Alvie – the Zip Trek over the Gorge
A few hours.
The route
G2 Outdoor's Zip Trek sends you along 12 zip wires through the Caledonian pinewood above the Alvie Gorge, over two kilometres of wire in all, with a guide beside you the whole way.
The first five wires are short and teach you how it works; the last two are 350 and 550 metres long, and G2 calls the second Scotland's longest. Lunch is in Kincraig, about 12 minutes' drive away. It's a thrill for families with children from eight.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Zip Trek at G2 Outdoor Adventure Hub
Book the Zip Trek at G2 Outdoor Adventure Hub in its online calendar before you go, £52 a head at the time of writing, two hours, ages 8 and over (under-13s with an adult on the course), for a morning session that leaves lunch in Kincraig after it.
The day
Alvie
Two hours flying from tree to tree over the gorge with a guide at your side, then a warm lunch among the paintings in Kincraig.
About three and a half hours
G2 Outdoor Adventure Hub
The G2 Adventure Hub is at the Hatchery on the Alvie Estate, a few miles south of Aviemore. Turn in from the B9152, not the A9, and follow the G2 Outdoor signs on the estate, as sat navs can be a little random here. The Zip Trek runs all year, takes two hours and costs £52 a head at the time of writing; book in G2's online calendar. A guide runs a short safety talk and lets everyone practise on a demo wire. Then it's a 10 to 20-minute walk uphill on a forest path to the start. On the bigger wires the guide works the brakes, but you steer and slow yourself with your arms, stand up unaided at the end of each wire, and may need to pull yourself the last bit on the long ones. In high wind the last wire may be swapped for the Tower Zip. It's for ages 8 and over; under-13s need an adult on the course with them, two children at most to each adult. The weight limit is 120 kg, and they check. The forest path and the wires are not for wheelchairs.
12 min by car
The Old Post Office Café Gallery
Lunch
Lunch is at the Old Post Office Café Gallery at 1 Braeriach Road in Kincraig, a small café with art on its walls, about 12 minutes' drive from the hub. It usually opens from 10am (10.30am on Sundays) to 4pm, and shuts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the nearest other places to eat are back in Aviemore. It's said to welcome dogs and children; ring ahead to check, and to check its hours over Christmas and New Year.
If it rains
The Zip Trek runs outdoors in most weather, so wear waterproofs; in high wind the last wire may be swapped for the Tower Zip. The café is indoors.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Aviemore.
Photograph by Valentin Corodeanu via Google