Alvie – a Night Zip Through the Floodlit Gorge
A few hours.
The route
On the Alvie Estate, a few miles south of Aviemore, G2 Outdoor lights its Zip Adventure course with hundreds of coloured lights over the waterfalls, cliffs and pines of the Alvie Gorge.
You fly through it in the dark from wire to wire, finishing on the Zip Tower by head torch alone, and supper is a short drive away in Aviemore. It suits adventurous adults and older children who are happy steering themselves along the wires.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Park Cottage in Kincraig, 4 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Fri 23 Oct to Sun 25 Oct.
Book Night Zip Adventure at G2 Outdoor Adventure Hub
Book a Night Zip Adventure session at G2 Outdoor Adventure Hub in its online calendar before you go, £52 a head at the time of writing, ages 10 and over (under-13s with an adult on the course), running from October to January; pick a session that ends in time for supper in Aviemore, where the last dinner seating is at 8.45pm.
The day
Alvie
Zip wires through a lit-up forest above the Alvie Gorge, the last one by head torch, then a warm supper in Aviemore.
About three and a half hours
G2 Outdoor Adventure Hub
The G2 Adventure Hub is at the Hatchery on the Alvie Estate. Turn in from the B9152, not the A9, and follow the G2 Outdoor signs once you're on the estate, as sat navs can be a little random here. The Night Zip Adventure uses the Zip Adventure course, lit with hundreds of coloured lights over the waterfalls, cliffs and forest of the Alvie Gorge. The last ride, out of the trees onto the Zip Tower, is by head torch alone. It takes an hour to an hour and a half and costs £52 a head at the time of writing; book a session in G2's online calendar. It's self-guided and more of a workout than the daytime Zip Trek, starting with a 10-minute walk uphill on a forest path. On the wires you steer and slow yourself with your arms, stand up unaided at the end of each one, and sometimes pull yourself the last few metres. It's for ages 10 and over. Under-13s need an adult on the course with them, two children at most to each adult, and 13 to 18s can zip on their own while an adult waits on site. The weight limit is 120 kg. Dress warmly, in layers you can move in. The forest path and the wires are not for wheelchairs.
15 min by car
The Cairngorm Hotel
Supper
Supper is at the Cairngorm Hotel on Grampian Road in Aviemore, opposite the station, about 15 minutes' drive north. The restaurant opens every day, with the main menu from noon and the last dinner seating at 8.45pm, so pick a zip session that leaves time for it. Walk-ins are welcome, or book a table online; if it's full, have a drink in the bar while they find you one. There's a kids' menu, dogs are welcome in the restaurant, and it takes cards only. The Winking Owl further along Grampian Road also serves food from noon; ring ahead for its kitchen's evening hours.
If it rains
The zip is out in the forest in any weather, so dress warmly in layers and a waterproof; supper at the hotel is indoors.
Photographs by Hamish Barbour and Derek Erquhart via Google