i am off to oban for a week in september and if i am fit i want to get some biking in
is there much xc stuff nearby or would it be worth taking a d/h bike and going to fort william

thanks

Get the ferry over to Kerrera and enjoy an island with no roads. I haven't been in 15 years or so but it's a great place to spend the day either riding or walking around. More about the place rather than the quality of riding though.

Some good DH in Benderloch, training ground of Ben Cathro dontcherknow.

There is some worthwhile XC in Barcaldine forest but a bit tricky to find, and spread thin amongst a lot of fireroad.

If you climb to the reservoir above Sutherland's Grove there are one or two great wee descents heading down from the more northerly end of it, from the bottom of those descents you can ride back up the fireroad on the right and eventually find another good wee descent going off left.

I've not been riding up there in a while so can't remember the other good stuff, might be worth contacting north argyll cycle club who were responsible for a lot of the trails in Barcaldine.

Singletrack featured Kerrera Island a while back, there is definitely a decent off-road loop around the island, again though, I did it too long ago to remember.

Kerrera certainly worth a visit. Not much I could find other than as mentioned at Barcaldine close to Oban. Plenty fireroad stuff round about though. You have Firetower trail at LochGilphead about 45mins drive south and Leanachan about 1 hr north. Auchendrain loop about 40 mins away also if you start at LochAwe side. Details of that route on the web somewhere I think.

Whereabouts is the stuff near Benderloch please?

Has the train been moved off the road yet?

It's a fair drive (~30-45 minutes) but Barnaline Forest has a good circular ride ("2 Lochs") around parts of Loch Awe and Loch Avich. From Oban you need to go south on the A816, turn left at Kilmelford, at the T junction turn right over the bridge and car park is on the right. Just before Dalavich which has a great shop selling good cakes.

Stupendous open country rides up on Rannoch Moor which is closer than FW. Glen Etive (from Bonawe), Bridge of Orchy etc etc. Just get the OS map 377.

Auchindrain loop isn't too far away and is a natural Scottish classic.

Take snorkelling kit.

The train's off the road, and the ferries are all running again, but today all routes from glasgow to arrochar were down, bar the gourock ferry. 😆

The only Benderloch trail I'm at liberty to divulge (because I built some of it) is on th left hand side as you go into the Beinn Lora forest walks. take a left at the first junction and keep walking until you see an obvious trail coming out of the trees on your right, then just walk up that.

Its steep and slippy in places, and I couldn't tell you how well its been maintained because I haven't walked or ridden it in a while (the three big berms/busstops at the bottom were my handiwork, fallen into disrepair a little recently but I think they still ride OK).

There's more further up but you'll just need to follow the track up the way and keep your eyes open. Wouldn't be much fun on anything short travel (the gradient more than anything).

The singletrack stuff in Barcaldine forest is very good, just thinly spread unfortunately (although I hope to rectify that next year, trailbuilding holidays planned!)

Oh, and Glen Duror to Ballachulish is fun, but more of an A-B than a circuit.

13thfloormonk – Member

Thanks. I might head up there this week.

How much time do you have to spare when you're in Oban?
I grew up there and there was a good scene in the 90's, xc, dh & street. I've not been back for about 10 years, so the advice below is quite out of date, sorry if the trails that used to be good, aren't!
For an evenings spin, try going out to Ganavan (the beach) head up to the shinty pitch above the beach and follow the trail behind it up the hill, it's singletrack through heather & grass to Dunbeg. Through Dunbeg to Dunstaffnage castle then, after a play there, head back in along the most suitable looking path at the coast (which used to take you over an interesting chasm….)to Ganavan. You can also try the woods on the Ganavan road just as you leave the hotels behind, generally called "the witches"
The area around the ruined Hydro near McCaigs tower is good for a play around in too for a couple hours, best entered from the top of Ardconnel Hill along a flat path.
The forest above the golf course has some ok trails, but they can take a bit of finding.
Kerrera is def worth a trip over. Not the most epic riding you'll ever have, but a good trip none the less.
There's lots of riding south of Oban, get os 49, 50 or 55 and follow your nose. Doesn't have the vertical of Aviemore or Kinlochleven, but there is still a lot of good tech to be found.

13thfloormonk, what's your link to the Benderloch trails? Good to hear that things are still happening up there. I was one of the guys who build the '97 dh course which, if I say so myself, was a wee bit good.

Grum P,

Sorry, I missed your reply last time.

I was the the janitor who looked after your (very good!) trail after the race held there. I built a wee section near the bottom after the forestry blocked the chute to right hander, had to chip my way through a big lump of rock to make it work!

Are you one of John Hoey, the Pinkertons, Richard Oxland, Fraser McQueen (or Beanie, i might have his name wrong) or those guys? I met Kevin Whitehead recently, working in Edinburgh! I wasn’t riding when you guys built the trail, I thought the race was going down the fireroad and at the time that was scary enough!

Cheers for looking after the trails, was a bit gutted when the forestry removed the chute to berm as any other way through there looked like lots of work, as I guess you found out. Well done on getting through the rock. I’ll have to go back and check it out, not been there for years. Was very proud of the course, bit of a lost classic (along with the Innerleithen Golf Course & the Peebles town DH), but I always prefered muddy steep root infested things, so I suspect most people are happier with the Fort Willaim course

I’m Graham Pinkerton, not heard from any of the others (except Pinkerton family obviously) in ages, would be good to catch up with them, is Kev still in bike shops? And out of curiousity, how do you know us all?

Used to be a real good scene in Oban, is there still much going on or has it shifted back up towards Fort William?

Anyways, hope the O.P. had a good time when he was up and found some fun riding, really under rated area of Scotland. If you fancy giving some feedback Gooner…

Oi, there’s only room for one grum around here! 👿

😛

Aye, sorry bout that. Climbing nick name, with a p added on the end to indicate my default mood (and to get past the bit that told me I couldn’t use “grum” when I registered to post the above). As I don’t post on t’interweb much you have nothing to fear from me attempting to usurp your position of grumness.

No worries. 🙂

My first name is Graham also – and there’s another one who’s famous-ish – http://artistwiki.com/grum

Sorry Gooner, this thread is now officially hijacked!

Graham, I’m Ian Ezzi, one of Cameron and Duncan Aitken’s year at high school, I wasn’t really part of the Oban Scene, spent more time riding XC around Benderloch and Barcaldine. I raced a couple of Kevin’s DH races (the barcaldine one where I got a ‘shock’ second in the sport race on my £150 Giant, and the Buck’s Gym race where I got laughed off the course for using both feet as brakes on my first run 😳 )

A decent scene developed in Benderloch based around your course and the other unraced one, we did a lot of building down at Shian woods and a load of younger guys started riding, at the peak there was a team of four racing the Scottish Scene (team Ionashop) which became Ben Cathro and Chris Hutchens (with Andy Phillips snapping at their heels). Those guys are still building and tweaking up there, your course unfortunately has been a bit broken up but there’s a brand new one that heads of left after the gravelly berm at the top of the course. There’s a load of new guys started riding as well who I don’t really know.

Kevin is still working in bikes, he was in good form (for Kevin) when I saw him, not got a chance to ride out with him though.

Might be going back for some building next year, still haven’t got a decent trail to my name, just extensions of yours! 8)

(oh, and for steep roots, did you see the Stathyre course they tried to race a couple of times. Absolute crazed genius!)