Escaping Summer Football Frenzy: Bike-Camping Across Scotland – Intro.

With the arrival of early summer, conversation and media coverage tend to revolve around international football championships. For many, this is a season of excitement, but I have never shared the general enthusiasm for football. Instead, I have found my own way to bypass the annual hype.

To avoid the predictable football fever, I began a tradition: gathering my gear and heading out for bike-camping adventures. This personal ritual has given me a focus and a sense of freedom for more than a decade now.

Through these trips, I have travelled nearly every part of mainland Scotland on two wheels, journeying end-to-end, side to side, and across diagonals. Each route has revealed the unique landscapes and valleys that make Scotland an extraordinary place to explore.

As the years pass, I am determined to approach these adventures wholeheartedly. In Summer 2025, I undertook an epic journey: a bike-camping route spanning the Six River Valleys of Scotland’s East Coast, lasting around forty days from June into July.

The adventure began at Berwick upon Tweed, tracing the River Tweed all the way upstream past Tweedsmuir. From there, I crossed the country to the Forth’s headwaters and followed its valley downstream. Onward from North Queensferry, I crossed Fife to the Tay Bridge, before cycling and camping through the Tay valley all the way up to the head of Glen Lyon.

Due to the dangers of the A82 to Tyndrum, that marked my furthest point up the Tay valley. The journey continued via the Hydro Board road to Killin and along Loch Tay’s southern shore, passing Kenmore, Aberfeldy, and Ballinluig en-route to Pitlochry. The route around the southern Cairngorms to Braemar was especially tough with a heavily loaded bike.

Next came the Dee valley, descending to Aberdeen, where I took a well-deserved rest day to change bikes and repack. Then I set off along the Moray Coast.

The fifth river valley was the Spey, which I explored from its mouth to nearly its source high in the mountains. Each valley had its own character, but the Spey stood out as a favourite. The Corrieyairack Pass proved to be the most challenging segment of the trip, rising as it does, to 770m.

From Fort Augustus, I followed the Great Glen to Drumnadrochit, though sadly, Nessie remained elusive. The final leg took me up to Glen Affric hostel deep in the mountains. From there, I descended along the Affric, which becomes the River Glass and later the Beauly, ending the journey in the small town of Beauly.

This basic route outline merely introduced the journey. Early on, I faced several heavy downpours, and my bike broke down just past halfway. Along the way, I met many kind people and enjoyed Scotland’s diverse landscapes. Climbing hills on a loaded bike was particularly challenging for me as an advanced septuagenarian. Each camping spot offered something new, and finding places to camp sometimes required creative solutions. Unexpected encounters, generous hospitality, generally good weather, and, in the final week, the support of a crew, all made the trip memorable.

Here I should nail my colours to the mast, or handlebars perhaps; this whole venture was a charity fundraiser for our Maasai Girls Education Project, so please stay tuned.

From drama to (potential) disaster, and delight, watch out for more.