Grantown-on-Spey was a planned town, founded in 1765 by Sir James Grant of Grant, who wanted a tidy settlement for weavers and a base for his estate. It is the end of the Snow Roads, and it is a good one.
The ride that finishes here, from Blairgowrie over the Cairnwell, the Lecht and Tomintoul, covers some of the highest public roads in Britain. The A93 climbs to over six hundred metres at the Cairnwell, the highest main road in the country, and the A939 crosses the Lecht, with bleak moorland, heather and, in winter, deep snow. Snow gates close the roads in bad weather, so check conditions in the colder months. The surface is mostly good, the bends are open, and the views stretch for miles. Wind and rain can arrive suddenly, so bring layers even in summer.
Grantown is the heart of Strathspey, and the landscape around is a mixture of pine forest, moor and river. Ospreys nest at Loch Garten nearby, and red squirrels, capercaillie and crested tits live in the old Caledonian pinewood of Abernethy. The Spey itself, Scotland's second-longest river, runs fast and clear, and is famous for its salmon. This is also whisky country: the Speyside distilleries, including Cragganmore and The Glenlivet, are within a short ride, and the area produces a large share of Scotland's malt.
Fuel is available in Grantown, which has a few thousand people, and it is wise to fill up here before heading anywhere else, because the next big towns, Aviemore and Forres, are twenty and thirty kilometres away. The town has several cafes, bakeries and hotels, and a bowl of hot soup after the Lecht is a pleasure.
Walk down the main street in the late afternoon, when the light on the granite turns warm, and feel the quiet that has settled over the moor.