Bit of a ramble, apologies, but i’m excited…

I’ve started recently researching and planning a cycle tour up the north west coast of the highlands, after being somewhat inspired by 13thfloormonks amazing account last year.

I’m hoping to make the most of the bank holidays and should be able to get about 2 or 3 weeks in total, at a time when the midges should still be sleeping, yet the arctic conditions may have relented.

The start will be on Skye, Kyle of Lochalsh. (At the moment, trains there can be had for £30 for mid April!) A few years back I rode up the Outer Hebs and then down from Uig to Mull and Oban, so this time I’d like to explore north. I’ll be following the coast as closely as the tarmac will allow; sadly I am not tough enough to do this trip on a mountain bike! I’m not decided yet about visiting Sandwood Bay and Cape Wrath – it’ll be a long push though a long bog. My bike’s a Salsa Vaya, fairly tough with ‘cross tyres are sturdy rims, so it’ll be able to handly moderately rocky terrain.

I’m after any tips, advice and suggestions which might be available! Particularly where I might be able to restock on food (I eat like a horse at the best of times, let alone when riding 50km a day), and find good bothies to doss in. I’ll take a small tent as well.

Shops I’m expecting:
Kyle of Lochalsh
Torridon?
Kinlochewe?
Gairloch
Poolewe
Ullapool
Lochinver (pause here to climb Suillven)
Kylesku?
Scourie?
Kinlochbervie?
Durness

I need to check when the Durness ferry starts up again – it says ‘May’, here’s hoping it’s early May!

Another thing I’ve not sorted is a way home from Durness. Do the buses take bikes?! Otherwise it’s a long ride to Thurso for the train.

Cheers!

Thanks Mowgli, for what its worth, there’s an awful lot of the off-road stuff that I wouldn’t want to ride again, if your bike can handle cart tracks/landy tracks you’ll probably get the best of it anyway!

Keep in mind you can make it to Cape Wrath from Durness via the ferry you mentioned, its a good track that a sturdy tourer will handle no probs. The Sandwood track might be slightly trickier on a laden tourer though!

Another nice detour while you’re in the area is to ride up Strath Donaird from the Durness road on a good access track and maybe camp near the lochan and climb Fionaven? You could scramble up the side of the waterfall thats in one of my posts. Thats one thing I wish I’d done when I was up there but I hadn’t enough time.

From memory, there’s no shops in Torridon or Kylesku.

I had originally planned to scoot back to the east coast on maybe two or three days worth of track/road. There’s a train station at Carbisdale, along with a fairly epic hostel and a great wee pub. There was a pretty good looking track from new the Crask Inn although you might be pushing the first few km on a tourer.

From memory, there’s no shops in Torridon.

no, no shops in torridon, there is a van that goes round and sells loads of stuff, butcher meat and the likes, think it’s just one or maybe 2 days a week, i got him to drops some stuff of for me at the torridon youth hostel last year. There’s a shop in kinlochewe though, so you can restock there. the pub(next to the bunkhouse) in kinlochewe does decent enough grub and guiness, i got a vension casarole which was magic. wasn’t too fussed for the pub in torridon.

You should be able to pick up a few provisions at the Torridon Youth Hostel providing you time it right…

http://www.syha.org.uk/hostels/highlands/torridon/travel.aspx

Did myself a couple of years ago.

We did Kyle – Applecross – Kinlochewe – (back to Inverness) – Ullapool – Scourie – Lairg – Inverness all on-road.

For supplies:
Big Co-Op in Kyle
Shop In LochCarron
Pub in Applecross
Pub in Sheildaig
Shop & pub in Kinlochewe (shop closed on Saturday 7pm when were there)
Allsorts in Ullapool
Good size Spar in Scourie

We didn’t go to Lochinver. I would particularly recommend doing the Bealach Na Ba and Applecross pennisula on the way north – tough but brilliant.

Cheers guys. I will have another look at MemoryMap tonight!

they were fitting out a wee shop in Torridon when we were up there last year, not sure if it ever actually opened. It also had a cafe on the side of it.

Sounds like a great tour, for following the coast check a few of the tracks that go round or over some of the smaller sticky out bits and connect dead end tarmac, some of them are well kept estate roads.

On a slow connection here at the moment so can’t show you our routes. feel free to email me mrmichaelwright@hotmail.com and i’ll send you the routes we’ve done

and do not underestimate the severity of some of the coastal routes, roads like the applecross road make the bigger hill passes look like a walk in the park!

Yeah, I forgot to say that the Applecross pennisula road made the 626m Bealach climb seem easy! We found there was a pub but no shop in Sheildaig because we were absolutely bolx’d and ended up only being able to get a pint of coke, pint of guinness and a bag of crisps.

Likewise if you want any more specific info (the ride was May 2010) drop me an email – address in profile.

for durness look at http://www.timdearmancoaches.co.uk/cyclebus.htm

Yes, I particularly fancied the track around the Torridon Peninsular to Redpoint, and the long route around from Gairloch to Poolewe. Google earth doesn’t give away too many secrets as to the condition of those tracks.

I am considering putting a 22t mtb granny ring onto my 30-42-52 triple road crankset!

and you can wet your appetite here http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmichaelwright/sets/72157623832236860/

Sadly Mr Tim Dearman has retired – I spoke to him this morning! Thanks for the pictures 🙂

they were fitting out a wee shop in Torridon when we were up there last year, not sure if it ever actually opened. It also had a cafe on the side of it.

should note it was 2 years ago i was there, not last year.

Likely your road chainset won’t fit a 22T ring I’m afraid, and your road triple front mech almost definately won’t cope with 22-42-52.

You should check with robgarioch for the Diabeg to Redpoint path. IIRC it’s fine as far as the hostel, although lots of on off with a laden bike.

There is a small shop in Sheildaig which IIRC is open 7 days, and the Sheildaig pub is the biz with an excellent seafood restaurant upstairs

that’s a real shame about the bike bus 🙁

There was a shop in Torridon last June, a bit further along the loch than the Youth Hostel.

I think it must be fairly new, as this looks like it under construction from Streetview:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=torridon&aq=&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=18.913312,56.90918&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Torridon,+Achnasheen,+Highland,+United+Kingdom&ll=57.549596,-5.516424&spn=0,0.071926&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=57.549472,-5.516197&panoid=GtNnIO3lLQInyW10DnxvIw&cbp=12,351.74,,0,-3.76

[Linking doesn’t work so paste that in your browser]

There is a small shop in Sheildaig which IIRC is open 7 days

We asked in the pub and they said there wasn’t a shop…maybe it was just shut as it was 6pm – which was our other problem as the pub didn’t do meals until 7. Hence guinness calories.

for accommodation check out http://www.hostel-scotland.co.uk/

personally I’d aim to spend at least 1 out of 3 nights in an hostel of some kind. there is no way you will stay dry and the facility of a washer drier or drying room or even a radiator will be an absolute essential!

more Scottish touring pics:

and

we’ve not got a highland tour planned this year 🙁

perhaps i should do something about that

In no particular order-

No shop at Kylesku, there is a pub and post office.

London Stores at Kinlochbervie.

Kyle of Durness ferry takes bikes and sets you up for Kearvaig bothy/Cape Wrath and an eminently cycle able road.

Cycle in to stay at Suileag bothy for the ultimate approach to Suilven (i.e. spend an evening in the bothy sipping whisky watching torrential gales lash the mist-shrouded mountain).

I was in Torridon last summer and the ‘new’ cafe couldn’t serve us because they didn’t have switch facilities. Or because they don’t like dirty mountain bikers.

Diabeg to Redpoint is crap by bike after the bothy (no more a hostel).

Try hitch-hiking home. Make your bike appear broken. The locals are nice 😆

Some of our pictures here

The cycle bus will get your home:
http://www.timdearmancoaches.co.uk/cyclebus.htm

Kyle of Durness ferry: subject to tides / MOD firing /

Diabeg to Redpoint is crap by bike after the bothy (no more a hostel).
Aye – but you can always carry it above your head 😉

And this website gives a grocery store for Torridon
http://www.s345468662.websitehome.co.uk/

Yes, I particularly fancied the track around the Torridon Peninsular to Redpoint, and the long route around from Gairloch to Poolewe. Google earth doesn’t give away too many secrets as to the condition of those tracks.

I’ve walked into the bothy from Redpoint and wouldn’t have fancied it on a bike, especially a heavily laden one, as there would be a lot of pushing/carrying.

I went from Torridon to Redpoint back in 2002.

Torridon to Craig
After lunch at Torridon, and more sunbathing, I headed on the narrow, twisting, climbing road to Lower Diabaig. Four kilometres of narrow track separated me from my bed for the night. I had first heard about this route back in 1995 and was now starting to wonder why I had listened. Narrow and rocky, I was often forced to carry the bike and then return for my panniers. After a couple of hours of hard labour, with no riding, I finally reached the hostel. All the effort was now worthwhile.

Craig to Redpoint:
“On greeting me the day before, Daniel had immediately stated, “You’ll love tomorrow”. He was right – it took five hours to cover the 7 km. Too many times I had to lift the bike above my head, climbing with it through the rocks, before returning for my luggage. Thoughts of Lady Macbeth being too deeply steeped crossed my mind, but eventually I reached the fishing station and picked up first the track and then the road to Gairloch. “

This was on a touring bike
http://www.crispinbennett.freedomnames.co.uk/WesterRoss.htm

I’m not saying don’t go to Craig – just that it won’t be easy!

On balance, I think I will be a more reasonable and happy person if I stick to the tarmac for that section! Maybe I’ll just make a decision when I get there. Cheers!

Not qualified to speak on much of the route, but Diabaig to Craig is now pretty good as you probably gathered from 13thFM’s thread, lovely hard paths & natural bedrock. In fact, here’s the man himself on that very section –

And near Red Point (or ‘Point’, as the locals say…)

It’s after Craig that it gets difficult. If you’re prepared for around 4 – 5 miles of pushing / carrying in soft or bouldery ground, maybe with 500yds riding overall, mostly at the end, then it is worth doing for the first section – it was a real boost for 13th + myself on the fringes of exhaustion. Just make sure you’ve plenty energy food when you start. 1st decent eaterie after Point is 6 miles along at Badachro Inn, mostly downhill… 🙂

Sadly Mr Tim Dearman has retired – I spoke to him this morning! Thanks for the pictures

is that bus not running any more then?

it was a real boost for 13th + myself on the fringes of exhaustion

Its amazing what you can find left in the tank when you find 5km of Torridonian ‘McMoab’ in front of you, views of the Cuillin weren’t bad either.. 8)

The shop in Torridon was open in November – they were unsure as to what their winter opening times would be but said they were definitely keen on opening ‘normal-ish hours’ when tourist season starts (easter?)

Gairloch has a good few shops and an excellent cafe.

If you’re heading up from Kyle towards Torridon/Applecross you might find yourself going through Lochcarron, which has shops.

Bealach na ba is a thoroughly stunning road. As close to ‘big country’ MTB as you’re likely to get on tarmac.

I’m jealous.

The Torridon cafe has indeed opened. However, they don’t take debit cards! Absolute head melting trauma when you’re hungry and drookit, cakes are on display and you don’t have enough cash with you!!!!!!! Welcome to Scotland eh?

Gairloch has a good few shops and an excellent cafe.

Ha! The cafe was good, but at those prices pretty waitresses and a good view would be the very minimum i’d expect, most expensive bagel I’ve ever eaten…

…they didn’t have switch facilities…

A very real consideration in these remote parts of Scotland. Always be prepared with some cash!

I have a very similar route in plan. Train to Kyle, then follow the tarmac North and West. I’m planning to get to either Hope or Tongue and then to Lairg for the train home.

Oh, just remembered.

When I toured up through Gairloch, I took the detour up to Rua Reidh lighthouse and stayed there for an evening. Was one of the highlights of the trip as it’s a thoroughly spectacular place to stay.

Craig to Redpoint is rather p1sh to be truthful…

Just booked a bargainous train from Leeds to Kyle for £23!

I have a similar route in planning based on a cheap train ticket to Mallaig.

I too was hoping to use the bike bus from Durness to Inverness so I emailed and got this reply from Tim Dearman:

It is with regret that I must inform you that due to my age and the present financial uncertainty I will be retiring 1/2/11 and therefore I will not be operating the Durness service this year.

The Highland Region contracted the service to run for 5 years and as I understand it there is a possibility that the service will be put out to tender for this year. Whether any new operator would continue to offer the same bike service is not clear.

The Public transport section of Highland can be contacted on public.transport@highland.gov.uk

Bloody hell, £23?! I don’t know how far Leeds is from Edinburgh, but from there the train takes you all the way up the central line through Aviemore to Inverness, then most of the way back down to the west coast. You’ll have passed through most of Scotland for almost the same amount that I pay for a return to Glasgow 😯

Where did you get that price?

It comes with buying your ticket exactly three months in advance. That is when the rail companies have to confirm their timetables, and release the cheap tickets. In about two or three weeks I’ll book my return journey!

It’s also cheap because I booked leeds-‘burgh, ‘burgh-inverness, inverness-kyle. Each £7. If I booked it in one block it’d be full price – over £100

SimonT – cheers for that, a few of us should maybe email the highland council to let them know there interest in it.