New spin on the school run

It’s a scene familiar to parents and carers at the start of any school day: having to coax and cajole children to get ready and leave the house. But in Boat of Garten and Aviemore, a new bike bus project might just have changed all that. 

Thanks to the SPIN Project’s bike buses – part of the Cairngorms 2030 programme, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund – children in Boat of Garten and Aviemore are buzzing to cycle to school. 

Bike buses are organised rides on set routes, designed to promote getting outside, staying active and encouraging young people’s independence and community spirit. Led by two cycle leaders, the weekly sessions are proving popular with parents and children alike, with the youngest members just five years old. 

The new bike buses in Boat of Garten and Aviemore, facilitated by the SPIN Project, were inspired by a similar initiative led by parents at Carrbridge Primary. Through the Cairngorms 2030 programme, we’re supporting other primary school communities in the National Park to become more cycling-friendly. 

• Children taking part in the bike bus with the SPIN Project Angus Trinder

  

  
• Meeting the bike bus Angus Trinder

  

  
• The bike bus on a traffic free bike path Angus Trinder

  

  

This is just one element of our extensive transport work, which has the overall aim of making travel around the National Park greener, safer and more accessible for all. The programme is also giving adults fresh inspiration to get on their bikes. 

In partnership with the Cairngorms Trust’s ACE project, Mikes Bikes Aviemore have been visiting workplaces to offer free bike checks, confidence-building sessions, e-bike and e-cargo bike try-outs and loans. It's hoped this will encourage people to choose cycling for their commutes and other everyday journeys – for some, maybe for the first time in years. 

Funding also continues to be rolled out through the £170,000 Transforming Transport Grant Scheme, with communities across the National Park benefitting. For example, new public bike repair stands and a tool station have been installed in Tomintoul, and cyclists have access to new bike parking and storage facilities in Blair Atholl. Live Life Aberdeenshire and Outfit Moray are delivering cycling confidence sessions for children and adults in Deeside, Donside, Tomintoul and Glenlivet. And Able2Adventure – based at Glenmore Lodge – are making cycling more accessible with adapted bikes for community use and one-to-one confidence-building sessions.