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  • Cracking new Scottish route – not for the wimps
  • CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    Well new to me anyway – Carn Liath, the Munro at the southern end of Beinn A'Ghlo.

    Upsides – 640m vertical descent over 9.5km, of which 6km is perfect singletrack and light heather bashing. Fantastic views. Short climb. Descent about an hour. It's a Munro

    Downside – 1.25 hours with the bike on your back. Not rideable in the wet as the bottom part is peat track so would erode badly with heavy use.

    Any hill walkers and anyone who has done the Beinn a'Ghlo loop will know it. Park car at Loch Moraig NN906672. Up the track and take the path from the bothy straight up the hill. From the cairn down to the bealach at 938715. Very obvious path heads round the corner and down. About half way down the path disappears but keep high through the burnt heather and pick it up again 100m later. One wee burn crossing has a 1m drop into it, unlike the others which are all rollable – you don't see it until too late, but it was a soft landing!. The path stops about 200m short of the LR track, but just head down across the heather to the right of the old grouse butts to pick it up.

    Took us about 4 hours including a couple of stops. Kind of similar to Carn Ban Mor and just as good but in a different way. Shorter but more difficult climb as its a carry, and the descent takes much longer because it's slower, and it's physically much longer.

    Enjoy, but don't do it if the ground is very wet as it won't be nearly as enjoyable and will cause erosion on the peaty bottom half

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    I have looked at that route when walking and thought it would be good on the bike – bar the carry up the hill.

    PaulGillespie
    Free Member

    Thanks for the write up, I think I know the hill you are referring too, I had always planned to cycle to the bottom of the hill, ditch the bikes and walk up the rest.

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    CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    TJ – although the carry is a bit of a pig, IMO there is something satisfying about it – partly the effort and partly getting the bike to a Munro

    PG – It's not worth taking the bike if you are walking – it's only about a 20 min walk to the path going up.

    Waderider
    Free Member

    Only 4 hours long yet unsuitable for wimps? I'm confused!

    CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    Only 4 hours long yet unsuitable for wimps? I'm confused!

    I know it's not that long timewise – I was referring to well over an hour carrying the bike up a steep eroded path, 500m vertical. And I do mean carrying, not pushing

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    there are other tracks on that set of hills that would be good as well.

    CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    TJ, not sure about that. Firstly it is another pretty big carry back up from the bealach to the next Munro. Secondly, if you carry on round from there, the descent down the Allt Bealach an Fhiodhe glen is IIRC very steep and loose, followed by a long flat boggy trudge.

    Or are you thinking of other paths?

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Ah – I have had a look at the map to remind me and you have ridden the bits I thought would be good.

    My apologies

    PaulGillespie
    Free Member

    Not the hill i'm thinking of then, the one i'm thinking of is about an 8km cycle in. sounds interesting though, will have to look it up.

    CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    OK, I'm going to give it a bump. I surprised the Scottish contigent on here are not a bit more interested. Or nothing particular to add?

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