Wondering if the path up Glean Taitneach is bikeable and, if so, how technically difficult it is? I’m planning a couple of hill days with mates who are more hill walkers than mountain bikers, and don’t want to leave them struggling up/down some barely rideable bogfest.
Where's that? The closest spelling i can see is Glen Taitney in Angus (near Backwater Reservoir) which according to @fasgadh pictures on Geograph, has a gravel/forest road up it. But it's only a mile or so long, and it doesn't really lead to much hillwalking country anyway.
Ignore last message, I've found it now.
It looks like a good track as far as this photo, and is then described as harder to ride
Pic taken in 2014 at NO072765
I'd not take a bike all the way up there. I've walked down it and it might be ok as a descent.
(Edit: ah, maybe as far as the photo if that works to help reduce the walking distance).
The track up Glas Tulaichean (via the old railway) might go though but wouldn't really work as part of a circular route as the descent to the loch isn't going to work on a bike either
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=116552
I've ridden down the glen coming off Glas Tulaichean down to the loch- was a decent route, but needed to go up and over the small hill at the bottom to avoid bog. Its a vague path down the ridge off Tulaichean, then from the loch down almost all rideable going but with a few techy sections near the top beside the Allt Easgaidh that were marginally rideable. Would be a bit of hike-a-bike as a climb, but rideable for the most part.
For reference, I've just remembered that when I did the munros around that area, three of us rode up Glen Ey (from Inverey) and camped at the ruins of Altanour Lodge for one night. That landrover track is eminently rideable, as I had a Yak BOB trailer behind me. We didn't particularly use the stalkers' tracks marked on the 1:25K map, as we made a couple of loops from the campsite, and the bikes were left in the valley. So I can't speak much of those tracks.
I rode up with my dad a couple of years ago with camping stuff in backpacks to spend a night camping by the wee loch and do the munros. I remember it being pretty good most of the way - good double track. We dumped bikes just when it started getting steep heading up to the loch - just where the double track runs out on the 1:50k OS map.
I did this one clockwise a few years back, made it public so you can see. The ride up was tough but OK, be fine on an ebike, I had to push a lot of the steep bit. As mentioned by mtnboarder it was quite vague down off the top to the loch. I then recall quite a few getting off and walking moments from the loch down but eventually it got OK. Was my first Munro (only one still on a bike) so can't really compare. Might get boggy in winter up top there and take decent clothing going by my description 😀
https://www.strava.com/activities/7806870946
Carn an Right opposite appears to have a defined path to it but is covered in boulders, on a bike, if you can cope with two Kms of pushing through heather, you can add An Socach and follow its summit ridge along to Sgòr Mor and go down the techi single track to the plantation at the road, start of descent hard to find but riding improves further down.