The Beinn Dearg Circuit
By Pete Jones

I did this route near Ullapool the day after the riding Corrour Classic described above, and it's another cracker. It's a long one, 71 miles, but that includes 24 miles of tarmac from Ullapool back to the start point (you could omit this by taking a bus - see Bus Transport at the end of the route description). Aside from that, it's almost entirely offroad - mile after mile of rolling doubletrack through remote hill country.

Map

Landranger 20: Beinn Dearg and Loch Broom - the route is almost entirely on this one map, with just the final mile into Ullapool off the top of it (no problem, you don't need the Ullapool sheet).

Route Description

• Start at Black Bridge on the A835 (grid ref 374 709).
• Take the minor tarmac lane NNW up the valley to the bridge at 355 736; don't cross the bridge, go straight ahead along the grassy track through the gate. Bear left at the junction 1 km ahead, then follow the track along Strath Vaich all the way to Deanich Lodge (370 840).
• Tank down Gleann Mor, bearing right when you cross the river. Continue through trees to Glencalvie Lodge (464 891), flipping the finger at surly estate workers.
• Pick up the tarmac, follow it to a T-junction, turn left (west) and continue to Croich Church. From here you're back on the rough stuff.
• Ride easily NW up Strath Cuileannach for miles - be warned, all the deer gates are locked, so get ready to hoist the bike over a lot of 7 foot fences. There are good views over towards Connival. You'll cross the river at 374 976, picking up a new landrover track on the other side - you only follow this for c.1 km, before branching off left along a rougher track at 365 980.
• Continue along to Duag Bridge (339 974), then turn south and head up Strath Mulzie, keeping right at the occasional junction.
• At grid ref 285 921, high above the glen, you leave the main track; follow vague singletrack NW along the Allt nan Caorach, a curious little gorge that takes you through to Glen Achall.
• Descend to the head of Loch an Daimh (266 937) then take the obvious track uphill to the west. Follow this down into Glen Achall, continuing west past Loch Achall to Ullapool, sitting pretty on the coast.
• From Ullapool it's a pleasant 24 mile road ride back to the start along the A835. If you're a southerner that's probably going to be too much for a day ride - take the bus instead (see below).

Accommodation - loads available in Ullapool, but I like the Aultguish Inn just below the Glascarnoch Dam.

Bus Transport - Times for buses heading south back towards the start point are available from Ullapool Tourist Info. The most useful bus for cyclists returning to Black Bridge departs from the pier at 16:45 (Mon/Tues), 15:30 (Wed/Fri) and 17:00 (Thur/Sat). Citylink bus information can be obtained from 01854 612135.

Rail Access - via Garve, on the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line. It's a c.8 mile ride from Garve to the start of the route.

Further Reading - I stitched this route together based on a couple of shorter routes in Harry Henniker's 101 Mountain Bike Routes in Scotland. It's a poorly laid out book, and Henniker seems to have an aversion to quoting map numbers and grid references; despite this, it's a good reference work for planning routes if you're already familiar with the areas in question.

Last Updated 24-06-2007
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