explorr festival brings weekend road closures to Banchory
The explorr outdoor endurance festival comes to Banchory from Friday 28 August to Sunday 30 August, centred on King George V Park and surrounding roads. Around 1,000 participants had already registered for a weekend of gravel cycling, gravel running, live music, talks, films and street food.
Live Life Aberdeenshire is supporting the festival. Its council notice does not state an admission price or confirm whether further race entries or visitor bookings are available. General opening hours, accessibility information and parking or public transport arrangements are also absent; readers are directed to the official festival website for further event details.
The first listed traffic restriction begins at 22:00 on Friday, when the King George V Park Access Road closes between Dee Street and the Coach End entrance. It remains closed until 06:00 on Monday 31 August.
Gravel races share the weekend with music and food
The programme is built around gravel cycling and running, making the festival particularly relevant to endurance competitors and spectators. Live music, talks, films and street food broaden the weekend beyond the races, while King George V Park provides its main Banchory base.
The sporting programme will also shape movement through the town. Race starts, returning cyclists and runners clearing their routes produce different restrictions on Saturday and Sunday rather than one continuous closure across every affected road.
Banchory road restrictions at a glance
| Road or restriction | Confirmed timing |
|---|---|
| King George V Park Access Road | Friday 22:00 to Monday 06:00 |
| C36k at Falls of Feugh | Saturday 09:30–10:30; Sunday 09:30–11:30 |
| U53k near Falls of Feugh | Saturday 09:30–10:45 |
| Blackhall Road | Sunday 09:00–18:00, or until runners clear the route |
| Auchattie Road westbound one-way system | Saturday 18:00–24:00; Sunday 09:00–19:00 |
| Dee Street, Section A | Saturday 07:00–11:00 and 13:00–20:00; Sunday 07:00–19:00 |
| Dee Street, Section B | Saturday 09:30–11:00; Sunday 09:30–11:30 |
The U53k restriction runs from its C36k junction to the houses beside Waters of Feugh on the U52k. Drivers may face delays of approximately 15 minutes at closure points, with the road reopening once event traffic has passed.
Blackhall Road will close between Auchattie Road and Riverside on Sunday. Local access is retained, but no diversion is available. Officials intend to reopen it as soon as runners have cleared the route.
Dee Street carries the longest race-day disruption
On Saturday, Dee Street Section A closes for the cycle-race start from 07:00 to 11:00 and again for returning cyclists from 13:00 to 20:00. Section B closes from 09:30 to 11:00 while the bikes pass the Feugh.
Sunday brings the running event. Section A is closed from 07:00 to 19:00 for the start and finish, while Section B closes from 09:30 to 11:30 for the start.
The stated Dee Street diversion uses the B974, C36k, A957, Crathes, A93, North Deeside Road, Station Road and Dee Street in both directions. A separate diversion for the King George V Park Access Road uses Dee Street, Station Road and the park access route in reverse, so anyone travelling through Banchory should check the timing that applies to their journey before setting out.
Source: Aberdeenshire Council News
Context & actions About this article
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Event details and traffic timings were checked against the road-closure notice published by Aberdeenshire Council News.
- Matched the festival dates to Friday 28 August through Sunday 30 August 2026.
- Separated the festival weekend from the access-road closure that continues until Monday mo...
- Retained the published timings for Dee Street, Falls of Feugh, Blackhall Road and Auchatti...
- Marked admission price, general opening hours and accessibility details as unavailable in...
- Source
- Aberdeenshire Council News
- Scope
- Banchory, Aberdeenshire
- Updated
- 2026-08-27 11:42
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