deer cause. To the left of the fence the forest is obviously re-generating. To the right of the fence there are no trees or shrubs. Most of the Scottish Highlands look like the hill to the right of the fence. It’s an unnatural scene caused by too many deer.
Gallery
Gear and Nutrition
Nothing different today. I gave the chain a good lube before the ride and the gears changed without a hitch.