The Lecht is a bare, high saddle on the A939 between Tomintoul and Corgarff, and it has one of the stiffest gradients on the public roads of the Scottish Highlands. Signs warn of a slope of one in five on the approach, which means rising a metre for every five you travel. The summit, at 637 metres, is a wide, windswept moor with a small ski centre, fenced runs of snow and a few lonely buildings. Even in July the wind can cut through a jacket, and the temperature is often well below that of the valleys.
The road is old. It follows the line of a military road built after the Jacobite rising of 1745 to link the garrison at Corgarff with the north, part of a network that the government constructed to keep the Highlands under control. Corgarff Castle, a tower house later surrounded by a star-shaped wall, was used as a barracks, and it still stands near the road on the south side, a few kilometres from the pass. Nearby, the ruins of old iron and manganese workings at the Lecht mine recall the days when this empty land was a place of industry.
From a rider's point of view, the Lecht is an exciting stretch, though a short one. The climb from Tomintoul is steady, with long, open curves and a smooth surface, and the descent toward Corgarff is steeper and more twisting, with a couple of tight bends and a long straight at the bottom. Expect sheep on the road, and the occasional cyclist labouring up the climb. The road is on the Snow Roads route, and it is one of the first to close when winter comes, with snow gates at the bottom, so check conditions before you set out between November and April.
The land around is open moorland of heather and peat, with grouse and mountain hares, and, in the distance, the long, rounded shapes of the Cromdale hills. In late summer, the heather turns the hills purple, and the light on the moor is often wonderful in the evening. At the ski centre, a café sometimes opens in season, but you should not count on it.
Tomintoul has some services, but for a sure fill, head to Ballater, about twenty-one kilometres east, or Grantown-on-Spey. Bring warm layers and waterproofs, and check the forecast before you commit.