This round trip route leaves Dundee and heads into the beautiful Scottish countryside on the B961. After about 30 minutes of leaving and 100m before crossing the Brechin Bridge you can take a small left turn and follow it for three and a half miles to visit Davidson Cottage.
Davidson Cottage is the restored home of William C Davidson, father of the founding sons of Harley Davidson. The cottage is restored to how it would have been in 1857.
The Davidsons left in 1857, bound for America. William C. Davidson built the famous 10 foot by 15 foot shed for his sons to start the company that has become a world famous brand.
There are several artefacts at the cottage including bricks from the original Juneau Ave building in Milwaukee and a chain link from the plaza at Sturgis. Davidson Cottage has a website where you can read more about this unassuming Scottish cottage and even book to stay there. I have included a link below.
You'll cross over the River South Esk on the Brechin Bridge, one of the oldest stone bridges in Scotland that dates, in parts, from the mid 17th century, although a bridge here can be dated back to the early 13th Century. It is locally known as the "Auld Bridge". Only the size of a small town, Brechin is actually a city on account of it's medieval cathedral. The cathedral is famed for it's tall eleventh century round tower which is one of only two such towers surviving in Scotland.
Just a few miles further on and you'll pass under an arch. The Dalhousie Arch which straddles the road at the entrance to the village was built by tenants of the Dalhousie Estate in 1889 to commemorate the deaths of the Earl and Countess of Dalhousie who had been held in high esteem. There's another arch to pass under at Fettercairn. Fettercairn Royal Arch is more elaborate and was erected in 1864, at a cost of £250, to celebrate an overnight stay in the village by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in September 1861. Fettercairn also has it's own distillery. Founded by Sir Alexander Ramsay in 1824, Fettercairn is a Highland distillery known for the innovative cooling rings on its pot stills and its distinctly fruity and savoury spirit.
The road begins to narrow as you ride into the eastern side of the Cairngorms and the landscape becomes more hilly. Join the Old Military Road at Clattering Bridge and climb the Cairn o' Mount.
Cairn o' Mount is the name of a prehistoric round cairn, it is also the name of the 455m hill the cairn stands on, and to the road that crosses the hill, passing close to its summit and the cairn that stands on it. The undulating road is a joy to ride with a mixture of open moorland and pine forests.
A nice photo stop is at the Falls of Feugh. Turn right just before crossing the River Dee into Banchory to visit the falls. If you are lucky you can watch salmon climb the natural leap as they make their way up the Falls during spawning season. The best months for spotting salmon leap are September to November and February to March.
The Alford Bistro at Alford is a great place to stop for a coffee or bite to eat as you reach the northern extremity of this round trip route.
The Cairngorms National Park is soon reached after leaving Alford. The Cairngorms National Park is hugely diverse; it is a living, working landscape from the wild high mountains, to the heather moorlands and peatlands, to the magnificent forests, the farms and crofts, and the wetlands and rivers which wind through the floodplains making it a magical landscape to ride through.
The Gairnshiel Bridge originally formed part of the network of military roads in the region built by General Caulfield. It now carries the modern A939 public road which follows the line of the older road. This steeply arched bridge was built in 1751 and crosses the River Gairn with lovely views and photo opportunities.
The route joins tha A93 at Balmoral and follows the River Dee to Braemar. The scenery is breathtaking, it's no wonder that the royal family chose this area to have one of their private residences here.
The Cairnwell Pass is a mountain pass on the A93 between Braemar, Aberdeenshire and Glen Shee, Perthshire. The border between the two counties crosses the summit of the pass. With a summit altitude of 670 m, the Cairnwell Pass is the highest main road in the United Kingdom, and at the summit is the Glenshee Ski Centre, Scotland's largest and oldest ski centre. Historically, the pass was a drover's route from the Lowlands to the Highlands. I have suggested another coffee stop at the ski centre. The Cairnwell Pass is one of those roads that you just want to ride again and again and again.
The landscape begins to soften the further south you travel on the A93 and by the time you turn off the road at the old mill towns of Blairgowrie and Rattray you're back into the beautiful Scottish countryside all the way back to Dundee.
Enjoy.