Page 1 of 1

The Secret Howff

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 12:09 pm
by Borderer
A wee visit to the Secret Howff in the Cairngorms.

https://www.weirdosonbikes.com/2019/03/ ... ret-howff/

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:18 pm
by Lazarus
nice write up and pics as usual

what tyres is he running they look both very skinny and not much tread

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:05 pm
by Borderer
I am away at work just now for a couple of days and I can't remember! They are semi-slicks I think- very shallow bit of tread in the middle and knobbly bits on the outside. He hates the resistance from knobbly tyres, so these are a bit of a compromise. Not great in the wet, but fine on dry trails like these.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:01 am
by ianfitz
Looks like a great trip :-bd

It’s also on my list of places to find and stay at. I’ve got some ideas about the location but no clear directions as yet.

Looking forwards to a wee search at some point.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:44 am
by Borderer
ianfitz wrote:Looking forwards to a wee search at some point.
It's definitely nine tenths of the fun. Let's hope that the location of it will continue to be respected in future. Even in adulthood a secret hideaway in the wilds is something pretty special.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:41 pm
by fatbikephil
Well done for finding it. I spent a (fruitless) hour searchin for it based on a hot tip from a hill walker I met in the bothy near Newtonmore but looking at your pic, I wasn't even close. Next time I'll know what to look for!

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:53 pm
by mountainposture
That looks immense fun. Don’t get that far up very often at all but it looks to be well worth a special effort.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 12:13 pm
by Borderer
htrider wrote:Well done for finding it. I spent a (fruitless) hour searchin for it based on a hot tip from a hill walker I met in the bothy near Newtonmore but looking at your pic, I wasn't even close. Next time I'll know what to look for!
Yeah it's really not somewhere you will find unless you are in the right place.
mountainposture wrote:That looks immense fun. Don’t get that far up very often at all but it looks to be well worth a special effort.
We pretty much drove up there for it. A bit mad but as you say, worth it.
Lazarus wrote:nice write up and pics as usual

what tyres is he running they look both very skinny and not much tread
They are Conti Travel Contacts 1.75. So now you know.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 12:23 pm
by ScotRoutes
If there was a site that lots of folk logged their rides to, and then the owners of that site published a map showing what were the most popular tracks, it might give away the position of some out-of-the-way places.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:16 pm
by Borderer
I don't use that! And I was very careful to strip the GPS data out of the photos. Google added it all of its own accord :(

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:28 pm
by ScotRoutes
Borderer wrote:I don't use that! And I was very careful to strip the GPS data out of the photos. Google added it all of its own accord :(
:lol: it's the fact that other folk already have!

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:42 pm
by Borderer
Shhhh....

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 8:48 pm
by fatbikephil
My mate does know exactly where it is but I've told him not to tell me!

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:41 pm
by Richpips
It is pretty easy to find via the internet as Colin said. Though tbh the whole pretend secret society of bothies irks me a lot anyway.

I'd rather meet an interesting group of people from another country as we did once, rather than the bitter tool who'd being going to the same bothy for years another time.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:59 pm
by Loki
A brilliant blog, thanks for sharing, another I will have to power read through in my lunch breaks.

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:53 pm
by Borderer
Loki wrote:A brilliant blog, thanks for sharing, another I will have to power read through in my lunch breaks.
Thanks Loki, it's great to hear that people are reading it :-bd

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:52 pm
by Mart
Took me 20 years to find it - it was the days before the internet, and word of mouth and who you know was important factors
Eventually got there with the aid of some detective work. it was great fun. Finding it was all the more special

Its not so long ago that it had a new roof, so Im pleased its being looked after

Re: The Secret Howff

Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:54 pm
by Borderer
Mart wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:52 pm Took me 20 years to find it - it was the days before the internet, and word of mouth and who you know was important factors
Eventually got there with the aid of some detective work. it was great fun. Finding it was all the more special

Its not so long ago that it had a new roof, so Im pleased its being looked after
Well done for persevering. Yes the new roof means that it is totally watertight now, which makes all the difference.