MTB Route to Glen Affric Youth Hostel

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Just hatching a plan to spend two or three nights at Glen Affric Youth Hostel and was thinking of cycling in from the Car Park at the eastern end of Loch Affric. Was thinking of taking a BOB trailer to carry kit and keep the weight off the back.

Anyone out there cycled the route recently and can comment on what the surface is like, how ride-able is it and would the BOB be more of a hindrance than a help?

Thanks

 DH3631 02 Sep 2018
In reply to exiled_northerner:

Cycled this a couple of years ago. Never having pulled a trailer I'm not 100% sure how much harder it makes it, but from memory, first half would probably be not too much bother, second half gets a but rougher with some short steep snaps, which might be a hard pull, but doable even if you need to push. However, the last wee bit to the hostel included crossing a couple of small burns, which I suspect could be a pain.

Shady 02 Sep 2018
In reply to exiled_northerner:

Yeah, I've done from the car park with an extrawheel trailer and a hardtail mountain bike beyond the Youth Hostel to the bothy, to be honest I'd overdone it with 20kg of coal so it wasn't easy. 3 hour 45 minutes in to the bothy , 1 hour 15 mins back, the section from the YH up to the bothy is by far the most challenging, and was barely cycled, more hike a bike. It was spring '17 I did it, if I was doing it again I'd take the bike as far as the YH and no further. 

Shady 02 Sep 2018
In reply to exiled_northerner:

...and to answer your questions, the track on the southside of Loch Affric as far as Achnamulloch is in regular use by the estate so is well maintained, but it's fairly undulating and small hydro scheme was going in at the time, I assume it's completed now. After Achnamulloch and the Trees For Life cottage, over the bridge the rest of the track to Alltbeithe has suffered from some erosion, so the track has some annoying sections of gravel and awkward sized boulders, the boulders especially prevalent the first couple of km after Achnamulloch, after that the track pretty much drops down to the flood plain all the way to the YH with the only concern being the two or three burns immediately prior to the Hostel, if they are in spate.... 

 DaveHK 02 Sep 2018
In reply to exiled_northerner:

It'll be fine. Might need to push the odd wee bit but not much.

Post edited at 16:33
 PPP 02 Sep 2018
In reply to Shady:

Bit to the bothy is certainly a difficult one to call ride-able.

> It was spring '17 I did it, if I was doing it again I'd take the bike as far as the YH and no further. 

Early March by any chance? If so, we've spent few nights in a bothy - it was nice meeting you! 


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