New Aviemore kartway gears up for opening
The chequered flag is being waved signalling the end of construction work on the strath’s newest attraction, and the return of karting to Aviemore after an absence of a dozen years.
The Aviemore Kart Raceway is set to be opened ‘imminently’ by operator Colin Bain after being two years in the making at Granish, at the north end of the village.
Its arrival has been welcomed as another much-needed all-weather attraction for the strath.
The track is just over 500 metres long and six metres wide allowing easier overtaking.
“I drove the Land Rover round and round the bare field and then the quad bike for many many hours to get what I regarded as the best layout. It was a scientific method!” Mr Bain joked, “but it’s turned out to be a very good track and I am really pleased with it.”
The kartway base is home to a reception area, briefing room, race screens, a social area, equipment room and the pits.
Mr Bain ran the previous kartway at the old Aviemore Centre for 13 years, after acquiring the business in 1991 from Tom McLaren who had launched the attraction in the mid 1960s at the site next to the then Freedom Inn. The track and pits – which were once visited by former F1 world champion Nigel Mansell – closed in 2004.
Mr Bain explained: “The lease expired at the time and the resort owners wanted the land for other purposes. Every so often an opportunity for land would come up and I would look into it but a couple of them fell through. But this one became available eventually and it has worked out.”
No prices have yet been announced. The kartway is expected to operate from 10am til 9pm depending on the time of year, seven days a week.
• More on this story in the latest Strathy and updates on the new attraction can be found on Facebook by searching Aviemore Kart Raceway Limited
