Hello.
I fancy a big day out round Ben Alder. I want to finish by going up and over past Loch a Bhealaich Leamhain. There are two descents from Loch a Bhealaich Leamhain down to Lochan Na Hearba. One goes down next to Moy Burn and the other goes down Coire Pitridh.
Has anyone done either/both of the descents – which would you recommend?

cheers
Tony

P.S. apologies for any mis-spellings of Scottish names!

I've done the Moy Burn one. It was a bit indistinct and wet at the top, but mostly rideable for the bulk of it, in a sort of lean back and surf through the wet bits sort of way. Near the bottom it gets a bit broken up by the burn and you loose some momentum. I did enjoy it though, and the traverse to the top felt like real mountain singletrack.

I believe Druidh on here reckons the Coire Pitridh path is the better of the two though. Either way, the final forest road descent to the lochside is quite good fun, fast and gravelly.

Cheers for that. I'll toss a coin at the top 🙂

When you get to the bealach above the Lochan, you'll descend a little before having to choose right to Creag Pitridh/Moy Burn or left to Coire Pitridh. If the left hand path looks good quality I'd be tempted to follow it as I imagine it would stay like that the whole way down.

I was hoping someone was going to magic a way of avoiding the purgatory of the Ben Alder Cottage push-up??? Rather takes the shine off an otherwise mega-classic route!

Nah, I got there then continued south to Rannoch. Not recommended either tbh, lots of flat bog then a forest road descent broken up by masses of very tall gates, booooo..

The perfect route for every good Calvanist: Pure pleasure has to be tempered by total misery otherwise there must be something immoral about it!
Seriously though, I think the best bet is to retrace your way back to Culra from the cottage!

Haha, nice line chickenman, might have to steal that for the 'guidebook' about scottish riding I'm tyring to write…