Rides from Inverness

noarman

I am going up to scotland next week and would like an all day ride starting from Inverness - does anyone know of a good route with plenty of hills? Thanks

KeithG

You could take the Sustrans Cycle route NCN 1 east along the coast which is scenic (and doable on a road bike) to Lossiemouth and Elgin and then turn south on the B 9103 to Rothes and then join the A95 and then B9102 which runs up the north side of Speyside and is the big malt whisky distillery trail to Grantown on Spey and Carrbridge and back to Inverness on NCN 7. About 80 miles, I think.
The Speyside bit is very pretty and historic, it's on minor roads or cycle tracks.
Roads north and west out of Inverness tend to be busier A roads, I think and you will need to mix it with more traffic to get into truly highland scenery.
A circuit of Loch Ness is also possible using the Great glen way on the NW side(not suitable for a road bike, I think but probably doable on a tourer with wide wheels and some psuhing) and back along the minor roads on the SE side of the loch.
The A 82 along L Ness at the weekend will have lots of tourist coaches and some fast traffic and will not be pleasant.

chasctc

As previous but instead on staying on NCN7, turn left at Findhorn Bridge (NH803277) and tackle Glen Kyllachy (Garbole to Woodside) before dropping into Inverness.

noarman

Thanks for these, I am really interested in hills and decent roads - any ideas? but appreciate your comments - the ride sound nice. Do you know a good route up to aviemore?

jongooligan

Thoroughly recommend the roads on the south side of Loch Ness. Easiest way out of Inverness is on the B862 to Dores but if you can find it the unclassified road to Essich is much more interesting. The whole of the Strath Errick area is very quiet compared to the other side of Loch Ness and there are some challenging climbs. The road from Fort Augustus to Whitebridge has a real grueller of a climb that was slightly spoilt by all the dam construction traffic when I was there in February (but don't worry about that - the traffic is only on the lower third of the climb).

My favourite ride in this area is from Inverfarigaig. If you look on OS sheet 26 (Inverness) there is a tiny road off the B852 just north of the river Farigaig. This climbs steeply through some hairpins on smooth tarmac but with a line of grass growing up the middle. I don't think a car has been along here in years as near the top of the steep bit a tree has grown most of the way across the road. From here the road surface gradually deteriorates until you get past Balnagarline - there are also gates across the road.

The road meets the B862 near Loch Ceo Glais from where you can make a circuit of Lochs Ruthven and Duntelchaig.

The roads around Whitebridge, Foyers, Gleann Liath and Errogie are also worth exploring. The scenery is fantastic and the wildlife spectacular. I spent a week here in February, went out every day on my bike and never got bored of riding on these roads.

Well, it's not like me to gush on like this so I'll sign off before I get an undeserved reputation for enthusiasm and cheerfulness.[;)]

philip99a

A good friend who lives in Drumnadrochit (on the north, ie A82, side of Loch Ness) read this thread and writes "They are so right about the south side of Loch Ness, the roads there are quiet and very beautiful. You would do everyone a favour if you would post a message from the communities along the lethal A82 in the Great Glen begging cyclists to stay off it for their own health, it is really not safe to cycle on it. They should either use the Great Glen Way or go on the quiet southside A862. We are tired of the sound of ambulances in the summer months!"

I've seen the A82 and walked along it for a short distance; it's horrible. Fast, dumb traffic and the road too narrow. Especially if you had panniers, it'd be lethal


Campag Super Nova; faster than a cannon ball

daviddd

Another option would be to cycle to Beauly on the north side of Beauly Firth (nice quiet road by shore to the left after cycle track over A9 Kessock Bridge); Then turn right for Contin about 1 mile south of Beauly. About 12 miles as I recall to Contin from Beauly, through quiet forest and countryside. Beauly is a typical Highland village.
If you check the map there are 2 roads between Beauly and Contin - one is a lovely scenic and quiet single track road (to the west of a small river). Both roads are very quiet though. Have lunch at Contin then cycle approx 11 miles to Drumnadrochit - nice senery, quiet road. Have coffee and cake in Drum. (obligatory). Then back the same way for 2 miles before turning right up a STEEP hill (15% or so) back towards Beauly. You could then return to Inverness on the main road to the south of Beauly Firth to complete the loop(quite busy but mostly wide road). I would guess about 50 miles all told.

Alpine Tour July 2006:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=l ... =1914&v=9d
Forthcoming lap of Australia:http://www.davidddinoz.blogspot.com/

dsoutar

Maybe try the roads off the A831 towards Cannich. You could do ther A831 loop itself from Beauly but it's been years since I was there and not sure how busy the road is

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live." ~ Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

snorri

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by philip99a</i>


A good friend who lives in Drumnadrochit (on the north, ie A82, side of Loch Ness) read this thread and writes "They are so right about the south side of Loch Ness, the roads there are quiet and very beautiful. You would do everyone a favour if you would post a message from the communities along the lethal A82 in the Great Glen begging cyclists to stay off it for their own health, it is really not safe to cycle on it. They should either use the Great Glen Way or go on the quiet southside A862. We are tired of the sound of ambulances in the summer months!"
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
A little off topic perhaps, but the friends suggestion to cyclists is unfortunate. Rather than urge cyclists to keep off the A82, it would benefit both cyclists and the local tourist economy if your friend would urge for early completion of works already at the planning stages to improve conditions for cyclists on the A82 routing.
Many cyclists want to be on the A82 because it avoids steep gradients and gives access to services and places of interest, eg Alltsaigh Hostel, Urquhart Castle, Drumnadrochit eateries etc. The other existing routings are barely suitable for laden touring bikes and are more physically demanding.