From Shiel Bridge to Glenelg and back along the northern shoreline.
This is a mountain bike route with some nice technical sections. Would I do it again? Yes, but I'd explore the changes suggested and do it in the dry.
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1
NG9355518879 Having found a suggestion of the route on google, we set out. The climb up the switchbacks from Sheil Bridge was sustained, but fine. The descent on the other side by road could be made more off road by taking the fire roads shown on the OS map to the south of the road starting at 895199 which seem to end in same place, but we didn't think of them til too late.
The route we were planning on went down glen more on the path from 871196 and curled round into Glean Beag and down to Glenelg past the Brochs. At the turn off the path seemed to be a boggy morass, so we continued to Glenelg by road. In dry weather this may be more fun.
2
NG8127819258 From Glenelg (after a pint and pork scratchings at the pub,) we went north to the path at 795213 and followed that around the headland to Ardintoul, the best bit of riding on the loop with some twisty, exposed downhill sections that we wanted to ride again.
3
NG8373323924 On return to the coast the path is a bit vague, but riding is still possible. Finding the path from 837239 didn't happen, but we picked it up on the far side of the river so it must come from somewhere!! (Maybe off the fire road slightly to the South?) The technical uphill on the path was a great challenge, before some bog trotting through trees until 865250, when the view of Eilean Donan framed a great downhill section that nearly made the bog trotting worthwhile (may not be so bad in the dry.) The final section is easy by road back to Sheil Bridge.
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Difficulty: DifficultDistance: 24.07 miles (38.73 km)
Total ascent: 804m
Steepest Gradient: 20% (1 in 5)
Time: 6 hours (Mountain biking)
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Additional Information
Start/Finish:Sheil Bridge, NG935189
Nearest town:
Sheil Bridge
Terrain:
A mix of roads, forest tracks and trails - sometimes boggy.
Public transport:
Scottish Citylink buses from Fort William to Portree pass through Glen Shiel and can drop you at Shiel Bridge - though you might struggle to get a bike in the luggage compartment so it'd be best to check if this is possible in advance. www.citylink.co.uk
Maps:
OS Explorer 413 (1:25,000), OS Explorer 414 (1:25,000), OS Landranger 25 (1:50,000), OS Landranger 33 (1:50,000)
Accommodation:
Ratagan Youth Hostel 0870 004 1147 Kintail Lodge Hotel bunkhouse 01599 511275
Find more Listings near this route
Weather and Hill Conditions:
mwis: Northwest Highlands – Met Office: West Highlands
Tourist info:
Cluanie (01320 340 238); Kyle of Lochalsh (0845 22 55 121); Lochcarron (01520 722357)
Further Routes
by jonnie3430
- Morvich Loop 14 Nov, 2011
Brass Nipples
12 Nov, 2011
Be great if you hads the ability to load a gpx file of the route for others to download. GPs on a bike justr wipes out all that phaffing at junctions etc.
jonnie3430
12 Nov, 2011
There is a house at 837239, so we knew where we were, the map wasn't sure where the path was!!