errrr, bikes and scenery and err, aye the usual
 

Working nights, four hours kip and then oot.

On the way up Mona Gowan.


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Old military bridge at Strathdon

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Jim heading down Mona Gowan. It was while taking this photo that I had the bike on the side stand - obviously not very well on the side stand - It was windy and the bike went over onto heather. All I can say is DON'T BUY TOURATECH HAND GUARDS if you want to protect your levers - aye really good for weather protection but otherwise forget it.
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Jubilee Cairn (1887) on Mona Gowan
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Again on the way up Mona Gowan
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And Again
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And again
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Coffee time in the wind and showers. The stone monster rises.
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Strathdon area

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Good day, warm but a bit wet in places.

It was a crackin day min.

Looks great, thanks for sharing.

Chaps - I've looked to locate legal trail rides in Scotland, and to be honest I've failed to identify any.

Are these trail free to the public, or is permision available from land owners - what is the score on this ?

or, do you just ride...

Good luck with that one I've never heard a definitive answer to trail riding north of the border.

From a legal view it's completely different to England, byways etc don't exist in Scotland, I'm not sure the "offroady" bits of RTA apply either, but can't be certain on this, and the trespass laws are definitely different.

Unless you're causing damage then there's little they can do to stop you other then tell you to booger off, although I've never yet argued with someone holding a shotgun.

Me neither :viking:

Gotta keep trying though......

Looks great, Ian, and you had the weather on your side too by the looks of it!

Hello guys,

This is how I understand it and how we go about it.

There are no tresspass laws for walkers as long as you have an intended destination. So on foot - the world is your oyster.

With wheeled vehicles - its totally different and to get the true story as far as legal access is like swimming the channel in doc martins whilst reading the financial times. Even the authorities will admit that its confusing and don't seem to have a clue.
A lot of the land/wilderness is privately owned, usually by some banker in London who makes his money out of renting out the land so that anybody with enough cash can blast the sh1t out of slow moving defenceless birds. Otherwise it is owned by the local Laird whose family has run the estate for generations. Which one do I prefer - well think you can guess. OK so as far as access is concerned we have never approached a land owner in advance - mainly because it is rare that we plan things in advance - we like the spontaneous approach. If there is a track leading off a tarmac road we will go up it. If there is an unlocked gate we will open it and close it behind us. If there is a locked gate or a sign that says no entry or private we don't attempt to open it.
Where we meet anybody on these tracks we stop for a chat whoever it is - the landowner/gamekeeper/walkers etc - preferably with helmet off! We are polite and friendly with everybody we meet. We have only been asked to leave once in say four years - and that was because some idiots had been in that area and had ripped the hillside up and had not kept to the tracks. A lot of tracks are landrover type gravel tracks - these are used by the estates people and we will not damage them by riding a bike over them.
Some tracks were old public roads and so to me are fair game rightly or wrongly.
Perhaps the difference to South of the border is that this is not what people think of as the traditional farming land - its f..king wild - you are not endangering crops - you aren't in some sort of regulated queue of motorbikes with a pass in your hand. You respect the land and the people you find on it - you are sensible about what land you cross.
Yes its open to interpretation and can be spoiled by the idiots but at the moment it works for me. I suppose if I was to plan ahead and a long route in the high Highlands for instance then perhaps I would contact the land owner and ask for permission.

wonderful pics Fiddich....keep 'em coming......

Of course you know what the answer would be if you asked a landowner so what he doesn't know surely won't harm him ? We keep a low profile and don't act like idiots and there are only two of us or often anly one. We switch off and coast downhill and don't show a light if possible etc. Out of sight, out of mind.