I left it until Sunday lunchtime to depart, this being the (allegedly) latest time a storm may develop. Heading west towards Callander (Route as per March BAM) it was still quite grey with numerous random drops of rain landing on me. However heading north up NCN 7 the sky cleared and the sun came out. This is a great route and with a bit of imagination can form part of a long route north which uses only back roads, this cycleway and good tracks.
Eating tea in Killin I noticed a rather black cloud rolling over Ben Lawyers, unfortunately close to where I was going. Sure enough on leaving town the heavens opened and the hour spent climbing over the Ben Lawyers road was done in heavy then steady rain. It cleared on the climb out of Glen Lyon over to Rannoch and after a few more drops looked like a pleasant evening was on the cards. My stop for the night was near where I was for May bivvy 2, about halfway along the Old Road to the Isles which runs from Rannoch to Ossian.
The Old Corrour Lodge - formerly a hospital / hospice for TB sufferers - A more remote spot you'd be hard to find. Blackwater Res in the distance.
This evening also marked the start of the 2018 midge season. It had been quite breezy until I set too pitching up, whereupon the wind died and the little beggars appeared in force. Later on the wind returned so I was able to strike camp without being chased away from this fine place. I was horrified to discover some timorous wee beastie had tried to make a tasty snack of my over priced ESI grips - one was covered in teeth marks and worse it had had a go on the draw cord on my fuel cell!
Morning view
Breakfast number two was had in the Corrour station café then it was a steady but lengthy pedal out past loch Ossian down to Fersit and then on to Spean Bridge via the East Highland Way. Tourers take note - if you have a bike with a reasonable amount of off-road capability this is a fine way to travel north missing out the gruesome A82 or the dull A9 cycle route. At Loch Lagan, you can turn right and head up towards spey side as an alternative.
For me it was Fort Augustus and pizza. Ironically I was heading the other way up the Great Glen than usual but thanks to a north easterly still had a headwind. Fortunately most of the route is sheltered so no big deal. After pizza I continued north east via the new cycleway which parallels the B862 (Also a Wades Road). Annoyingly its not actually open despite there being no signs to suggest this as at one point I ended up cycling through the Glen Crow Hydro-electric scheme base camp. Once finished it will be a nice alternative to the road which does see quite a lot of traffic. Its also a huge climb (30-350m) and not satisfied with that I continued further uphill via the South Loch Ness Trail.
Looking west towards Fort A and Kintail.
A mate put me onto this and its a quite a nice route with a good made path that seems like its not really being used despite lots of posh signs. I followed this for a few miles then rejoined the road as my route was taking me east. If you are continuing towards Inverness its a good route with quite a bit more trail, including the 'Fair Lads Pass' - a nice singletrack (ish) descent after another fine climb up the corkscrew road.
At Farr I picked up the wee road over the hills to Tomatin - another substantial climb but now with a stiff tailwind. It was getting a bit late by now, the sun was setting and it was also blissfully chilly after the heat of the day. From Tomatin I headed south over the Slochd and camped down by a fine Wades bridge over the River Dulnain on the old route of the Sustrans NCN 7
I've always fancied stopping here but never needed to previously as friends used to live in Aviemore.
Many years ago I was involved in a project to re-furb the bridge and do up the approach track along the old military road as part of the development of NCN7. The signs now show this section as for 'mountainbikes only' which undersells it. Pity Sustrans can't chuck a few quid at the track to sort it as its a far nicer route than the road. In any case use this instead of the road if you are in the area - its a bit rough in places but fine for 40mm or more tyres.
After breakfast in Carbridge I followed another abandoned section of NCN7 over to Boat of Garten and then various trails through the woods to Aviemore. I Called into Bothy Bikes to Chat to Dave for a bit. He's sold me quite a few frames and sundry bits over the years and its kind of my local bike shop, given that my actual local bike shops aren't remotely interested in stocking the kind of bike stuff I favour.
Dave mentioned he had recently done the Minigaig / Feshie / Geldie circuit. I've done a variation of this from the south and its a cracker - 50 miles of continuous off road with some great riding. I was aiming for home so suddenly the Minigaig seemed like the perfect route choice.
There are various ways south avoiding the A9 cycle route. The Minigaig pass is one of the lesser known (and harder) ones. Its best accessed from the north via Glen Feshie as the lower part of the route on this side is now little used and very hard going. No fun on a hot day! Instead bear right just after Feshie Lodge up a big climb on a stalking track right up to 847m. There is then a steep descent and steeper climb up to an unnamed trig point at 912m.
A place of good views
From here its a case of following the ridge line west towards the summit of the minigaig pass itself. There are various lines through the short heather but you can ride pretty much anywhere up here.
The descent off the pass is nice - a wee tussocky, rocky path which was near dry today. I Passed a couple of walkers setting up camp early beside the burn at the halfway point. I've noticed walkers tend to stop at tea time rather than going until last light but it was prime sunbathing weather so who could blame them.
The final descent is pretty steep and I impressed myself by riding it nearly clean (One burn crossing defeated me plus a nav error which saw me go straight on at a hairpin...).
Thereafter it a was an easy run out of Glen Bruar and down the riverside trails from Blair Atholl to Pitlochry. As luck would have it a train was due in shortly after I arrived so I jumped on to avoid a long road ride the next day.
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