Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)
  • Scotland- biking from Inverie to Kinloch Hourn?
  • ntsnow
    Free Member

    Hi, new to the forum here. A Yank from Western Colorado who hopes to sample some UK singletrack while visiting family I haven’t seen in ages.

    I’ve found some great information here so far for planning a coast to coast trip across Scotland. I think I have most of the route nailed down, but have a couple decisions to make.

    Thinking of starting in Mallaig, taking the ferry to Inverie, then riding up the valley over to Barrisdale and then along the water to Kinloch Horn. Anyone ridden this? Looks like some hike a bike from what I can tell, but how bad? Basically, would it be more worthwhile to instead start in Kyle of Lochalsh and ride the road to Arnisdale, then the track up and over to Kinloch? Not as excited about the latter route as it’s a lot of pavement and then you follow a power line, but I don’t want my wife to mutiny on me on day 1.

    The rest of the route I’ve figured so far takes us as follows:
    Kinloch Horn -> Invergarry -> Fort Augustus -> Corrieyarick Pass -> Laggan -> Feshie Bridge -> Glen Feshie -> Braemar -> Ballater -> Mt Keen -> maybe Clash of Wirren if we’re up to it -> Montrose.

    The other debate is to go via Glenmore and Tomintoul instead of Glen Feshie. Which is better as far as quality singletrack?

    Also, having a hard time finding places to stay in Linn of Dee and Tarfside. Hostel/B&B? Any help?

    Many thanks for any help, and if you don’t want to spray on the forums, a pm or email would be great too. All I can offer in return is beta for riding in Carbondale.

    Nick

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    I believe that route is not really bikable in large parts (inverie / kinlochhorn)

    Geograph has photos of most places in Scotland and can help with route planning as can looking at google earth

    http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php

    Glen feshie to bramar is hard going with sections of hikabike but OK From Laggan you can get into glen feshie without going into feshiebridge. (email me if you want details – email in profile) Kingussie, drumguish then forestry tracks east into Glen feshie – note the highest bridge in glenfeshie is no longer there tho but you can ford the river at teh top of the glen. the landrover track is more extensive than marked as well

    Teh book Scottish hill tracks or http://www.heritagepaths.co.uk/ might help

    There are others here with loads of good knowlege of routes. Looks good in priciple thoto me – I have walked and biked much of it

    ybot
    Free Member

    I did the Inverie to Kinlochourn route back in 2004 I think. It certianly is doable but we were blessed with a beautiful hot suuny day that probably helped.

    The ride out of Inverie was ok but we did have to push the last mile or so up ma Barrisdale. The decent down the other side was 100% rideable and very enjoyable. The hardest bit is the section from Barrisdale to Kinlochourn, from memory we rode maybe 50% of it but were constantly on and off the bike and had a couple of quite long ‘hike a bike’ sections.

    From Kinlochourn it was road all the way to InverGarry. It was a long day but we had plenty of stops for tea/food and to take in the scenary.

    It was one of the best days biking I have ever had but as mentioned before we were blessed with very hot dry sunny weather and I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it anything like as much in adverse conditions.

    We had small daysacks each not panniers as we find it much easier to travel that way especially on any hike a bike sections.

    Rest of the trip followed a similar route to the one you suggest, we went via Glenmore & Tomintoul which was great. Not sure why we choose that route as your other suggestion seems to be very popular too.

    I do highly recommend the whole trip, great few days of riding.

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    druidh
    Free Member

    Nick – I can echo the comments above regarding the Inverie – Kinlochourn route. There’s a fair bit of carry/push on the Barrisdale – Kinlochourn section. Your alternative from Arnisdale is (apparently) slightly more rideable though definitely not as pretty.

    I did a Coast-2-Coast last year, starting at Fort William and ending (unusually) at Buckie. You can read about it here: http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2011/09/c2c-part-1.html

    If you want any more details (e.g. GPX track) of my actual route, feel free to ask.

    HeatherBash
    Free Member

    >Thinking of starting in Mallaig, taking the ferry to Inverie,<

    Think of starting from Morar and getting the ferry from Tarbet 😉

    Inverie to Kinloch Hourn is quite tough (easier / better in the other direction)but it’s the weather (and Midges) that makes or break these routes and that’s why Scotland can deliver in spades or turn into a death march.

    The rest sounds ok. Feshie better imo but again its far better still in the opp direction.

    Ride the route in reverse?

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    There’s a lot of potential starting at Attadale train station, up and over to Glen Ling, descend to Killilian, up Glen Elchaig and towards Loch Mullardoch. I honestly don’t know what the shores of the loch would be like, but you would end up at the top of a singletrack road leading to Cannich.

    Lots of forest road options from there would bring you back out within the environs of Ft Augustus.

    I’ve ridden the Glen Ling track as a climb, looked like a great descent.

    orangetoaster
    Free Member

    I’ve walked it – a great route. Barrisdale to Kinloch Hourn is the tricky bit with not much room for error. Get it wrong and your going for a swim!

    The path is narrow in places with a step/slop at one point where you’ll want to carry the bike. Strong winds can catch you unawares on the path even when walking.

    I’d reccomend the route provided you keep your wits about you and don’t travel when tired/off form.

    Tarmac route from kinloch Hourn to the main road is a good one. It’s Britains longest dead end road.

    kennyp
    Free Member

    As someone said above, ride from Mallaig to Tarbert and get the ferry to Inverie. Be prepared for lots of pushing to get to Kinloch Hourn.

    Glen Feshie to Braemar is great, however a better way may be Glen Feshie, Loch an Eilean, Glenmore Lodge, Ryvoan, over to Tomintoul, down by Loch Builg then hang a left and you’ll come out at Ballater.

    Vader
    Free Member

    there are a lot of exciting options from kyle or attadale like 13th floor mentioned. I would target getting into the head of glen affric which gets you onto some excellent and continous riding with hardly any tarmac. It all depends on how much hike a bike you want.

    My persoanl choice would be to get to morvich near shiel bridge – realistcally this involves road – either the a87 from kyle or by heading onto skye then back over the kyle rhea ferry and over the bealach rattagan – minor road but stunning. Once at morvich head through to alltbeith hostel in glen affric, then to tomich and over the wades military road to glen moriston, cross the a887 and continue over the military road to fort augustus, then cross the a82 to join the corriyarick. Ground conditions permitting you will be able to ride all this except for the climb up to the head of glen lichd. I think youll struggle to find more off road riding from the west coast to speyside

    13thfloors option also works, getting out of glen elchaig does involve hikeabike though and the loch mullardoch shore option would be a long miserable push unless there is something i havent seen in there….

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    13thfloors option also works, getting out of glen elchaig does involve hikeabike though and the loch mullardoch shore option would be a long miserable push unless there is something i havent seen in there….

    Bugger, I was hoping to send someone else along Loch Mullardoch to scope it out 😀

    ntsnow
    Free Member

    Thanks for all the replies!

    http://www.heritagepaths.co.uk/pathdetails.php?path=277 shows some optimistic looking photos. Assuming we have to push for all of the uphill parts, looks like it could be up to 4 miles and 2600 ft of uphill pushing (using bikehike) but hopefully less. That’s a pretty big day in bike shoes. (Which brings me to a side point: what kind of footwear do people use in the highlands for mtn biking? I’ve got some pearl izumi x-alp pros which pedal well and hike decently, and some pi x-alp enduros which hike even better but don’t pedal as well. With all the bogs and fords on the trip, I’ll have wet feet a lot of the time. Any thoughts? Need to get my wife some new shoes anyway). I’ll have to mull the route over with her some…

    I wanted to start at Morar and take the ferry from Tarbet, but it doesn’t sound like the ferry runs that way anymore. Only from Tarbet to Mallaig, so we’d ferry back to where we’d started. I’ve found some phone numbers for other boat operators, so will try them when I have a chance. As for riding the whole route in reverse… well how big of a deal is riding with the wind generally going from west to east? Seems like Mt Keen might be more fun in the other direction too, but what about Corrieyarick?

    I like the route idea through Glen Affric, does indeed look like the most off road route. Alltbeithe to Fort Augustus is a long day- 37 miles and 3800′ of climbing, could break it up by staying at the Tomich Hotel, but kind of $$$. Alltbeithe hostel requires sleeping bags and bringing in dinner and breakfast, so a lot more to carry. We’re trying to keep things light and only carry day food and no overnight kit (considering bringing an emergency shelter and bag though). This route is definitely something I’m considering though.

    Cutting straight from Kingussie east to Glen Feshie looks decent, but if we spend the night in Kingussie, it’s an extra mile or so for the day than if starting at Feshie Bridge. Glen Feshie looks like a long day.

    Kennyp and Heather, how would you describe the difference in the Glen Feshie vs Tomintoul routes? Tomintoul seems like more rover tracks and less singletrack, but maybe I’m wrong. The section from Feshie Bridge to Glenmoore does look really nice though.

    The geograph site is excellent, thanks! Very cool resource. As is this forum, many thanks to everyone!

    I think my wife and I are certainly in for a big shock as far as weather and midges go. Mentally preparing for the worst, hoping for the best. 😉

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Midges -Forget what people say about various clever remedies – the only thing I have found to work is DEET although I hold out high hopes for smidge so try the avon skin so soft or citronella if youwant – but have a small can of high strength deet just in case

    Hooter
    Free Member

    The Barrisdale route wouldn’t be a complete waste of time on a bike, but it would be fustrating to get a good downhill and then be pushing alongside the loch. IMHO Glen Affric is really special, I believe pushing up and over from the Kyle towards the bothy at the very top of the glen is do-able, and it’s definitely rideable all the way down from the bothy. (…and the bothy is a nice place to spend the night too, there’s also a very remote hostel a little further down the glen…)

    Expect hard going, rain, wind, midges, boggy ground and great memories 🙂

    wallace1492
    Free Member

    TandemJeremy – Member
    Midges -Forget what people say about various clever remedies – the only thing I have found to work is DEET although I hold out high hopes for smidge so try the avon skin so soft or citronella if youwant – but have a small can of high strength deet just in case

    TJ, found smidge to work better than Avon. Not cheap, but what price midge erradication!

    messiah
    Free Member

    Hi ntsnow, I can’t help you with the West coast stuff but East coast is my playground. Once at Braemar/Ballater rather than heading over Mt Keen I would suggest going up to Loch Muick and over the Capel Mounth to Glen Doll. Stay at the Clova Hotel which have a bothy and a vey snug climbers bar, or take a big day and head on over to Loch Lee. I suggest heading up to Loch Brandy and over Skuilie to Loch Lee. For staying here somewhere there are a few places; http://www.angusglens.co.uk/Big_Idea/big_idea_page.php

    Next day will be a fun but long one – go to Millden Lodge and head up Mt Battock via Burn of Turret and White Burn (last bit is a walk but there is a path/road all the way). From Battock head to Clochnaben along the tops which is a treat. Brilliant techy descent to Glendye – then a round-about route through Durris forest to Stonehaven and a well earned beer in the Marine Hotel at the very picturesque harbour.

    Vader
    Free Member

    depending on when you do the trip midges may or may not be a problem, mid to late may onwards it will typically get midgier as the ‘summer’ progresses. I dont worry with repellant but I would carry a midge hood at the very least.

    I carry a 2 person shelter which is tiny but so useful I wouldnt go without now.

    Back to the route, alltbeithe to fort augustus is a long day but very rideable so do-able. Tomich hotel is very ‘scottish’ and all that means! – you will need to retrace your steps in the morning back to hilton lodge where the military road starts, but it’s not far. Racking my brains you could get supplies at shiel bridge service station, beyond that there are no shops until fort A. There is a cafe just to the left of the military road where it joins the a887 in glen moriston – it is usually open in the tourist season only. Fort Augustus is a tourist honeypot, lots of BB etc but busy at holiday periods.

    I am 99% sure there is a bunkhouse and hotel at shiel bridge, and there is definitely a campsite there. BB accomodation is pretty common, many are not on the web but you will find if you ring one and it’s full or closed they will say ‘oh try mrs so and so down the road’ and theyll give you the tel number etc.

    HeatherBash
    Free Member

    Sorry to return to my route reversal theme but Shiel Bridge > Alltbeithe is another one that’s a squillion times better in the other direction. And I wouldnt go via Gleann Lichd I’d go over the Bealach Sgairne which is the next Glen to the North.

    Agree with Messiah on Mt Keen and his alternative – MK was always overrated anyway imo but is more so now that you can push a bath chair up its Southern flank.

    Upper Feshie is beautiful and I’d chose that on balance over the Tomintoul option. There’s some tasty single track either side of the scaffold bridge (marked waterfall on the OS map) but again you really want to be heading down and not up it.

    Of course if you really want some proper singletrack / technical challenge then strike through the Lairig an Laoigh and on to Linn of Dee via Glen Derry 😉

    messiah
    Free Member

    Of course if you really want some proper singletrack / technical challenge then strike through the Lairig an Laoigh and on to Linn of Dee via Glen Derry

    Or over Macdui and Lochnagar 8)

    HeatherBash
    Free Member

    Hellyeah 😉

    ntsnow
    Free Member

    I love technical riding, but will need to keep it mellow for the wife and also considering the day after day cumulative miles. I’ll look into the Mt Keen alternative, thanks. Glen Affric sounds great and remote, just means we’d need to carry more crap. We’ll be starting in middle to late June. Thanks for the smidge and midge forecast link. Many thanks again for all the help!

    druidh
    Free Member

    Can I post my favourite photo of Glen Affric?

    Can I, Can I???

    Vader
    Free Member

    I agree with heather bash re the route being better in reverse from alltbeith to Sheil Bridge, and indeed bealach sgairne is awesome east to west.

    However Tomich – Fort A is completely rideable west east but not so in reverse from glen moriston up to the top of the descent to tomich. Well you could probably get up if you sessioned it. The corriyarick is also rideable west – east, the other way round is likely a push up.

    For some reason coast to coasts always seem to be west to east in my head. No idea why.

    If you needed sleeping kit for alltbeith but nowhere else you could offload it at tomich post office and post it to your folks.

    druidh
    Free Member

    Ah well – I’m going to post it anyway


    Affric Classic by druidh_dubh, on Flickr

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    One thing I would do if you possibly can is to be flexible – then depending on the weather/ fitness / number of beers the previous night you can vary your routes

    Vader
    Free Member

    nice work druid

    HeatherBash
    Free Member

    >but will need to keep it mellow for the wife<

    In that case forget about my / Messiahs suggestions – I could envisage severe sense of humour failure.

    >For some reason coast to coasts always seem to be west to east in my head<

    That’s interesting – group of us did a route mostly over the hills about 10 years ago and as the madness / journey progressed I couldn’t help but feel the direction was the wrong way around. Obviously there is the prevailing wind to consider and the route choice needs careful planning but Inverie/ Morar for example is a destination par excellence. I found the trundle down to Stonehaven an increasingly damp squib.

    messiah
    Free Member

    Finishing in Inverness is probably the only way to deliver an ending that isn’t “meh!”. Once you get near the east coast your heading away from the mountains so it does get a bit, er, flat – the last bit of my suggested route through Durris would suck the life out of you as it’s tree farm forestry so more than just a bit ugly (and far from flat or quick), but at least you’ll get a nice pint in Stonehaven unlike Montrose where more likely to get a shandy.

    HeatherBash
    Free Member

    Durris – remember it well. And the pint @ Stonehaven was indeed good.

    Actually you were supposed to be on that trip but don’t out me on here 😉

    ntsnow
    Free Member

    Gorgeous photo druid. Found your photos of Loch Muick and Capel Mounth- sweet.

    I’d love to not make any reservations and take each day as it comes, but how realistic is that? I’d hate to arrive somewhere to find everything booked up. We’re going to start on a Tuesday, but will go through the weekend into the next week. Maybe just get bookings for the weekend and leave the rest blank? Taking this long because we’re going to take our time and have a couple rest days so we can get our tourist mode on (and sample more than a few pints and whiskeys)- any suggestions of good towns on the route to do things other than bike that aren’t total tourist traps?

    Severe sense of humor failure could be problematic, but she’s held in there on quite a few suffer fests in the past.

    One more question- is there anywhere to stay in Tarfside? Would like to ride the Clash of Wirren, but not on the same day as going over Keen.

    Many thanks!

    ntsnow
    Free Member

    Any recommendations on chain lube? I searched a little and didn’t find a consensus. I’m used to using a wax lube in a super dry climate. Expecting that it will rain the entire time, should I get some wet lube? which kind?

    thanks,

    -wet weather biking noob

    messiah
    Free Member

    If your looking to stay near Tarfside the link above I gave for the Angus Glens is Glen Esk… which is Tarfside. It’s a very quiet area so finding any information online would be a struggle, but a few phone calls should get you somewhere to stay.

    If your willing to take your time and see/do some touristy things then there are better route’s than I have so far suggested. Let me think and post back.

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    ntsnow, I’ve tried touring in the highlands with a dry lube, never again.

    I’d suggest basic Finish Line Wet Lube. You can wipe off the muck at the end of the day with a rag, reapply lube (1 drop per roller, takes 1 min to go round the chain) leave overnight, wipe off excess lube the next morning.

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