The Arkle Loop
by Pete Jones

This is a remote ride through the wild country of Assynt in Scotland's far Northwest. It's one of the best rides you can do in the UK but it needs to be treated with respect; having an accident here would not be a good idea. If your concept of mountain biking is following signposts around Coed-y-Brenin, this is not the route for you.

Map required: OS Landranger Sheet 9: Cape Wrath

Route Description
The route follows old stalking tracks that are falling into disrepair due to lack of use. There are no real route finding problems if you ride anti-clockwise as described. It should take 4 to 7 hours to ride depending on your level of fitness, but would not be a good place to ride in bad weather.

• Take the access track west and downhill from the road to Gobernuisgach Lodge (437 417). There is a parking bay on the single lane road a couple of hundred yards north of the track turnoff.
  
  
• Ride through the estate buildings and turn right along the obvious track leading NW up Glen Golly (good waterfall scenery). The track takes you through to Lochan Sgeirach (384 460).
  
  
• Leave the well defined main track and follow the overgrown path that leads round the south side of the Lochan. The track undulates over moorland before dropping to the An Dubh Loch outflow (356 464) pictured below. This section is rough and vague and you'll end up walking a fair bit of it, but route finding is not too bad; you can generally distinguish where the path is by the slight difference in vegetation (but see also Alternatives & Variations below). 

• The way ahead climbs steeply up to the Bealach Horn (340 460), with the track improving rapidly. Admire the views out over Arkle then ride the blistering 5 km downhill SW back to sea-level at the Lone bothy (309 421).
  
  
• From the bothy (which was locked when I did the route), take the obvious track angling up the crags to the east. This levels out and meanders through the Strath Luib na Seilich (pictured below) before climbing up to the Bealach na Feithe (372 419). The track is in excellent condition throughout.

• The track descending east from the col is initially patchy, requiring a bit of pushing in places. However, it quickly improves for a wonderful rocky downhill through the pine forest back to  Gobernuisgach Lodge. In good weather there is a sense of scale to this section of the ride that is very reminiscent of the Colorado Rockies. Return to the road along the access track.

Alternatives & Variations
The route would be equally rideable in a clockwise direction, with one caveat: it's very difficult to distinguish the track between An Dubh Loch and Lochan Sgeirach when you look back up the slope. Reversing the route could potentially lead to a horrible exercise in hag hopping if you lose the track.

It might be better starting the loop from the road near Lone, to avoid passing through the Gobernuisgach Lodge estate buildings. During the initial descent from the road to the Lodge there are a couple of 'Private' and 'No Through Route' signs. These seem to be aimed more at our 4WD friends than walkers and bikers. However, avoiding conflict with landowners can't be a bad thing when, as in this case, it doesn't detract from the quality of the ride.

There is a third track in the area, a landrover track that leads south and west from Gobernuisgach Lodge to the A838 (you'll need Landranger Sheet 16: Lairg & Loch Shin for this). This traverses lower land than the route as described, and might be a viable alternative if the weather closes in or you're feeling tired.

Don't be tempted to descend NW to Loch Dionard (486 361) from Lochan Sgeirach along what looks like the better track; the ascent back to An Dubh Loch would be murder (I've walked it). Also, there's no connection between the south & north ends of Loch Dionard - it's a boggy, haggy scramble. That's a pity, because the track down from Gualin House (305 565) on the A838 is very good, and provides a good way to access the quartzite flanks of Foinaven (below).