Scotland West to East

mykaloon

A group of us are planning a trip from the most westerly point (Ardnamurchan) to most easterly point of Scotland (Buchan Ness, Peterhead).

I've plotted a route so far....http://ridewithgps.com/routes/426295

Has anyone got any advice on the route I've plotted with roads I should avoid or suggested other routes.

At 247 miles it can be either a 3 day trip covering approx 80 miles per day or 4 day trip at approx 60 miles per day. We were planning to book B&B or hostels so any advice on good value places to rest our weary heads would be appreciated;

The 3 day option would take us to Spean Bridge at the end of day 1 and Grantown on Spey at the end of day 2.

The 4 day option would take us to Glenfinnan at the end of day 1, Newtonmore at the end of day 2 and Dufftown at the end of day 3.

Stoo61

At Laggan Bridge very near Newtonmore there is the Pottery Bunkhouse, stayed there on a MTB C2C, very nice, very cheap.

bompington

You should start at the real westernmost point of Scotland

mykaloon

Pottery bunkhouse ticks all the boxes Stoo - will add them to my list.

Whereabouts is the most westerly point on your map Bompington ? Phone is struggling to show me very much from your link!!

bompington

It's St Kilda, or Soay to be precise (St Kilda refers to a group of a couple of largish and several small islands).
Of course I'm just winding you up - the actual westernmost point is in fact Rockall

mykaloon

Can't get booked into a b&b at Rockall so will have to start off as planned at Ardnamurchan !

wheelygood

Grey Corries Lodge bunkhouse at Roy Bridge. Fab bunkhouse at Tulloch - Station House.
Pete' Main's place - Highland Hostel at Newtonmore recommended

unixnerd

Pete' Main's place - Highland Hostel at Newtonmore recommended

Pete's a keen cyclist and also runs a cycle repair business, might be handy.

unixnerd

You seem to be using the A96 around Huntly and through the Glens of Foundland, I'd avoid that road at all cost even in a car! Maybe better to go north via Turriff and forget about Oldmeldrum.

mykaloon

Thanks for the heads up on the A96 around Huntly - Unixnerd. Have updated the route to head via Turriff as you suggest. Will maybe have to update the route beyond there on the way in to Peterhead as it's plotted along the A950 at the moment and have tried to run on B class roads or minor roads where appropriate.

Wheelygood/Unixnerd - off to have a wee Google on the Grey Corries Lodge, Station House and Highland Hostel....

navrig

The route looks to be about the best you'll get. The only word of warning I have is to watch out for mototrbikes between Spean Bridge and Grantown-on-Spey. The road along Glen Spean is a very popular and fast bike road and the road which runs parallel to the A9 is a favoured alternative to the boring A9 and also fast.

Hope the weather favours you and good luck.

nwallace

Stoo61 wrote:

At Laggan Bridge very near Newtonmore there is the Pottery Bunkhouse, stayed there on a MTB C2C, very nice, very cheap.

Just don't mention the local mountain bikers, have anyone drop out or set off the fire alarm.

Big Hairy Wallapers

Just found this thread and am envious!
You're gonna be in for some cracking days.
Please keep us posted and let us know how you get on...
Maybe post the final route when you've completed it and I could copy you and do the same trip!!

Good Luck

mykaloon

Thanks for all the input and well wishes.
Have drafted out the 3 or 4 day options and will get this round the rest of the troops to see what the preference is.

Will post up a link on the final route along with some pics/stories post ride if there are any to tell!....

mykaloon

Just thought I'd post an update having completed the West to East route last weekend.

The route can by viewed on this linkhttp://ridewithgps.com/trips/347812

The only part of the route I would change is the bit between Craigellachie and Huntly. We mistakenly took the A95 from Craigellachie and ended up heading towards Keith which was no major issue until we had to encounter the A96 from Keith to Huntly which was a busy busy road.

Overall, the trip was a joy. Day 1 from Ardnamurchan Point to Fort William via Glenfinnan was probably the pick of the days. Day 2 from Fort William to Aviemore was a bit of a mixed bag with the first part to Spean Bridge enjoyable. I did however find the stretch of the A86 between Spean Bridge and Laggan a bit of a drag and also quite a busy road at times.

By the time we started Day 3, the dry weather we had encounter on the first 2 days had gone and we were met with rain, rain and more rain from Aviemore to Turriff.

Day 4 was different, not only was there rain but also wind which was fine for run to reach the east coast and Buchan Ness lighthouse, but left us with a challenging 40 odd miles down to Aberdeen.

Accomodation wise, we ended up at the Bank St. Lodge in Fort William which was basic but reasonably priced and did the job. SYHA in Aviemore was again functional and reasonable. A bit more luxury was afforded at the Deveron Lodge B&B for the final night for not much more than the earlier stopovers.

I also put together a wee basic blog of our trip with a few pics which can be viewed at this link http://coast2coast-scotland.blogspot.com

k-dog

Sounds like a great trip.

Those roads around Glenfinnan are fantastic - I've been there a few times but never had my bike with me. The roads always looked nice and smooth to me to.