fatbikephil wrote: ↑Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:11 pm

Then heading north, a bit near my friends place takes you through a ford on the River Avon..... Defo a bad idea....

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:17 pm We had a look....
After a prolonged dry spell it looked dodgy - the 'ford' you can see on aerial photos is pretty rough and the water still looked a couple of feet deep - hard to tell and neither of us were for paddling in to measure. To be honest, if I'd planned a route and gone down to the ford in this state, I'd do an about face. Under 'normal' circumstances I suspect it would be something you'd avoid unless you really had no choice - very dodgy but doable in a pinch. The alternative is sticking to the (empty) B road and doing another half k of the A95. This is a trunk road but quiet - two cars passed us in 1k.

That's if it's 'normal.' Where such a crossing changes from dodgy to downright dangerous is when the river is up. The Avon is fed from the middle of the Cairngorms so it can be blazing sunshine in it's lower reaches whilst it's various sources are getting hammered with rain (you can also throw in snow melt from November to May) Hurricane Bertha in August '14 was such an occasion - The Avon trashed several bits of the road, took out some bridges and trashed a fair bit of farmland. Imagine you were tiptoeing across the ford when such an event was taking place and the spate came through as you were in the middle...

Of course you cross the Avon at the fords on the CL (close to it's source) but you are right in the middle of the mountains so you will have a much better idea as to what it will be like by the time you get there and can then make an informed decision as to whether to cross. Lower down it's all pleasant grassy glens, farmland and woodland - much higher likelihood of underestimating such a fierce river.

Sorry for the long winded answer but it raises a question about ITT routes as to what you are putting people in for. Dealing with crap weather - fine, dealing with hard trails - fine, dealing with mountain environments - fine as along as people are prepared. Making people cross one of Scotland's most active rivers in it's lowest reach I think is a step too far, especially given the alternative.

Incidentally there are a couple of footbridges in the area, one close by but the access is pretty rubbish (grassy fields and woods with not much of any kind of path) and one further up stream which links to another wee road. Both are officially shut due to damage suffered by Hurricane Bertha....