Highland resort is revving up carties to rival Oor Wullie’s soap box races

For anyone with happy childhood memories of hurtling downhill in a homemade go-kart, this will come as welcome news.

The traditional soap-box cartie has been given a modern makeover and is about to arrive – at break-neck speed – in Scotland.

For the first time, thrill-seekers will soon be able to test their nerve in an activity known as mountain karting.

A ski resort near Aviemore is buying a fleet of new off-road gravity karts – which promise the same adrenaline rush as a traditional go-kart… but with rather more reliable brakes!

The karts are being introduced as part of the resort’s plan to attract visitors all year round.

Modern karting

Unlike the ramshackle wooden carties that have regularly featured in the comic adventures of Oor Wullie in the Sunday Post, the modern gravity kart is made of a lightweight metal frame and has three wheels.

Chunky pneumatic tyres allow the karts to speed along even the roughest tracks. Meanwhile, proper steering and solid handlebars – plus hydraulic brakes – give the rider far more control than the improvised carties of the past.

© Shutterstock / Lumena

Gravity karts – which, as the name suggests, do not have engines – have been growing in popularity elsewhere in the world, and are now available at ski resorts in the Swiss Alps and in New Zealand.

Typically, riders are asked to watch a safety video and sign a risk-disclosure form before being climbing aboard the karts.

Safety equipment including a full-face helmet and goggles is provided.

The karts are being bought by the Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) company, which runs the Aviemore ski resort. Although the firm plans to unveil full details of the new venture at a later date, it has confirmed it is currently preparing an “upcoming mountain-karting product” to offer visitors.

A spokeswoman added: “Our plan is to add more activities to be an all-year-round resort.”

It is understood that, as in other ski resorts, the karts will be used on purpose-built downhill tracks.

Resort revamp

The karts are part of the resort’s 25-year masterplan, which included the opening last summer of a brand-new mountain-bike park, with miles of trails among some of Scotland’s most spectacular mountain scenery.

Uniquely, the park features two 330ft conveyor belts to carry riders uphill to the start of the lower trails.

Project manager Lee Bevins said the project was “key” to appeal to a broader audience who may regard the resort as just a snowsports facility.

With the addition of the bike park, Bevins said the team could operate a “year-round sustainable resort”, adding: “It’s our ambition to follow other resorts in Europe and around the world in becoming an all-year-round destination.”

Although the off-road gravity karts are a new development, a race called the Cairngorm Soapbox Extreme was held in the area between 2009 and 2012 – in which competitors from around the world used slick-tyred racing go-karts to speed down the tarmac surface of the road between Aviemore and the ski resort.

Ever since his first appearance in print in 1937, Oor Wullie has been regularly spotted on his homemade soapbox go-kart thundering downhill in his home town of Auchenshoogle.

For the front cover of the 2019 Oor Wullie annual, he was pictured racing down the town’s Stoorie Brae in a wooden cart customised with a holster for his trusty pea-shooter.

Pals Fat Boab and Soapy Soutar are close behind him in the race – while an infuriated PC Murdoch jumps up and down at the top of the hill.

The back cover of the book shows a triumphant Wullie crossing the finishing line, with a caption that reads: “There’s nae slowin’ Oor Wullie doon at the end of his cartie race… Catch him weekly in The Sunday Post, where he aye wins first place!”