HT Mountain bike or Hybrid ??????? :)

[konamonkey]

Hello all,

I'm planning a few days cycling from Fort William to Inverness soon but want to buy a new bike for this and future trips. I've been riding off-road (Glentress, Ae, Kirroughtree etc) for about 6 years and have a good full sus bike (Kona Dawg Primo 2006).
I want to keep my spend to between £500.00 and £600.00 if possible and have my eye on a couple of bikes but...... I am not sure if I should go for say a Broadman Hybrid or an actual mountain bike that could handle panniers. I'm planning my route to take in both on and off road tracks so the bike needs to be flexible. I also wondered if I'd be better off with an actual tourer but worried it would not be ok on rough Highland trails. I'd appreciate your thoughts!

Cheers

[konamonkey]

Thanks for the replys guys! I'm popping into a few bike shops on Saturday so will try a range and see what i like. My only concern was for the need for extra strength and some flexibility in the frame given I'm going to be riding some quite rough terrain with no suspension.

~Cheers