Banchory will host the explorr outdoor endurance festival from Friday, August 28, to Sunday, August 30, centred on King George V Park and surrounding roads. The programme combines gravel cycling and running with live music, talks, films and street food for endurance-sport enthusiasts and the wider public.
The practical schedule begins at 22:00 on Friday, when the King George V Park access-road closure takes effect. Around 1,000 participants have already signed up, according to Aberdeenshire Council News, and Live Life Aberdeenshire is supporting the festival.
No ticket price is stated in the supplied information. The council directs readers to the official festival page for further details, but the material does not confirm whether general admission requires booking or provide accessibility and public-transport guidance.
Gravel races share the weekend with music and food
Gravel cycling and gravel running form the sporting core of explorr. Saturday’s traffic arrangements refer to the start and return of the cycle race, while Sunday’s restrictions cover the start and finish of the running race.
Away from the routes, the confirmed programme includes live music, talks, films and street food. King George V Park is the festival’s central venue, while several roads between central Banchory, the Falls of Feugh and Blackhall form part of the event traffic plan.
The combination of races and activity at the park means disruption will not be confined to a single start time. Some restrictions last for less than two hours, while access to King George V Park is affected throughout the weekend.
Road closures begin on Friday night
| Road or restriction | Confirmed timing and access details |
|---|---|
| King George V Park Access Road | Closed from Dee Street to the Coach End entrance from 22:00 on Friday, August 28, until 06:00 on Monday, August 31. The diversion uses Dee Street, Station Road and the park access road in the opposite direction. |
| C36k at Falls of Feugh | Closed between the B974 junction and Bridge of Feugh Car Park from 09:30 to 10:30 on Saturday and from 09:30 to 11:30 on Sunday. |
| U53k near Falls of Feugh | Closed from its C36k junction to the houses beside Waters of Feugh from 09:30 to 10:45 on Saturday. Delays of about 15 minutes are expected at closure points, with the road reopening after event traffic passes. |
| Blackhall Road | Closed from the Auchattie Road junction to Riverside, Blackhall, from 09:00 to 18:00 on Sunday. Local access only; no diversion is available. The road will reopen once runners clear the route. |
| Auchattie Road | A westbound one-way system applies along the entire U140k from 18:00 to midnight on Saturday and from 09:00 to 19:00 on Sunday. |
| Dee Street | Saturday closures cover Section A from 07:00 to 11:00 and 13:00 to 20:00, with Section B closed from 09:30 to 11:00. On Sunday, Section A closes from 07:00 to 19:00 and Section B from 09:30 to 11:30. |
Dee Street diversion takes traffic through Crathes
The stated diversion for the Dee Street closures follows the B974 and C36k before continuing via the A957, Crathes, the A93, North Deeside Road, Station Road and Dee Street. It operates in both directions.
Drivers should distinguish between full closures and the temporary obstruction on the U53k. That road is expected to reopen after event traffic passes, while Blackhall Road has no diversion and remains limited to local access during its scheduled closure.
The longest continuous restriction affects the King George V Park Access Road, running from 22:00 on Friday until 06:00 on Monday. Anyone travelling through Banchory over the festival weekend can use the published timings to plan around the cycle race on Saturday and the running race on Sunday.
Source: Aberdeenshire Council News
Context & actions About this article
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Festival dates, programme details and traffic restrictions were checked against the published Aberdeenshire Council notice.
- Confirmed the festival runs from August 28 to August 30.
- Checked each published road-closure and one-way-system time.
- Kept the stated diversions and local-access limitations unchanged.
- Identified that ticket price and accessibility details were not supplied.
- Source
- Aberdeenshire Council News
- Scope
- Banchory, Aberdeenshire
- Updated
- 2026-08-27 11:47
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