News

Ride the North is returning to Glamis Castle in 2026 after delivering a vote of confidence in Angus.

Each year, the cycling event draws a field of 2,000 participants, some from far-flung corners of the globe.

It was launched in the north east and first came to Angus in 2024. Ride the North has raised millions of pounds for charity.

In August, historic Glamis Castle was the start and finish point for 110 km or 150 km routes through Angus.

Entries for the 2026 edition will open within weeks.

And event director Neil Innes has revealed this year’s runaway success has convinced him to keep it in Angus.

Neil said: “Over thirteen years our event has moved around, featuring new locations and working with different communities and five different councils.

“I’ve known since the return after the pandemic the days of changing the event every year were limited.

“It’s just not viable and not especially satisfactory to say ‘thanks…but goodbye’ to communities that have embraced RtN and contributed to its appeal.

Ride the North 2026 will be a very similar route to 2025 and take place on Saturday August 29.

Neil added: “The creation of an Angus Council-led advisory group for RtN 2025 brought all council departments and public agencies into a forum that discussed and developed the event plan.

“This contributed to the smoothest event planning experience I’ve had – by some distance.”

Ride the North is not a race, with refreshment stops in local communities a key part of the event’s popularity.

“Communities along the route have always been so kind and very welcoming from the very outset,” said Neil.

“Community engagement in 2025 reached a new level.”

Entries for returning cyclists open on January 8, and then January 15 for new participants.

At the same time, Neil announced the creation of a new long distance cycling route circumventing the Cairngorms.

“I’ve been keen to keep alive some of the cycle touring origins of RtN,” he said.

“This summer I pieced together various routes I’d used over 13 years to create a multi-day route.

“It was 580 km long. But converted to miles is has become the Ride the North 360.

“Ride the North 360 is a bit of an experiment.

“Scotland hosts the Tour de France in 2027. It seemed the time to try something new.

“We’ll just have to see if anyone is interested in a blend of great cycling roads and some traffic free paths.

Castle Country, the Malt Whisky Trail, Loch Ness, Cairngorms National Park, Highland Perthshire, the Angus Glens and Royal Deeside all feature.

“The route has also sought to connect towns and villages with visitor accommodation to make it easy for cyclists to split the ride into any number of days they might wish.”

A teaser of the entire route has been created at Ride the North 360.com, with a full website due in the new year.

This article appeared in The Courier on 12 December 2025.