Torridon September / October

Free pass long weekend .  Ive wanted to do the Lollipop loop for years but life always got in the way .   I know a Indian summer is wishful thinking but the north Highlands at the end of September shouldnt be too bad should it ?   And with luck a fee less skin eaters maybe .   Or am I best saving it for April ish  ?   Daylight looks good  7am -7pm  so loads of light to  hit the 30+ miles . WWSTW do ?

Mate time of year is a gamble even in summer.

Reckon sept would be ace. Holidays over still warmish do it!

What Duncan said – it’s always a punt going to Torridon, but when you win, you win big!

Thats what Im hoping for  a 96 hour win !

Well if you were going this week it would be absolutely horrendous so there’s a good chance October will be better!

I went in April and got lucky with wall to wall sunshine.

I’ve got it very tentatively pencilled in for mid September or beginning of October.

It could be anything at any time of year. Just go.

I once spent six weeks there doing my geological mapping dissertation. It rained twice. Once on the day we nipped over to Inverness and again on our last day there.

It’s a magical place.

I will just have to keep most things crossed .  Ive noticed a few veriations on the loop  from the Deviate (Andy vid) and Scottys vid  to the ones on trail forks and alike  ?

Enjoy.

But do take a good book for the community cafe day if you crash into an early autumn storm…

Torridon can be great at any time of year, but if the weather turns bad it’s easy enough heading south and east to Cairngorm which is generally more sheltered.

Torridon can be great at any time of year, but if the weather turns bad it’s easy enough heading south and east to Cairngorm which is generally more sheltered.

That’s giving me flashbacks.

First time I went was in May (not this year) to try and get half-decent weather and no midges. Instead we got snow and high winds. Gave up trying to ride on the second day and headed home, only to have sunshine and barely a breeze by the time we were half an hour east. Plans quickly changed to a detour to via Cairngroms to raise the spirits

I’m heading up to do the Classic Loop on Saturday. This week, I will be mostly pummelling the refresh button on forecasting sites.

@arrpee Let me know your thoughts on the route and weather to pack my flippers :)

@stevedoc Finally ticked-off the Classic Loop today, and there was definitely some weather. Had rain for the first hour and the last two, with a little bit of everything in between. Great day out with a nice mix of Type 1 and Type 2 fun: pedaling on quiet roads and double-track, enlivened by big mountain scenery; technical climbing, pushing and hike-a-bike (although less of the latter than I was expecting); and two big, chonky descents that feel pretty special.

Given the amount of rain that’s fallen lately, the route holds up pretty well. However, the last ascent before dropping into Annat is a slooooog: utterly saturated with the trail basically turning into a burn in spots. Didn’t ruin it though.

Plenty of wet weather gear, calories and a sense of humour recommended. Torridon YH also recommended: good facilities, friendly staff and a nice vibe.

Thats great to hear.  I’m booked in at the YHA so that’s another win … As its 30oc where I am at the moment bit cooler would be nice .

I have done Torridon several times in February and had decent weather e.g. no snow, named storms etc. Might just have been lucky though…..

Thanks @appee   Thats given me hope

1. Keeping my eyes on Torridon weather. There from 14-20 September. Have been 4 times before April, May, July and September. Had great weather every time except for May which was pretty mixed but not awful. I was booked to go in April this year but broke my pelvis in April. The weather for that trip would have been wall to wall sunshine. I’m probably due for a bad one , weather wise