Final Report Prepared by Markus Stitz (Bikepacking Scotland) 30/11/2020

Summary

This final report of the Highland Perthshire Gravel Trails (launch phase) details the different stages of the project, and evaluates its success using the key findings of a route user survey and the feedback of local stakeholders about the project. The report further contains key analytics, the press coverage generated and a final summary from Highland Perthshire Cycling, The Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme and SSE as funders, as well as Bikepacking Scotland as the main contractor.

Most of the images used throughout the report were supplied by cyclists that enjoyed the Perthshire Gravel Trails since their launch and are used with their permission. For social media channels, press coverage and other useful information we have included links in the document.

Bikepacking Scotland and Highland Perthshire Cycling would like to thank everyone involved for their input into this report.

Markus Stitz, Founder, Bikepacking Scotland Mike Stead, Trustee, Highland Perthshire Cycling

The launch in November 2019 on a frosty day near Dunkeld. Picture: Markus Stitz

The Project

Launched in November 2019, the first phase of the Perthshire Gravel Trails finished on 30 November 2020. This report will detail the key analytics from the variety of online channels that have been created during that phase to promote and host the 10 different gravel routes and bikepacking routes that have been published since then.

The Perthshire Gravel Trails Project started in November 2019, after the fundraising ​ efforts of Highland Perthshire Cycling, who secured £25,000 from The Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme and SSE. The project was administered by Highland Perthshire Cycling trustee Mike Stead and Kat Brown, with the majority of the development, research and promotional work carried out by Markus Stitz of Bikepacking Scotland.

To communicate effectively, in the first phase the website perthshiregravel.com and a ​ newsletter were set up, and public consultations in Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Comrie and Aberfeldy were scheduled for December 2019. An online user survey was carried during that first phase, receiving 215 responses from 11 November 2020 to 3 December 2020. The consultations and online survey were published with a press release and a social media campaign, which generated initial coverage about the project in regional and national press.

The results from the online survey and feedback from the four public consultations guided further research and route mapping in December and January 2020. After mapping a variety of routes in different parts of Highland Perthshire with the help of Komoot, OS Maps and Garmin Basecamp, a selection was made in February and March 2020. The routes were tested on the ground and adjusted where necessary. The proximity to public transport was a key criteria to select starting points for the different routes. Detailed images of the routes were taken to guide the selection. Simultaneously a 330km bikepacking route was mapped and tested alongside the day routes, in parts overlapping with those. This phase finished just before the announcement of a national lockdown to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the end of March 2020.

The next step was to develop a grading chart for the different routes to make a final ​ selection of 10 day routes. One easy, two straightforward, three challenging and three expert routes were finalised. Route descriptions and downloadable GPX files were created and images selected to give users an idea what to expect and also attract new visitors. All routes and further information were uploaded on perthshiregravel.com and the Highland ​ Perthshire Gravel Komoot profile. The first easing of lockdown restrictions allowed for ​ ​ professional work being carried out again, so the next phase commenced. Markus Stitz spent 4 days filming on various locations in Highland Perthshire to produce a short feature film, still images and a short video teaser to promote the routes. A logo and flyer were also created. Twitter and Instagram accounts were created as additional social media channels.

After the further easing of lockdown restrictions the film ‘Drovers’ and the network of ​ ​ routes were launched on 15 July 2020. 'Drovers' tells the story of the ancient drove roads, an important part of Highland Perthshire, which inspired Scotland's greatest writers like Burns and Scott. The film was at the heart of a marketing campaign which used creative storytelling and led to awareness of the routes and Highland Perthshire, a large amount of positive publicity about the project and steady growth in the usage of the website, newsletter subscribers and followers on social media channels. The Bikepacking Scotland social media channels were used to boost the campaign, and played a crucial part in its success.

The evaluation of the project formed the final phase of the project. As face to face surveys were difficult to carry out due to the short season and impending lockdown restrictions, users could provide their feedback in another online survey, which was open from 8 September to 20 November 2020 and received 149 replies. In addition key stakeholders’ opinions were gathered by email and (socially distanced) in person, and the key analytics from website and social media channels compiled and evaluated. The findings are presented in this report, alongside links to the media coverage and a final resume from funders, Highland Perthshire Cycling and Bikepacking Scotland.

Picture: Paul

Key Analytics (as of 30 November 2020)

● perthshiregravel.com had 15,937 users and 71,508 page views since 28 Nov 2019, with users spending an average of 2:54 minutes on the site ● The newsletter has 923 subscribers, with an average open rate of 62.2% and an ​ average click rate of 21.6% ● @perthshiregravl has 610 followers on Twitter, with around 25,000 impressions per ​ month ● @perthshiregravel has 388 followers on Instagram ​ ● Since its release, ‘Drovers’ has had 15,100 views 30,700 impressions, and is the ​ ​ ​ second most successful Bikepacking Scotland film ● The video teaser, released in July 2020, had 3,700 views on Facebook, a further ​ ​ 1,019 views and 1,949 impressions on Instagram and 910 views and 1,700 impressions on YouTube ● The launch video, released in November 2019, had 1,200 views and 5,000 ​ ​ impressions

Picture: Peter Bevan

Press coverage

The launch of the project in November 2019 and the launch of the gravel trail network and film ‘Drovers’ have attracted a large amount of coverage, both online and in print, totalling 36 articles that were published until 30 November 2020. Below is a selection of all online coverage to date, also mentioning which articles have also been published in print. There is an additional article in the Courier, which was only published in print.

● 14 Dec 2020 - UK Hillwalking - Bikepacking the John Muir Way and Following ​ ​ ​ Drovers in Perthshire (not yet public) ● 27 Nov 2020 - Cyclingtips - Unhurried: The joy of slowing down ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 25 Nov 2020 - Bike Bild - Schottland: Ohne Eile ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 20 October 2020 – Red Bull – 10 of the best bikepacking routes in Scotland ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 20 October 2020 – Red Bull – 10 of the best gravel routes in Scotland ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 23 Sep 2020 – bikepacking.com – The Complete Guide to Bikepacking Scotland ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 21 Sep 2020 – Advntr.cc – Short film: Drovers, perthshiregravel.com ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 15 Sep 2020 – Daily Record – Perth and Kinross residents asked to share their tales ​ ​ ​ ​ of new bike trails ● 8 Sep 2020 – VCGH Blog – The Perthshire Drovers’ Trail ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 1 Sep 2020 – Velo Journal – Viehtreiber auf zwei Rädern ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 31 Aug 2020 – inews – Cycling holidays: How to organise a bikepacking adventure, ​ ​ ​ ​ from novices to pros (also published in print) ​ ​ ● 12 Aug 2020 – The Guardian – How to take a cycling holiday this year despite the ​ ​ ​ ​ pandemic ● 1 Aug 2020 – Scotland Correspondent – Trails of History and Adventure ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 30 Jul 2020 – Thüringer Allgemeine (Germany) – 331 Kilometer durch Highland ​ ​ ​ ​ Perthshire in Schottland (also published in print) ​ ​ ● 24 Jul 2020 – Gearminded – A 331-km-Long Gravel Bikepacking Route In Scotland: ​ ​ ​ ​ The Drovers ● 24 Jul 2020 – Daily Record – Historic 331km-long bikepacking route through ​ ​ ​ ​ Perthshire is the star of new video (also published in print) ​ ● 23 Jul 2020 – ukgravelbike.club – Drovers – New film from Bikepacking Scotland ​ ​ ​ ​ tells the story of ancient drove roads ● 22 Jul 2020 – Radavist – Drovers ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 22 Jul 2020 – Chainslapmag – Drovers ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 22 Jul 2020 – Yellow Jersey The Draft – Staycation: 5 cycling routes around ​ ​ ​ ​ Scotland ● 21 Jul 2020 – Ciclismo Máster – Drovers. Gravel en estado puro por Escocia ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 20 Jul 2020 – Adventure Journal – Scottish Charm Meets Scottish Gravel on These ​ ​ ​ ​ Ancient Cattle Roads ● 17 Jul 2020 – Capovelo – Bikepacking Scotland’s Drovers Trail ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 17 Jul 2020 – Bikerumor – Friday Roundup: Bikepacking Drovers & Bears Ears, Ride ​ ​ ​ ​ Together, Win Bombtrack, POC, Rapha & more! ● 17 Jul 2020 – Scottish Field – Film follows the drovers’ trail through Perthshire ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 17 Jul 2020 – The Overland/Morvelo – Introducing The Drovers Trail. A new ​ ​ ​ ​ 331-km-long gravel bikepacking route in Scotland ● 16 Jul 2020 – road.cc – Terrific video highlights gravel cycling routes on Scotland’s ​ ​ ​ ​ ancient drovers’ trails ● 16 Jul 2020 – Rough Ride Guide – Perthshire Gravel Website ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 16 Jul 2020 – Apidura Journal – Drovers ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 16 July 2020 – Singletrack/grit.cx – Eleven Free Gravel GPX Routes Plotted In ​ ​ ​ ​ Perthshire ● 16 Jul 2020 – The Courier – New film tells the story of ancient drove roads and ​ ​ ​ ​ launches guide to off-road cycling in Highland Perthshire (also published in print) ​ ​ ● 15 Jul 2020 – Kinesis UK Blog – Drovers, gravel and loads of smiles ​ ​ ​ ​ ● 25 Nov 2019 – The National – New gravel bikepacking trails set to boost tourism in ​ ​ ​ ​ Highlands (also published in print) ​ ​ ● 21 Nov 2019 – off-road.cc – Highland Perthshire Cycling secures investment for the ​ ​ ​ ​ Gravel Trails Project ● 14 Nov 2019 – The Courier – Project to map Perthshire moorland in bid to boost ​ ​ ​ ​ cycle tourism gets underway (also published in print) ​ ​ ● 14 Nov 2019 – Cycling Industry News – Perthshire seeks to become UK gravel bike ​ ​ ​ ​ capital with fresh investment

Picture: Markus Stitz

Route User Survey Results

To evaluate the success of the project from a user perspective we conducted a survey, which was promoted through a variety of social media channels and the local press. The survey was open from 8 September until 20 November 2020 and received a total of 149 responses. Given the short time frame from the launch, this can be considered a good turnout. The survey consisted of a variety of open and closed questions, with the results listed below.

Where did you find out about the routes?

● perthshiregravel.com website (83.7%) ● bikepackingscotland.com website (37.2%) ● Twitter (22.1%) ● Facebook (17.4%) ● Friends and family (11.6%) ● YouTube Drovers video (10.5%) ● Instagram (7%) ● Google search (5.8%)

Do you have any suggestions for future improvements?

● PDF maps ● Waterproof route cards ● More routes/more routes beyond established ones/more routes that ‘surprise’ ● Better signage of the routes ● Better identification of significant hazards ● Improvements of infrastructure (bridging water crossing wherever possible) ● Filter option for bogs/heather ● State suitability for hybrid e-bikes/mountain bikes ● Avoidance of hike-a-bike sections/steep gradients/boggy sections ● State suitability in changing weather conditions ● More detailed route descriptions, including landmarks for navigation, more pictures, terrain description, alternative car parks along the route, alternative routes, clearly state which sections are more suitable for mountain bikes ● Presentation on platforms like Strava, OS Maps, Viewranger, Ride With GPS ● Extending to neighbouring areas like the Angus Glens ● Separating distance/remoteness from technicality in the grading ● Should be billed as MTB routes, too technical for gravel bikes ● More precise GPS tracks on remote sections ● Linking routes between each other ● Create Perth to Dunkeld route on existing trails ● Present routes by grading rather than look at every individual route to see its grade (done)

Picture: Chris Martin

In which country do you live (60 responses)?

● England 10% ● Scotland 65% ● UK 25%

What are the first three digits of your postcode?

● Variety of postcodes, but EH1 with 7 mentions is the most mentioned, followed by EH12, EH2, EH5, FK1, G63, KY1, NE11

How many days did you stay in the area?

● 0 days (8.3%) ● 1 day (25%) ● 2 days (15%) ● 3 days (6.7%) ● 4 days (11.7%) ● 5 days (13.3%) ● 6 days (6.7%) ● 7 days (5%) ● 8 or more days (8.3%)

Average stay: 3.7 days

How much (in £) did you spend in the region when cycling the routes?

● Lowest £0, highest £1,000

Average spend: £176.73 What types of accommodation do you use?

● Wild camping/bivvy (48.1%) ● Serviced campsites (21.2%) ● Hotel (17.3%) ● Self-Catering (15.4%) ● Bed and Breakfast (13.5%) ● Home (13.5%) ● Guesthouse (11.5%) ● Campervan (11.5%) ● Hostel (9.6%) ● Bothy/shelter (7.7%) ● Family/friends (5.8%) ● Bunkhouse (3.8%)

Picture: John Madden

Your personal story (individual user feedback)

● It has given me routes that link up tracks I was already cycling. This has greatly enhanced my cycling enjoyment in my local area (Comrie). ● I used an electric bike and I was by myself. This was a really great adventure. I used Komoot for the first time, although I am an experienced hill walker, this route introduced me to many areas I had bypassed before, including Killiecrankie and the River Garry. ● Really enjoyed riding the suggested routes as day trips. Hope to come back and possibly do a multi-day route. The deserted Duntanlich Weekend Grinder route was a particular highlight. ● Fantastic part of the world, and a great adventure for any year, but especially with Covid times. ● Cycled with my eldest son (21). Brilliant trip. ● Cycled Loch Ordie and Hermitage routes with Bycycle members. Helpful to know the steepness of the route. ● I have ridden the Duntanlich Mine Road fully once, and parts of it multiple times. It is stunning both for its elevation and the remoteness. It is not for the faint hearted as the climbs are steep and the downhill to Duntanlich is rough and rutted. From the mine end of the road there is a choice which makes for real interest. Go right to follow the Duntanlich Grinder. Go left and you cross the ridge to the Edradynate and Derculich Estates. The track down past Loch Reflexology is fun but can be a bit soggy. Take care if there is snow on the ground because there are some deep hollows which can bring you to a dead stop. This is a remote route so ensure you have an emergency repair kit. I had a broken chain at the summit of the ridge, resulting in a 5 mile push through snow drifts to a rendezvous for a pick up. Be warned but enjoy! ● Fantastic opportunity to explore a beautiful part of the country that sometimes you just drive through to get to other beautiful parts of the country! ● We came to the area for a week of cycling and walking, inspired at least in part by routes we'd seen on Perthshire Gravel. After convincing my partner to brave some of the longer and more challenging routes we had an amazing time; the scenery, particularly on Blair Atholl Bothy Trip, is absolutely stunning. We'll be back to tackle a few more routes soon!

Picture: Chris Martin ● My friend came up from Newcastle and we spent a day in Dunkeld on the routes and enjoyed a good lunch and pub supper before heading home. ● Great routes but some of the climbs were not for mere mortals and needed a lot of pushing especially loaded with gear, although I’m not sure they would be doable even without the gear! That said the locations and scenery they allowed you to get to were phenomenal, the idea and execution of the routes as day loops linked to main centres worked really, really well (especially when the weather turned & it was a 2 hour escape ride to a Pitlochry hotel, thanks!). All in all it was hard but worth every pedal turn.

Picture: Calum Fisher

● I had a fantastic 4 days cycling the drovers road loop, starting and finishing in Birnam, with 4 other friends. My highlight was the section all the way up Glen Fearnach, across to Falls of Tarf and down Glen Tilt. We didn't deviate from the main gravel track at the bottom of Glen Tilt, as we were having so much fun descending down it. The section from Trinafour across to the Queens View was also particularly rewarding, along with the descent towards Aberfeldy from the north. I listed £100 as what I spent in the region, but we probably spent more like £500 as a group. ● Really enjoyed the route. Highlight camping at Falls of Tarf, I have been on a lot of the trails before, it took me back to early 90s old school mountain biking. The only bit I was having a sense of humour failure was the heather bashing over to Lednock. ● First time we've tried a PG trail - Dunkeld Lochs. We are 2 mature riders (65+), one on heavy MTB. Dunkeld Lochs was 'Straightforward' - one steep section we walked but otherwise it was all very cyclable, and the descent to Butterstone just gets better and better! The route out of Dunkeld avoiding the main road is great and it feels remote very quickly. Lunch stop at Loch Ordie was just right. Looking forward to our next PG outing. Keep up the good work - more 'straightforward' routes would be good. ● This trip has inspired me to do a longer trip in the future and explore more of Scotland.

Picture: Howard Perkins

● The weather forecast was so good that I decided late on a Thursday night (18th Sept 2020) that I would head up to Crieff on the Friday and do the Drovers loop from there. The weather was indeed stunning, with no clouds and very little wind. I didn't get started till around midday and hadn't really appreciated how much climbing there was. The sun was setting as I was in the windfarm after Dunkeld and it became a race for the chippy in Pitlochry before it shut at 9pm. At about 8:45pm I had a rather comical incident with a stupidly small kissing gate in a deer fence. First attempt failed and I fell over my bike. Second attempt ended up with the front wheel jammed over the gate between the spokes resting on the disk . Strength to lift it off was fading rapidly so I had to eject the front bag and hope it didn’t roll too far! Managed to get it free, take the rear bag off too and then lift it over. When I say comical, it wasn’t for me. I had a sense of humour bypass at that point! I missed the chippy but got a large pizza as a consolation. I then must admit I skipped the off road bit out of Pitlochry and stuck to the A-road. It was quite late by this point and not a single car passed me. I stopped around midnight about 5km up Gleann Fearnach with the most amazing view of the Milky Way. Woke to an amazing sunrise and the lighting all the way to Fealar Lodge was just magical. Some more food in Blair Atholl and then an enjoyable but very hot climb over to Bruar Lodge. The river was so low I was tempted to cross immediately, but took the slow boggy track all the way to the Lodge. Time was again slipping by, so an early fish supper at House of Bruar and onwards. The sunset was great, but I was just too late by the time I got to the Queens view. It was completely dark by the time I left the road to find the track across the River Tummel - interesting route finding by torchlight! Rather than camp by the lochside (with the midges) I started the climb over towards Aberfeldy and camped as I cleared the tree line. What a great decision! I got up just before the dawn and was above a temperature inversion with the whole of Loch Tummel covered. The next section of the route was just stupendous in such conditions. My garmin told me it was -1 as I set off (I'd had 5 layers of clothes on while breaking camp) but it warmed so quickly that I was down to just 1 layer a couple of hours later. Unfortunately I descended into the temperature inversion for the section along the River Tay, but the sun came through having a late breakfast in Aberfeldy. A rather lazy afternoon along the shore of Loch Tay and then the climb over to Glen Lednock. The cloud came in for the HAB through the peat hags which again made navigation interesting! That was the end of the good weather for me and the rest of the route back to Crieff was overcast. I took around 56 hours which was a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I hadn't had the time to do that much research and was surprised by the amount of climbing. A fantastic trip though with some amazing views (I will try to post a few of my pictures). On a technical note, I did the ride on a gravel bike with 45c tyres. The biggest issue was the gearing, but there were probably only a couple of miles in total that I could have ridden on a mountain bike that I couldn't ride on the gravel bike.

Picture: Megan Davie

● Some of the route was fantastic, but in both cases there were too many sections that were unrideable, which puts me off going back or riding the other routes. ● Tough climb up the Duntanlich Mine Road, with the back wheel slipping and front lifting on occasion. The challenge is not to put a foot down! Dropped some pics in Dropbox and added a Strava segment from where the route joins the road (The Full Grind). ● Thanks for the website! I am from Newtonmore and in the past I have not really travelled south to cycle but these routes are great. It is really nice knowing that the tracks and the surface will be suitable for a gravel bike. Also Escape Route in Pitlochry had the most amazing cake, a great place to start and end our ride. Will definitely be checking more routes in the future. ● Mother and daughter (60 and 30 years) loved our Perthshire Gravel adventures. Would have liked to do some challenging routes without significantly increasing the technicality but in their absence we made up our own route for a mixed road/gravel circuit, Dunkeld - Aberfeldy - Dunkeld (visiting Cluny House Garden) and avoiding most of the A roads. It turned out to be a signposted route through the Griffin Forest and wind farm which also incorporated a short section (in reverse) of the bike packing route before rejoining the Hermitage route.

Picture: John Madden

● Excellent keep up the good work. ● My wife and I tackled the Blair Atholl Gravel Trail. My wife is a very inexperienced cyclist, we tried to follow the komoot app and after hitting the summit of Glen Tilt and descending back down towards Blair Atholl we took a wrong turn. This wasn’t a problem and we continued following our instincts and Strava. It became a great adventure and not overly difficult for a newbie. We eventually made it back to Glen Tilt car park only an hour or so later than planned. This is a fantastic trail and we have planned to tackle it again this month with a stay over in the caravan park , the views from Glen Tilt show Perthshire in its finest. ● My name is Tim and we have just completed the route in 3 days, staying in Pitlochry on the first two nights and Crieff on the third. There were so many spectacular areas. Some really rocky, tough descents, and some horrible bog crossings. I’d have to recommend it as an MTB route to anyone else but I would definitely recommend it nonetheless. Thanks! ● The route was beautiful and very remote. It could be incredibly tough at times but rewarding. The nature was amazing and we got to see a herd of red deer on a ridge outlined against the sky which eventually crossed our path. ● Can’t wait to return.

Picture: Karen Brown

● My mum and I had a fab time exploring new places and testing our gravel biking abilities on the Perthshire gravel trails. The three easiest routes were perfect for us to give us a sense of adventure, working hard and remoteness but without too much technicality. We loved the routes, and wouldn't have put them together ourselves, and even got some wild swims en route too! Thanks Perthshire Gravel! ● Breathtaking scenery, quiet solitude, escape. ● Although this route is possible on a gravel bike it is, in my opinion, more suitable for a mountain bike. The section from the highest point to the bothy is very steep at the start and rough and I would recommend at least one spare inner tube for gravel bikes! ● Great days out on well defined tracks with no vehicular traffic. ● I will be back. ● I've explored the local area way more since lockdown started, and the gravel trails website has been an inspiration for some of these trips. I've ended up using other resources as well, mainly to find routes with less tarmac, but it's a really great resource, and beautifully presented. It has given me the confidence to get out there and try routes which I've always wondered about- knowing that they are rideable makes all the difference. ● The region is a dream for mountain biking, gravel riding and bikepacking, and it's great that these routes have been curated specifically. If we weren't in a pandemic situation I would have stayed longer, perhaps in B&Bs and spent more locally.

Local Stakeholder Responses

The second part of the evaluation formed the collection of responses from local stakeholders that have engaged with the project in various stages. They were contacted by email or visited in person throughout November 2020 to gather their feedback and understand the effectiveness of the project to enhance the business opportunities for the local community.

Picture: Markus Stitz

‘The Gravel Trails Project uses a great network of existing trails. As a bike shop we've had people come to this area to ride those trails since we started 10 years ago, but promoting the network and the longer distance riding has brought a new, different kind of rider into the area, which has increased the number of people through our door and through doors of accommodation providers and food providers. The trails themselves are great and pretty resilient to all weather, so even though there's been an increase in numbers of riders, it hasn't affected the conditions of the trails, which has been great. We have seen an increase in enquiries and interest in our gravel bikes and our electric bikes to access the trails. We have just increased the number of touring/adventure bikes and gravel bikes within our hire fleet, with five arriving over the next couple of days. For the future, it would be great to have more introduction to gravel riding courses happening. Once things start getting back to normal and once we've got our bikes set up with panniers, bags, tents and all sorts of stuff, people can come and try the whole package. At the moment I think if you want to do overnighters out in the hills, there are some fantastic places, but dipping your toe into that is quite hard when you don't have any kit. Hiring a normal bike is very straightforward and easy, but hiring all that other side of things is something that we want to explore in the future. And there’s been a lot of talk on the electric side of things, about setting up charging stations around Perthshire and fast charge stations, so that people can do bigger loops on e-bikes, without worrying about running out of batteries in the hills.’ Adam Flint, Director, Progression Bikes, Dunkeld ​ ​ ​

‘Highland Perthshire is a magical part of Scotland that boasts some outstanding landscapes and nature. The Perthshire Gravel Trails, launched last November, puts the spotlight on some marvellous, relatively unknown routes of all different abilities, so there are trails for everyone. In times where nature experiences and activity outdoors is proving more popular than ever, it makes for a great addition to the nature-based tourism product in Scotland. Well done Highland Perthshire Cycling and Bikepacking Scotland.’ Doug ​ McAdam, Executive Chairman, Wild Scotland ​

‘The Perthshire Gravel Trails is a great initiative to encourage this type of cycling locally. Perthshire has a fantastic range of biking opportunities - road cycling from the gentle to the extreme, downhill trails in friendly surroundings like Comrie Croft and all around Dunkeld, great cross country routes. The Gravel Trails are a valuable addition to this panoply of cycling options with the linking together of great trails into longer, sometimes multi-day, trips. The online maps are a great way of assessing the route options and the online videos could not fail to whet the appetite of any cyclist. Finally, the focus of linking routes to the public transport network is excellent in these times of increasing awareness of our carbon footprint.’ Stuart Paton, Chairman, Dunkeld and Birnam Community Trust ​ ​

‘Perthshire Gravel Trails is a fantastic resource in the heart of Highland Perthshire, which features some of Scotland's most stunning countryside. Getting outdoors and keeping fit are both great for mental and physical health and wellbeing, which Perthshire Gravel Trails encourages by getting people in the saddle and up close to nature in all its beauty. We hope everyone who experiences these amazing routes has a great adventure!’ Constance ​ Boddice, PR & Marketing Officer, Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust ​

Picture: John Madden

‘The Perthshire Gravel Trails initiative is a real benchmark for us as we move towards developing our Regenerative Tourism experiences in the Cateran Ecomuseum.’ Clare ​ Cooper, Director, Cateran Ecomuseum, Alyth ​ ​ ‘Perthshire Gravel is an exciting new project which we are keen to promote to our members and supporters. It has created an excellent network of non-technical off-road trails that provides a great set of amazing day routes or multi-day adventures for all. The trails also create valuable travel corridors in a traffic-free environment which is very important for everyday journeys and linking rural communities.’ Ralph Jessop, Development Officer - ​ Perthshire, Cycling UK ​

‘We have been impressed by the Highland Perthshire Gravel Trails project. As Forth Valley and Lomond Leader are currently engaged in a partnership project with Forestry and Land Scotland and The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to create a series of waymarked gravel trails for cyclists and we have watched developments with great interest. The Perthshire project has been great for raising the profile of gravel riding and I believe is complementary to work we are trying to establish in The Trossachs.’ Jason Clark, Cycle ​ Tourism Officer, Cycle Tourism Officer, Forth Valley and Lomond LEADER ​

‘We’ve noticed a significant proportion of visitors to our bar and shop have been cyclists. It shows us that we can provide a space where cyclists can meet pre or post ride. Our location has proved particularly convenient due to the breadth and depth of the Gravel Trail routes. We are keen to continue to engage with these groups and continue this relationship.’ Conall Low, Director, Wasted Degrees Brewery, Blair Atholl ​ ​ ​

‘Perthshire Gravel has already been a great success bringing a noticeable number of people into the Comrie area in the summer who were doing the Drovers Trail. In these hard times for local businesses, it was great to see them spending money in local shops and eateries. Reports from the trail is that it is a very enjoyable but stiff challenge! I hope we can follow up the initial routes with more, especially at the easier end of the spectrum where we can encourage new participants and families to discover Perthshire’s Gravel Gold!’ Andrew ​ Donaldson, Director, Comrie Croft ​

‘The Perthshire Gravel website is a great resource for us to flag up to our target market which includes outdoor activity enthusiasts. We've seen an increase in the number of mountain bikers staying with us this year, despite the challenges of Covid. It's really useful for us to have a resource like this to direct them to when they're planning their trips. We're slowly but surely exploring all of the trails ourselves.’ Brenda & Dot, Directors, Jessie ​ ​ Mac’s, Birnam ​

‘We love having the Perthshire Gravel Trail routes near our holiday accommodation and signpost guests to the website and resources to encourage them to explore the area by bike. It would be great to see some new routes too - extending the network beyond Perthshire - then create collaborations with other holiday accommodation providers for visiting cyclists.’ Adam Baxendine, Director, Aikenhead House, Blairgowrie ​ ​ ​ ‘We have enjoyed watching the progress of Perthshire Gravel Trails from consultation and planning phases to launch and now, active use. Perthshire is such a spectacular and accessible part of Scotland, Perthshire Gravel trails is a fantastic resource to help people to get active outdoors and discover Perthshire. As a local outdoor adventure company we are always delighted to work with others to help promote sustainable tourism. We are looking forward to getting out on the trails with our own family soon!’ Sarah Turner, Director, Wee ​ ​ Adventures, Aberfeldy ​

Picture: Karen Brown

‘Riding on gravel may not be a new phenomenon, but it has certainly been growing in popularity in recent years. Gravel riding offers all the adventure, enjoyment and effort of road cycling, but with a wilder edge and without having to worry about dangerous and oblivious drivers. But for many it will be a whole new type of riding, and the work that Perthshire Gravel Trails Project has done has promoted gravel bike riding on the wonderful Highland Perthshire trails in a responsible and organised way.’ Richard Pearson, Director, ​ Still Going Strong, Aberfeldy ​

‘As a British bike brand, we are excited to see how quickly gravel bikes have become popular in the UK. As the perfect all-round touring and adventure machine they offer the chance to explore greater distances with relative ease. The Perthshire Gravel Trails project is a shining example of how cyclists are being encouraged into an area to safely experience fantastic landscapes on well designed and presented routes. It's great to know to know the Perthshire local economy will benefit as more people make the area their destination to explore and it gives us the opportunity to work with local bike shops to promote our gravel bikes and e-bikes in just the right setting.’ Rory Hitchens, Marketing and Senior Brand ​ Manager, Upgrade/Kinesis ​

‘Both as business and simply as people, we're all about getting people into the outdoors. Providing both access and inspiration is key to this aim, and Perthshire Gravel Trails delivers both with routes for a wide range of abilities and a landscape that our customers may not realise is so close to hand. The more we can encourage people to discover the wilderness in their own back gardens the better, so we are 100% behind Markus and similar projects as they develop.’ Jack Davey, Marketing Manager, The Overland ​ ​

Picture: Rich Olyott

‘As a supporter of Markus over a number of years we are always amazed by his inventive capacity for creating new projects, route plans and adventures. Being a tyre manufacturer in the bicycle industry, we are obviously keen to promote as many opportunities as possible for more people to ride their bikes more often; in whatever format that may be. But for us, this isn't based purely on commercial motivation. For a long time, we have been keen to partner with people and organisations who promote cycling for the wider benefits that it brings. It is, therefore, that during this difficult year, where many of us have discovered and appreciated the benefits of outdoor activities, that projects like the Perthshire Gravel Trails continue to be developed and supported. For the bicycle industry, gravel riding and bikepacking have been an encouraging growth area in recent years. Still seen as challenging, but more accessible than some mountain biking and more stress-free than road cycling in the absence of traffic, there is still a lot of growth potential for this genre of cycling. However, for gravel riding and bikepacking to reach their full potential, awareness needs to be generated of the opportunities available and the inspiration provided for people to explore those opportunities. What Markus has created with the Perthshire Gravel Trails project, in our opinion, does exactly that. This project, and the routes that Markus has created, serve to highlight the opportunities that exist within the natural landscape of Perthsire and will surely inspire people to plan a visit to push their boundaries and seek adventure. We are all increasingly aware of the important benefits that outdoor activity and the natural environment can provide for our physical and mental wellbeing, and projects such as this are an important part of that picture. All in all, the creation, advocacy and promotion of projects like the Perthshire Gravel Trails fit very well with our strategy as a bicycle industry brand of 'more bods on bikes clicking off more kilometres'; and we are certainly interested in being involved in initiatives that contribute towards this goal as we go forward.’ Tim ​ Ward, Marketing Manager, Schwalbe UK ​ Final Summary

‘Highland Perthshire Cycling is extremely pleased with the outcomes from Phase One of the Gravel Trails. Our vision was to establish and promote a network of trails across the region, and we have succeeded beyond all expectations, despite much of the work and launch taking place under challenging COVID-19 conditions. This bodes very well for a Phase Two and beyond, as tourism and public movement returns to normal through 2021. With the generous and visionary assistance of SSE and The Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme funding we have proven the value to local businesses, who will be engaged to help fund and guide the next phase of the project. This phase will extend the variety and number of trails, keeping the public enthused and building opportunities for more riders in more places, thereby supporting more local businesses and enabling residents to benefit further. HPC thanks Markus for his dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm for the project, and we look forward to working with him in future.’ Mike Stead, Trustee, Highland ​ ​ Perthshire Cycling

Picture: Claire Davis

‘As yet this was the biggest project for Bikepacking Scotland. It was made possible with the vision and trust from Highland Perthshire Cycling and the generous support from The Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme and SSE as funders. It was also made possible with the engagement of people that call Highland Perthshire their home, either if they live here or have a close association with the area, and the support from the bike industry. The outcomes of the project, detailed in this report, are encouraging. The success of the Perthshire Gravel Trails Project demonstrates that bikepacking and gravel cycling are no longer niche activities. Next to traditional cycle touring, mountain biking and road cycling, bikepacking and gravel cycling can become key drivers to establish a more sustainable, regenerative approach to tourism in Scotland. This approach, driven by working actively with local stakeholders, can provide activities that have very low impact on the environment and add a long-term income stream to the local economy. Scotland is a land with incredible natural assets and a rich history, and Bikepacking Scotland’s vision is to provide people with ideas to harvest this potential. The project has demonstrated that this is possible. I look forward to working with Highland Perthshire Cycling on future phases of the project. Bikepacking Scotland will also build onto the success and findings from the project to work with other areas in Scotland and to promote cycling as a key driver for a more sustainable future.’ Markus Stitz, Founder, Bikepacking Scotland ​ ​

Picture: Sam

‘When the project launched in November 2019, who could have predicted the year that we have faced in 2020. It is a credit to the team behind the Gravel Trails Project that they were able to press on and when restrictions were lifted to encourage people onto the trails. It is great to read people's feedback after riding the trails and I am sure the team will continue to develop how the trails are presented and used in the coming weeks and months. I hope that in 2021 and beyond more people are able to come and enjoy the wonderful sights and sounds of Highland Perthshire as they cycle around it. I know I will be!’ Gareth Shields, ​ Community Investment Manager, SSE plc ​

‘We are delighted we were able to support Highland Perthshire Cycling with this innovative project. It has created a fantastic online resource which clearly shows the trails which have been expertly mapped and highlights the level of rider each trail is suitable for. These routes are encouraging people to explore rural Perthshire sustainably by bike, which has in turn had such a positive impact on local businesses and accommodation providers along routes, especially in the current challenging climate. Projects like this really contribute to the local economy as well as the health and wellbeing of communities by encouraging and giving people the confidence to get out and explore these beautiful rural places.’ Sharon ​ Rice-Jones, The Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme ​

Picture: Calum Fisher

And finally: If you are interested in setting up a similar project, please contact Highland Perthshire Cycling for advice, recommendations and references. Please use this form here. ​ ​