Scottish Highlands

slowmart

Any informed views for areas or hotels to use please as a good base for a few rides during a summer break up there? And what time of year is best to avoid the midges!

I’ll be with my better half so a few hours every few days is my aim.

Thanks in advance

mercia_man

You can’t really go wrong with anywhere on the west coast, as long as the weather is kind. I like the Ardnamurchan Peninsula which can be combined with Mull by a short ferry. The Applecross Peninsula is another scenic option. Further north is Wester Ross, Assynt and north west Sutherland - all lovely.

I think the more breezy coastal areas are better for reducing midge risk than the inland mountains - at least in my experience. My worst experience was around Loch Leven and Glencoe on a humid and still morning in late May. When the midges descend, cycling can be awful. I did a camper van tour of the north, west and east coasts of Scotland last April in glorious warm sunshine, with blue seas and skies and not a hint of a midge. I’ve also found that early and mid May is generally OK. I’ve had a midge-free cycle tour of the Outer Hebrides in June but I’ve never tried the mainland in the height of summer midge season (June-early September).

thegreatdivide

The Loch Leven midge doesn’t bite, but you get HUGE swarms for a couple of days each year. Also, Loch Leven is in Fife, so no issues for a Highland holiday!

Do you have a rough idea of where you’d like to go slowmart? It’s a big area.

i.bhamra

Agree with Mercia-man re the West coast...it's stunning, plenty of hotels and B&Bs dotted along the NC500 route too. Rode the NC500 route over 5 days early August 2019. Midges weren't much of an issue other than early morning and late evening. Horse flies however were more of an issue, they descend in numbers when you're crawling up hill at 10 mph and can't escape them!

mercia_man

thegreatdivide said:

The Loch Leven midge doesn’t bite, but you get HUGE swarms for a couple of days each year. Also, Loch Leven is in Fife, so no issues for a Highland holiday!

Do you have a rough idea of where you’d like to go slowmart? It’s a big area.

Sorry, GD, you have got the wrong Loch Leven, on the other side of Scotland. The one I’m talking about is just south of Fort William running from Ballachulish to Kinlochleven to Glencoe. I camped for the night at a pub in Kinlochleven. The midges descended in a huge cloud in the morning and the campers had to run inside the pub to escape. I packed up hurriedly and pedalled away up the road in a fruitless bid to get away from the biting beasties. The whole exposed area of my legs was covered in red spots from the bites, just like an attack of measles, and it was pretty painful.

thegreatdivide

Ah - you mean the second rate Loch Leven

Check this out for the Fife Loch Leven https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39898684

bompington

thegreatdivide said:

The Loch Leven midge doesn’t bite, but you get HUGE swarms for a couple of days each year. Also, Loch Leven is in Fife, so no issues for a Highland holiday!

Do you have a rough idea of where you’d like to go slowmart? It’s a big area.

There's more than one Loch Leven... I can confirm that there were no midges in the Kinross-shire (not Fife [/petty pedantry] ) one on Sunday, but the west coast one can be pretty bad in summer, like anywhere on the west coast.

In general midges are worse in the west than the east: the epicentre is probably around Glencoe but anywhere can be atrocious from June onwards. They stay bad until September or even October - it's only after a few serious frosts that they disappear.

The weather also tends to be better in the west from May to June (April can be really nice but it can also be full on winter): most parts of the highlands - west or east - will still get occasional frosts right up to June, but there is often more sun and daytimes can even get actually warm (long daylight too of course). It gets warmer but wetter from July on (and August is basically the start of autumn).


As for routes - one issue around a lot of the highlands is that the main roads are basically the only ones: for example, the A82 through Glencoe and across Rannoch Moor is a magnificent road, but only ride it if you're happy to have trucks, caravans and fast cars blasting past you constantly.

Head for the east - Cairngorms, Speyside, Glenshee, Lecht - for bigger climbs on better and emptier roads, less rain and midges, but the scenery is a bit less spectacular. In the west, more out of the way but rewarding places would include Ardnamurchan and Applecross* as mentioned: look at the far NW too, and the area just north and west of Inverness.

Also Argyll has some great roads and is beautiful in a different way to the "mainstream" highlands - look at the Cowal and the 5 ferries route for example.

Consider the islands - outer Hebrides or inner: I've no personal experience of riding in the outer but they have a good rep for touring: and in the inner, Skye (but see above about busy roads), Mull, Islay, and even Jura are all fantastic.

NC500 is amazing but getting absurdly busy these days by all accounts.



TLDR: weather yes, midges yes, but these can be mitigated. Loads of great places to go.





* mind you, there's only one road there and it's a bit, errr, ....

mercia_man

thegreatdivide said:

Ah - you mean the second rate Loch Leven

Check this out for the Fife Loch Leven https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39898684

Great link! Worst insect experience ever for me was wild cycle camping in Wales when I was mobbed by black biting flies. Their bite was more painful than a midge bite. I had to close my tent door and cook inside. There was no way I could have sat outside enjoying the mountain views.

I love Scotland. When the sun shines and there are no midges, it’s a cycle touring paradise. The weather is the big drawback, particularly when camping in a small tent. But now I’m retired with the comfort of a camper van, I can drive up anytime if the forecast is good - which is how I ended up enjoying a heatwave there last April while England was rainy.

navrig2

I can confirm that the Kinlochleven midges are horrendous and 2nd only to parts of Arran.
With the current mild winter it is likely that most of the summer months will be midge ridden and you ill struggle to avoid them.

There is reference to horse flies or Cleggs as we call them. They bite and it hurts and if the bite comes after they have been snacking somewhere else it can get infected. Their bite will also go through lycra. I have had them bite me through bib shorts and tight jerseys.

Ullapool is a good destination if you are prepared to travel further north. As is the Gairloch area and Oban.

Other alternatives is to stay more central, say, around Loch Tay or even further east at Pitlochry and Blair Athol.

pblakeney

Good suggestion on Pitlochry, depending what is desired from the holiday.
Less highlands, but more facilities. Less scenic, but less midges. Less rugged, but more route choices.

slowmart

Cheers for all the informed responses. Nothing has been agreed but I’m considering a few days on Skye and meandering along the coast heading north. I haven’t ruled out central highlands but depends when in the year we decide to go.

A few years ago my wife and daughter rode on horseback from the east to the west coast of Scotland and I followed on my mtb bike and the scenery was epic. I believe it was early June and we weren’t bothered my too many midges although it did sleat on us over one of the passes.
.

haydenm

May is the best month in my experience, April is good also but for some reason the last few years have had excellent weather in May. I did the NC500 in September a few years ago and only got midged twice, Kinlochleven and Tongue, but that was because the storm blew most of them away

navrig2

If you chose Pitlochry in May as a base check your dates as the Etape is that month (around 24th I think) and everything is booked out.

If you chose July/August then book early as it is very busy during school holidays and is also pensioner city with Wallace Arnold coach tours.

Other than that it is a lovely town with a lively atmosphere.

If you want quieter but in that area I suggest Blair Athol.

Good road cycling in that area for up to a week.

garryboy1888

mercia_man said:

thegreatdivide said:

The Loch Leven midge doesn’t bite, but you get HUGE swarms for a couple of days each year. Also, Loch Leven is in Fife, so no issues for a Highland holiday!

Do you have a rough idea of where you’d like to go slowmart? It’s a big area.

Sorry, GD, you have got the wrong Loch Leven, on the other side of Scotland. The one I’m talking about is just south of Fort William running from Ballachulish to Kinlochleven to Glencoe. I camped for the night at a pub in Kinlochleven. The midges descended in a huge cloud in the morning and the campers had to run inside the pub to escape. I packed up hurriedly and pedalled away up the road in a fruitless bid to get away from the biting beasties. The whole exposed area of my legs was covered in red spots from the bites, just like an attack of measles, and it was pretty painful.

Stayed in Kinlochleven whilst doing the West Highland way. Can confirm the midges there do shifts. Got bitten do death on way home from the pub. The midges must have been properly pissed after drinking my blood.

poptart242

I stayed in Pitlochry when riding down from Aviemore to Edinburgh last year - good base but the best roads on that trip were right at the start in Aviemore.

I'd think twice about Skye - no matter when you go traffic is awful. We took our bikes a couple of years ago and decided against actually using them, it was that bad.

How about a bit of a circular route? Hit a couple of islands, head north to hit Loch Ness, Inverness, Pitlochry etc.