Birse Castle

This is another fine route in Glen Tanar, which was primarily devised to gain swift access to the bottom of the Fungle road. With this section of fine singletrack ridden there are loads of options for lengthening the ride by looping back round Baudy Meg and down towards Tanar House.

The words describe the first time we rode the route, in March 2006. The photos are from David and Lynda's ride in April 2007.

Lynda crossing the river at Birse Castle

David on the Fungle road

The end of Fungle singletrack

From Aboyne it was a very flat warm up for a couple of miles on the quiet B976. Shortly after crossing the Burn of Birse we turned off onto a 4WD track and the climbing started. This fairly inauspicious looking hill proved to be a bit of a beast, and shortly after round a tight hairpin it got worse. Here we turned onto a path much less travelled and scrambled through the last section of forest.

Once in the open we turned left (declining the rougher, more direct route over Carnferg to the right) and descended very quickly on the rocky track to Glencat farm. Through the farmyard there was a long climb and fast descent to Birse Castle. Things can be a bit confusing here, but we learnt from previous mistakes and found the narrow bridge over the Water of Feugh, avoiding a chilly paddle.

Having climbed the first steep section past the castle we stopped for a mug of coffee and some homemade flapjacks, admiring the view all the way down the length of the Fungle road.

Back on the bikes we finished the short climb and were soon at the head of the singletrack. The trail was un-seasonally dry and as much fun as ever. With the adrenalin still pumping at the Guard, we decided to take the longer route home. Turning left, the initial climb wasn't as bad as we feared. I then tried, mainly unsuccessfully, to keep up with David on the boulder strewn descent to a small ford. At the stream two bikers were resting. With an audience we ploughed on through the water, which thankfully wasn't too deep, and up the tricky climb to Baudy Meg.

Again we shunned a couple of turnings that would take us back to Aboyne, before finally descending into Glen Tanar. The roller coaster descent seemed to go on forever despite the high speed we were traveling at. A few rocks, roots and water bars provided good excuses to get some air.

Like the start of the day, there was an easy warm down along the East bank of the Tanar and plenty of time discuss a good ride.

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