Melgrave Bothty
This is a description of a cross-country mountain-biking route that crosses the Highlands from Fort William to Blair Atholl. The route is a total of 100 miles in length, of which only about 20 miles are on tarmac. The route mostly follows the old drove routes and military roads that link the scenically varied glens and valleys of the Great Glen, the Spey Valley and Glen Tilt.
As described here, the route requires several overnight stops, and use is made of some of the bothies encountered en route, allowing the journey to be broken up conveniently into roughly equal length portions. This does entail the carrying of sleeping bags/mats and cooking equipment and food (other than snack food), meaning more weight to cope with. For those that prefer to ride in a more lightweight fashion, a little alteration around the general route would allow the possibility of B+B’s and/or hotels to be found at roughly convenient points, to avoid stretching any particular day out too far, but in truth the route is undoubtedly enhanced by the pleasure of stepping out of the door of a bothy, on a perfect highland summer morning, in the middle of a location such as Glen Feshie, and jumping straight onto the bike to continue the trip!
In general outline, the route travels from Fort William to Fort Augustus via the Great Glen Cycle Route, then crosses over the Monadhliath Mountains by the Corrieyairick Pass, dropping down into the upper reaches of the Spey Valley, which is followed as far as Kingussie. From here the route heads further east to link into Glen Feshie on the extreme edge of the Cairngorm Mountains. Here the route skirts the edge of the Cairngorms, crossing the empty wilderness of the Feshie/Geldie watershed, until finally turning south to drop down the narrow V-shaped valley of Glen Tilt to the finish at Blair Atholl.
Starting from Fort William town centre, head out of town along the main A82 north for a couple of km till the junction with the A830 is reached. Here turn left and follow the A830 for a further 2km till the Caledonian Canal is reached. Here turn right and join the canal at a series of locks (Neptune’s staircase). Keeping the canal on your left, follow the wide gravelled towpath for approximately 10km till Gairlochy is reached. At the lock-keeper’s cottage, cross the canal by the obvious bridge. From here a sharp climb on tarmac followed by pleasant run of about 5km close to the water’s edge takes you to the tiny settlement of Clunes. Branch right here and follow the well graded forestry track for 9km till tarmac is regained at Kilfinnan.
Take car here on the tarmac, as speeds will be high when you meet a narrow bridge on a corner at the bottom of a steep section – Big Kev nearly wiped himself out on this one!
At the main road (A82), almost immediately turn left and head uphill on the signposted Great Glen Cycle Route towards Invergarry. A fine viewpoint awaits at the top of the hill, followed by a fast sweeping downhill into the village (watch out for walkers!).
Loch Oich
From here the best option is to ignore the Cycle Route, and follow the main A82 again for a few km till the canal is reached once more at Bridge of Oich. Here take the towpath on the left hand side of the canal, and follow the waters edge through pleasant woodland for the last few km till Fort Augustus is reached. Accommodation is easy to find here and there are a decent number of pubs and eating places. Like the Neptune’s staircase at the start of the day, there is a fairly impressive series of locks here that brings the water of the canal down into Loch Ness.
Note that this second day involves a committing ascent into isolated high country, so is only recommended for those riders of reasonable fitness who have a good knowledge of the hills, and in bad weather this really is a genuine test for both bike and rider.
Leave Fort Augustus on the A82, heading south, before doubling back on the minor road towards Ardachy Lodge. At GR373072 (OS34) turn onto a narrow broken footpath, almost unrideable, heading uphill. Although this looks distinctly unpromising (the legacy of damaging 4-wheel drive vehicle use), after a few hundred metres the main track proper is reached. Almost immediately the gradient starts kicking in – be warned, this is the start of a 12km section to the summit of the Corrieyairick, of which at least 70% is similar uphill work! That said, the track climbs through a beautiful, lonely part of the Highlands, slowly heading further into the heart of the hills. Points of note include the sheltered spot by the bridge in the valley below the wooded flanks of Creag Dhubh (hiding the killer zig-zags to come!), the summit of Creag Dhubh itself (a superb viewpoint to scope out the line of the route ahead – let your eyes follow the line of pylons disappearing into the horizon far ahead), the bothy at Blackburn (good spot for a brew), and the picturesque arched stone bridge over the Allt Coire Uchdachan at GR394003 – a good spot to shelter from the rain/midges and get some blood back into the legs before the seemingly never-ending final drag to the summit!
Creag Dhubh View
With a justifiable sense of satisfaction at achieving the summit of the pass (~770m, 2500ft; 17km from Fort Augustus), attention turns to the descent. Riders familiar with the Dark Peak should feel instantly at home, with a very steep rough downhill run that has been rain-eroded leaving a loose, rolling carpet of football-sized rocks that will really give the bike’s suspension a serious work-out. Bear in mind that this is no place to get it wrong though – it’s 10 miles in any direction to the first point where you can arrange for some help in fixing your broken wheel/arm/head!!! After the initial steep drop through the zig-zags, the track continues downhill for a further 4km at a steady gradient on a loose stony surface till you finally reach the bothy at Melgarve. This bothy is the recommended spot to spend the second night, having a good living room with fireplace, ample furniture and plenty of firewood available in the nearby stand of old forestry.
Melgarve Bothy
Leaving the bothy, continue east along the track, still dropping gently downhill along the line of the infant River Spey (of Speyside whisky fame), the track changing to tarmac after a few km. Watch out for deer here – Big Kev nearly totalled himself (again!), missing a head-on at 30mph with a galloping stag by mere inches! At the somewhat gothic stone bridge at Garva Bridge you join a minor tarmac road that is followed without event for 10km as far as Laggan. From here you take the A86 and head roughly north-east for 15km, whereupon Kingussie is reached. Here you can get lunch and restock with supplies – this is the last “inhabitation” you will meet till you get to Blair Atholl at the end of the trip.
Leave Kingussie by crossing the railway line and heading south out of town towards Ruthven. The ruins of Ruthven Barracks are well worth a visit in the passing.
Ruthven Barracks
Continue east along a quiet minor road for 3km, passing Torcroy and Tromie Bridge till the small village of Drumguish is reached. Here find the junction with the telephone box (GR794995, OS35) and head east from here on the forestry track into the forestry covering the low hills ahead. After a couple of km you will emerge from the forestry by the banks of the Allt Fhearnasdail river. The track appears to peter out here, opposite to the ruins of Baileguish, however if you pass through (over?) a 5-bar gate immediately to your left, you can pick up a faint track that passes the farmstead of Corarnstilbeg (GR830990, OS35). Here the track becomes obvious again, heading down to the minor tarmacced private road, whereupon you turn sharply right and follow this south past Tolvah. On a summer’s afternoon, with the light turning towards evening, this can be one of the high spots of the trip, rolling effortlessly along a smooth car-free road, watching the sunlight pour through the branches of the hundreds of ancient Scots pines that are clustered all over the surrounding heather-clad hills, with the River Feshie gently meandering down the valley to your left. After 6km you reach Carnachuin, where you need to drop down the gravel track to your left and cross the rickety and warped wooden bridge over the River Feshie (paying due heed to the disclaimers on a nearby notice that you do so entirely at your own risk!).
Ruighaiteachain Bothy
From here a grassy km takes you to the day’s end-point, the Ruighaiteachain bothy. This is another classic open bothy, sitting in the middle of a stand of remnant Caledonian pine forest at the foot of the Cairngorm outliers.
This last day is certainly the hardest. It is almost all off-road, and for a 6km section around the vicinity of the Feshie/Geldie watershed the track is a mere peaty footpath where riding is only possible for a couple of hundred metres at a time – necessitating much pushing. Most attempts to force the bike through obstacles end up with the front wheel disappearing into a bog and the rider departing the bike over the bars! The frustration of the riding is balanced by the wild location and feeling of genuine isolation that this high route brings. It is, however, not a good place to be lumbered with a bike when the weather is bad, and like the Corrieyairick, by the nature of the terrain, will require the rider to be fit and able to navigate well in mountain weather.
Leaving the bothy, rejoin the track and head south through the ancient open pine woods. After a couple of km, where the track branches, make sure the higher left-hand branch is taken; the lower branch merely drops down to the river’s edge. Follow the track as it contours along the steep north bank of the river. At one point the track is severely eroded, and will require a careful carry of the bike over a loose stony erosion gully.
Upper River Feshie
At a point approximately 9km from the bothy the remains of a wooden shack will be met. From here the track deteriorates to a mere footpath winding through the peaty upland – although the going will be tough, the atmosphere is impressive and the sense of isolation is tangible, though strangely the landscape seems somewhat closed in and oppressive. Over your left shoulder the land rises gently to merge (out of sight) into the flanks of the southern Cairngorms, whilst the low line of hills rising directly opposite you are actually the tops of the 1006m Munro, An Sgarsoch. After 5km of tough work you will get back onto a good quality Land-Rover track that is then followed for just under 5km to the fenced-off ruins of Ruigh Ealasaid bothy.
This is a good spot to eat lunch and recuperate before the second part of the day’s journey. Here you need to cross the Geldie Burn, heading south. The river is not deep but is quite broad, and will only be crossed with dry feet if the weather has been exceptionally dry. Head gently uphill for a further km, before a smaller river crossing near the ruins of Bynack Lodge. The next 4km are just about rideable – certainly, compared to what was encountered a short while ago at the Feshie/Geldie watershed, this is a doddle!
Once the ill-defined summit of the pass is reached (due east of the unseen Loch Tilt) the fun starts again. The path gently starts to trend downhill and the hillsides close in on either side till the path is hemmed into a narrow V-shaped valley. The path (now firm-packed singletrack) picks an undulating contour line roughly 15 to 20 metres above the fast-flowing Allt Garbh Buidhe. Nerve and skill allows the rider to enjoy an exhilarating 2km of some of the most committing and challenging technical riding to be found in this part of the Highlands – just don’t clip a pedal off the hillside, as it’ll throw you straight down the 20m drop to your left, into the river below! Upon reaching the Bedford Memorial Bridge stop for a moment to get your breath back, and enjoy the views of the Falls of Tarf from the ornate Victorian iron bridge. A rough track is now followed for a couple of km by the banks of the River Tilt, merging into a rough tarmac road. The road is then followed downhill, passing the complete length of the classic steep sided U-valley of Glen Tilt. Although nominally downhill, large sections of the run through Glen Tilt feel almost level, and to riders tired after the accumulated efforts of a 4 day trip, the last few km down past Marble Lodge can seem surprisingly hard work. Approximately 14km from the Falls of Tarf the road splits, with one branch crossing the river sharply at Gilberts Bridge. Do not cross the river here, but stay on the left hand bank, where for the final 5km run in to Blair Atholl the descent becomes much faster and steeper (though with at least one sharp counter climb).
Blair Atholl has finally been reached, 4 days and 100 miles after leaving Fort William! Celebratory pints and food can be enjoyed in the hotel beside the train station, whilst you recover, and wait for the train to arrive and take you back home.
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Last Updated 14-02-2005
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