A ROUND ABOVE ROTHES

A circular route on some very nice and grassy forestry tracks and a good view at the end. The only problem is that there is no obvious parking place to start from in Rothes.

Location: Ardcanny and Conerock woods to the west of Rothes

Map: Landranger #28: Elgin and Dufftown

Distance: Eight miles, two and a half hours.

Going: Generally on very nice and soft grassy forestry tracks, some open moorland tracks are a bit rougher.

Access & Parking: There is a small muddy area where you can park, with room for two trailers, at the end of the public road at NJ 259465, just off the B9102 Archiestown road.

From the parking area follow the forestry road northwards. After half a mile you go downhill past a ruin and turn left just after the field. The road goes steeply downhill, crosses a burn and climbs steeply again. Carry straight on ahead along a grassy track leaving the main forest road where it takes a very sharp turn to the right. (The main forestry road is not shown on the map after this junction). After two hundred yards, turn right at a cross roads and follow this grassy track for the next two miles. Ignore the minor track on your right.

The bridge over the burn of Rothes is slippery so it is safest to dismount and lead across. Steeply uphill to the junction where you turn left and follow the main forest road downhill for a mile. A quarter of a mile before the forest gate the road bends sharply to the left and a narrow track leads off to the right. Follow this track carefully as it is quite badly eroded in places. After a few hundred yards you come out of the forestry and follow a good path uphill, continue straight on past the track on the left to the radio mast and follow downhill through two gates. Turn left after the second gate; ride slowly past Allacrow house, keeping off the mown grass, and follow the track downhill past another padlocked gate back to the parking area.

There are many other tracks you can explore in this forest; quite a few are dead ends but there are several loops in the Wood of Conerock immediately to the south of Rothes.

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