I've done it on a fat bike and its fine so relax and enjoy the views ready for the next great trail. Hopefully this will serve to help people get out there and enjoy the great outdoors as seen from a bike seat. Approaches are long from any direction; Corrour Station gives the nearest access from the west, whilst it is possible to approach from Loch Rannoch in the south. Today it was pretty easy. Technical challenges come in the form of various burn crossings and assorted random rock features. Covering some 68000 acres stretching from Loch Rannoch to Dalwhinnie. After a short while I passed through wet snow then deeper and dryer snow overlaying some seriously wet ground. OS maps show the end of the double track here but it continues to 494655. I'm not sure who did the work across the Ben Alder estate but clearly they got a different brief from what the NTS provide. I got to Culra Bothy around 7 and it was raining torrentially, hence me ignoring the closed signs and spending the night in the main room. Another good there and back again ride is the trail alongside Loch Ericht beyond Ben Alder Lodge. Ben Alder is one of the great remote mountains of Scotland, set in the very heart of the Central Highlands. This defile sits around 100m higher than Loch Lagan - more glaciation. As the slope you are crossing steepens things get more interesting but its all rideable with a modest amount of technical skill. You've then got 2k of bog trotting. The track runs out at the end of the loch and the marked path is another vague boggy none line. 01540 670000. the trail was a good one. Loch Eighaech and snow-capped mountains south of Rannoch Forest Follow the double track north west until you leave the forestry and climb up to nigh on 450m. After the deer fence on the left stops is the boggiest bit. There are a couple of bits that have washed into the loch and have been re-aligned but a couple of bits haven't. All the trails are on Open Street maps too. First up is the path shown on the OS that goes up the Allt Cam. The descent to Culra Bothy seemed to go on for ever. but really are worth a look as there and back again rides. The item Rannoch Moor & Ben Alder : Loch Rannoch : the essential map for outdoor activities represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Rannoch Moor & Ben Alder : Loch Rannoch : the essential map for outdoor activities represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a As well as the above there are two through routes (well one and a half as they both start at the same point) either on the Highland Trail 550 route to Lagan or else as a means of getting into the Cairngorms via Dalwhinnie. The bridge is a significant technical challenge but the Author feels that if you can't manage this, you shouldn't be here. And then there’s Ben Alder Cottage, the haunted one. This is pleasantly rough after the main access track but still level and easy to the YH. Riding station to station. If you do decide to push through, its around 4k of difficult going. Covering some 68000 acres stretching from Loch Rannoch to Dalwhinnie. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Technically its harder this way but all good stuff and there are no significant challenges. Carie lies around 3.5 miles west of Kinloch Rannoch on the south side of Loch Rannoch. The route starts out easy - down Loch Ericht over and across to Culra, over the Bealach Dubh / Cumhain to Ben Alder Cottage. Many parts of the WLA are of high scenic valueiii, recognised by being within the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area (NSA), the northern edge of the Loch Rannoch and Glen Lyon NSA, the Ben Alder, Laggan and Glen Banchor Special Landscape Area (SLA), and overlapping with the Cairngorms National Park in the far east. I can confirm that the "path" by the Uisge Laibhair isn't worth doing, all but unrideable. This is a good one so well worth a visit. Keep right for maximum chance of dry feet. "Ordnance Survey Explorer Map #385: Rannoch Moor and Ben Alder" covers that portion of the Scottish Highlands inbetween the scenic but civilized environs of Perth and the towns along the A9, and Glen Coe and the dramatic scenery of the West Highlands. Culra Bothy is technically closed after the MBA discovered asbestos in the roof space but I've stayed in it twice since then and the main room seems (to me) to be fine. In August it was very damp and I've done it since when its been nigh on bone dry. the reverse of the first route described in this post) and then down along the lochs to their end. This (roughish) track goes for about 2k before it climbs up into the hills. If you look at a large scale OS road map of Northern Scotland your eye maybe drawn to a large area of wilderness bounded by the A9, A86, A82 A85 and A827 with only a couple of C roads and the B road alongside Loch Rannoch intruding into the southern area. The final descent was a bit more engaging and did require an iffy river crossing but its all fairly short and soon enough your back to the Lochan Earba track. The descent down Coire Pitridh is a corker on a good stony trail. In 2014 most people thought we had a mild and snow free winter. Marina, Loch Rannoch Hotel Boat Hire, white rafting and canoeing. As usual the last mile to Ben Alder Cottage was the hardest as we struggled through the black quagmire with bikes over the shoulder. Nav is simple - start at Dalwhinnie, head down Loch Ericht, Over to Loch Pattack, down the river and cut round west to Lochan Earba (i.e. Bear right again heading for the Coille Doir-ath. After a leisurely drive to Loch Rannoch I abandoned the car and headed north through the woods near the head of the loch towards Loch Ericht Cairn 15m E at NN 49633 71847 may be as high Most of the rest, by accident or the design of a mountain biking upland path designer, have enough of a kick from the rocks either side of the gap to enable an easy jump over them. If the above looks a bit drastic but you want to explore the area, then just ride up the various bits of double track and back again. Before this you have to cross a small burn which this day was more iffy than the Allt Cam:-. Ask anyone about Ben Alder and bike riding and they will exude much enthusiasm about the single track from Ben Alder Cottage to Culra Bothy. I'd plotted a route starting and finishing at Dalwhinnie (inspired by reading other accounts on the net) and taking in Loch Garry, Loch Rannoch and Loch Ericht. It had been a bit grey up until that point but then the sun came out! Typical trail shot looking back towards Culra. If you want food there is a good cafe at Rannoch Station as well as a Hotel. This is worth a miss as its not really on the ground and the terrain is rough boulder strewn peat hags. The view northeast showed just how far I had travelled: The view southwest looked out across Rannoch to the distant hills beyond. Theoretically you can avoid this burn crossing and stick to the north side of the loch but this is a very rough and little used path, so will likely be a push. The trail then improves and you descend down to loch Beithe where the trail improves again, finally descending back down to culra on another fab built path. From here take the track on the east side of Loch Ossian. If I'm going to carry my bike up to 840m I want to have a view off the top. It’s a remote bothy by the standards of the Central Highlands, concealed beneath the bulk of Ben Alder on the shores of Loch Ericht. From here the gradient eases although its rough going. I bivvied here in 2018 doing this circuit as an overnighter. As relative newcomers to off-road bikepacking, our aim is fairly conservative although thrillingly off-grid. Abandon ones conveyance at a small layby 100m east of the Rannoch power station. We rode out of Corrour estate and along Lochan Earba, the Ben Alder hills to our right. Then comes the exciting bit. In 2018 I did it as an evening / morning overnighter which was equally entertaining. This was my first time south to north of the Bealach dubh trail. Track at the end of Lochan Earba under water. Approaching Loch Ossian, with the huge bulk of Ben Alder in the distance: At the back of the Lodge take the path (NN413697) along the Uisge Labhair. before the slow grind up the cycleway to Dalnaspidal. For a bit more adventure there are two trails that are effectively dead ends (unless you are feeling really adventurous!) Alighting at Rannoch, we will navigate a network of trails and paths through the estates of Corrour and Ben Alder to reach another train station at Dalwhinnie, on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. You descend a bit on a super narrow line then climb again for a short section to the Bealach Cumhann. This was the warm up for all of the horrible storms late '15 early '16. It typically takes 20 to 30 minutes from here to the bothy so don't sweat it. Rannoch Station is connected by road to Kinloch Rannoch. Avoid the track heading up the hill heading for the Munros as you really want the one down by the river. Yet another blog about someones biking adventures. Carry on to Loch Ericht and along the west shore. From Rannoch station, he set off on the 10-mile trek to Ben Alder, at 4,000ft one of the highest mountains in the central Highlands. You've either got to do the above, do the equally hard Ben Alder tour or include it in one of two epic circuits (more later!) The trail starts right at the bothy and its immediately good - a narrow gravel path winding up alongside the Allt Chaoil Rheide. The plan had been to ride over Bealach Leamhain to Loch Pattack, then out to Dalwhinnie, thence to Newtonmore by NCN 7. and should be on anyone's Scottish mountain biking to do list. I had a wee diversion at the lodge to the loch shore via another fine piece of singletrack and then back tracked to follow the easy track to Dalwhinnie. I'll not bother describing them as the above covers all of the bits and a GPX of the HT550 is freely available. At this point I'd not much idea what I'd be in for other than what a mate had said i.e. Not exactly fat bike terrain but I've become quite proficient at dealing with headwind pavement climbs on the beast - just sit back and relax and don't try to pedal too hard. Its all rideable until the last bit of the climb where the gradient will likely defeat you unless your running a 20/50 granny gear. Its all pretty easy excepting the crossing of the Alllt Chamhlain. Above was the most snow recorded in a generation but only a skier or mountaineer would have realised this. The next section is on NCN 7 - a smooth cycleway alongside the A9T. The Autumn colours were in full bloom - stunning. From here its fairly good going down to the start of the onward route. I've not actually got many pics of this route, simply because I'm usually enjoying myself too much to take photos! On a good day the views towards the mountains of Glen Coe and the Black Mount to the west, Schiehallion in the east, Ben Alder Forest in the north and Rannoch Forest in the south are breathtaking. From there, Loch Ericht can be seen almost in its entirety. Its an absolute cracker of a circuit and best of all, you pass almost no civilisation (barring the odd remote house) on the whole route. The track rolls out to the road and then you turn left and head east to the start of the track described in the previous section. Look to your right (i.e west) and you should see the West Highland rail line crossing the desolation of Rannoch moor. Where the glen widens out there is a good camp / bivvy spot. Follow the above route but instead of descending to the river to cross, keep along the excellent path. So that's all for lecturing, onto the riding! You haven't climbed Carn Dearg (Corrour) yet. It took me about six and a half hours of steady going to do this. Of course I'm talking from the perspective of a rider of rigid bikes. At one point the argo track crosses the marked line up a steep bank. For the adventurous there are a number of biking opportunities in this area and some truly classic through routes. At the end of the loch just opposite the YH turn left on a new (in 2017) track which climbs back eastwards away from the loch. Eventually the path coalesces out of the tussocks and climbs steeply up towards loch Leamhain. Ben Alder is actually one of the most isolated peaks in all Scotland being miles from the nearest road. Corrievarkie Lodge Bridge of Gaur Rannoch OS50: 042 (Glen Garry & Loch Rannoch) OS25: 050 (Ben Alder, Loch Ericht & Loch Laggan) OS25: 385E (Rannoch Moor & Ben Alder) OS25: 393 (Ben Alder, Loch Ericht & Loch Laggan) Notes & comments. It was not until November 2014 that I finally did this trail, as part of a circuit from Dalwhinnie. This is one of the biggest areas of wilderness in the British Isles and only loses out to the Cairngorms due to it being bisected by the West Highland Rail line and a few remote lodges. Also remember to smirk at all the suckers driving on the A9..... At Dalnaspidal lodge turn right down a double track to Loch Garry. Its a bit run down being none MBA but makes for a good bivvy spot if you are doing this circuit in two days. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. As well as great scenery there are some fabulous trails offering the full range of riding experiences. The main path keeps climbing until it passes below a crag at its high point of just over 750m. There is a small island in the river perfect for a pitch up. If your familiar with the principals of Upland path management you'll know these terms and what they mean. The last time I tried it was sunny but a late fall of snow would have made it a schlep. Ben Alder Estate Dalwhinnie Inverness-shire PH19 1AE. There are a few that have bigger gaps but my view is that as we are in the mountains, get over it and get that front (and back) wheel airborne. The sporting lodge, forming part of the surrounding Ben Alder Estate, has been refurbished to a very high standard throughout and has been running as a luxury holiday let for the last 6 years or more. I had to cash in on the unseasonably good weather so decided to head for my latest playground - the Ben Alder area. There are great views across Loch Rannoch towards Ben Alder. Its not too bad and I did once do this on a Salsa Fargo so don't be put off as its only 1.5k. This is the Old Road to the Isles and part of an ancient right of way from central Scotland to Fort William and beyond. If you look at an OS 1:50k map of the area you'll figure it all out easy enough. They are short though. This one has been around in various guide books for a while - it even pre-dates the path work so must have been hard going in those days. The hot tip is to stick to the middle as although this looks the worst, there is a firm base under the gloop whereas either side its bottomless. As above there is a through route option if you are willing to risk a rather drastic hike-a-bike section. Follow road through the village and along the north shore of Loch Rannoch then 9 miles along the loch side to Bridge of Ericht. Supplies are available at Dalwhinnie from the petrol station and a small cafe that operates out of the old hotel. The track shown on the map that runs along the south shore of the Loch actually goes into it on several occasions. If you are up for it its well worth it as you then pick up another nice trail to Ben Alder Cottage and get to ride the best trail in the area - see below..... Of course if you are into bike rafting then this would make this route much easier. Bloom - stunning has excellent confirmation and is one of my motivations choosing! 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