Loch Ness 360

Ian riding on The South Loch Ness Trail

A year had passed since Ian and I had last been on an overnighter bikepacking ride together. As has become the custom he chose the route and all that I had to do was turn up and ride it with him! After another great summer of being a bike guide this was something that I welcomed with open arms.

The climb from the Bught Park, Inverness to get established on The Great Glen Way is pretty steep! I was very glad of the new tires on my bike, courtesy of Ian’s bike shop. They gave perfect grip on the hard packed trail, the grass and sections of mud as we wound our way up for about 600 feet. Once the trail levelled off it was time to get rolling and enjoy the glimpses of The Beauly Firth through the trees to our right. Soon enough we reached Drumnidrochit after some fun on the steeper switchbacks on the descent after Abriachan. In Drum’ Ian and I chose a cafe near to the square where we shared a few laughs at my ginger beer which tasted remarkably like root beer! This minor hiccup was not a problem as the rest of my lunch of bacon, cranberry and brie was delicious.

On the climb out of Drum’ the rain which had been forecast arrived. I knew that if I put waterproof trousers and a jacket on at that point I was going to overheat. I was pretty comfortable in my riding trousers and a lightweight rain jacket so I settled for that until we climbed to the high point above Invermoriston.

Wet conditions as we approach Invermoriston.

By the time Ian and I had descended to the village it was quite overcast, raining heavily and feeling like a hot drink was in order. We chose to have a coffee at the lovely Invermoriston Hotel. We were made very welcome and I enjoyed telling the woman who served us about the last time that I was here nearly 27 years ago! The coffee and complimentary tablet provided just the boost that we needed. Ian and I were then able to comfortably cruise south to the promise of a warm, comfy hostel and dinner in Fort Augustus. There we had a great night and over a couple of beers enjoyed recounting the days adventures.

Carn an t-Suidhe

Unlike our first day the return ride to Inverness was not going to be into a headwind so we did not have to make an early start. I chose to gently spin my way up the 1000ft climb to Carn an t-Suidhe. Ian on the other hand toughed it out on a harder-geared bike. After a quick regroup at the cairn we enjoyed the blistering descent to Foyers, via Whitebridge. At Cameron’s Tea Room we enjoyed the best pancakes & fruit I have had in a long, long time. The rain was back on as we left so it was time for full wterproofs again.

Cameron's Tea Room

Ian had chosen a clever and varied route back to the Dores road which led to Inverness. The highlights for me were the corkscrew old ‘Coffin Road’ from Inverfarigaig followed by a long, mellow climb to The Fair Haired Lad’s Trail which led to another corkscrew trail, this time down onto the South Loch Ness Trail. I was glad of the fresh, new tires on this descent but reminded to get the brake pads changed before anymore descents like that one! We had well and truly hit ‘Golden Hour’ by now and the light along the loch at this point was beautiful. All too soon we reached the tarmac of the road back into Inverness. At the canal interchange I realised that our ride on The Loch Ness 360 was about to come to an end after some 80 miles of varied terrain and over 8000ft of ascent.

I’d never really picked up on this route before but it is definitely one that I hope to return to. Thanks Ian.

at the end of the ride