Loch Ness 360 Bikepacking || The Best Bikepacking Route in Scotland?
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- čas přidán 30. 04. 2023
- I had a week-long highland tour planned on the MTB but the weather had other ideas, so Plan B was the shorter Loch Ness 360, combining the Great Glen Way and South Loch Ness Trail. Whilst this wasn't a route I've ever particularly had my eye on, it turned out to be an absolutely cracking ride, with some of the finest scenery and off road trails I've cycled.
N.B. If you're thinking about cycling this one (either with or without camping kit) be well prepared. It's a challenging ride with steep hike-a-bike sections and some pretty technical descents, so make sure you and your bike (and bike handling skills) are in good order ... so you can fully enjoy this fantastic route up in the highlands!
Would love to hear what other bikepacking routes people recommend in this part of the UK.
Happy cycling folks!
Songs (not from the CZcams Library) are by the very talented VISITANTS (producer Brendan St. Gelais and producer/vocalist Darren Kyle King) and available from soundstripe.com
Very cheerful video,
Beautiful , i love Scotland with an absolute passion .
It's a stunning part of the world for sure!
You're certainly right about the scenery.
Thanks.
Brilliant adventure thanks for sharing really enjoyed it!!
Great to have you following along! Thanks for the nice comment and happy cycling!
Beautifully filmed and edited. Thanks for sharing...I want to go do this now!!
Thanks for the lovely feedback. Yes, definitely one to put on the 'to-ride' list! Happy cycling!
Brilliant.
You've come up with a great little movie, documenting a very nice trip. The views on the first evening were amazing with range upon range of layered hills. It's interesting to hear you describe the rising tension and anticipation as the trip drew closer - it's classic 'Fight or Flight' stuff and it's always going to be amplified by the commitment of a solo escapade.
I know the Highlands as a climber/mountaineer but my cycling experience up there is negligible - I've made a note to read up on the Loch Ness 360 Gravel, it looks like my kind of thing.
Thank you Gordon, appreciate these comments. I think because I had a pretty inactive 2022 and lost a lot of (cycling) fitness I was even more worried about this one than usual. As always though once you get going it all seems to click into place. In fact I was pleasantly surprised at how the legs held up late into each day. A really nice, challenging little gravel route, highly recommended and there are some stunning vistas en route. I think if I did it again I'd go super light, so I could really let the bike go on the steeper downhill sections. Cheers, Martin
Great video mate and looks an awesome route! Catch up with you soon.
Hey, Si. Thanks mate. Yes, Scotland always delivers. Too long since we caught up. One of these days! 🙂
That was a great watch. Thanks for sharing.
Too much uphill for me for now.
Thanks, Paul. Really enjoyed that one and messing around with the GoPro en route. There were definitely a few uphill bits where I was questioning my life choices but the landscape and views more than made up for it! Happy cycling!
Hi M8 do yourself a favor next time and wear a helmet , so essential. I did The Badger divide last week. ( South - Nord ) Glasgow- Inverness.
Cheers!!!! I Enjoyed your report.
Thanks, Koen. This trip was actually meant to be the Badger but the weather had other ideas that week. Still firmly on the to-do list. How did you find the midge last week?
@@onemorecyclist First of all, if you deside to do TBD do it nord to south, in the other direction the climbs are way steeper. I'm a well trained cyclist and could ride them all, heavy packed except for the section out of Drumnadrochit.
I wanted a relaxed ride and take time for pictures and enjoy the scenery. Plan was 4,5 days. The weather was perfect no rain at all ,cold ( 5 - 12 deg), but i like that. The last day the weather would have changed to bad rain. So i decided to ride from loch Lachan to the finish (Nairn) in one go . I wanted to end at the beach instead of a city center. So did it in 3,5 days. 3 nights. The first day i took the train from Inverness to Glasgow and could start at 1300 h.
Midge:
1 Camp. next to loch Venachar (Permit) When i arrived 2100 after a meal in Calander the wee bitches were out , had to put on a net. Later there was wind and they were gone. Morning, no problem.
2 Camp next to Loch Rannoch . When i arrived there the same story but not as bad. In the morning a few.
3 Camp Around loch Lachan, forestry area, midge hell, i took a gamble and started climbing into the moors and found a nice spot in open land. There were a few, but it was ok. A bit later the wind came and it was perfect. In the morning it was 0°C so no wee beasties.
Conclusion, it was not that bad but they do give you stress to find a good spot. There are so many top camp spots you just can't stay because of them. Be sure to take a net and some smidge. I recommend to go in May because of them.
Cheers
@@koendomus really appreciate the detailed reply, thank you! Yes, you want the breeze just strong enough to keep them at bay. All the best and happy cycling!
Thanks for sharing, you had a nice run, and you’re learning!
On the sylvicultural aspect (state owned):
‘To cap it all, it makes great loss, - and for this, we must pay,
While ‘clever men’ with timber-dross in God-like style do play;
For - better, surely, would it be, though cost it may as well,
To have a wood environment where species rare may dwell…
(Translated from the original doric in which it was penned ‘Seein the wid for the trees’)
Love it! Thanks for the comment and verse. A sentiment which I hope will gain much more traction. Not gonna lie, had to Google 'sylvicultural' and 'doric' there, and voila! Now I know. Happy cycling! 🙂
Beautiful video Martin, i did the Great Glen way in May 23, on my own enjoyed every single minute, planning to do it again but may do Loch Ness 360 instead,
Hi, thanks for the lovely feedback. It's an amazing part of the UK to enjoy the great outdoors, isn't it? The full Great Glen Way is on my to-do list.
Lovely video. 👌
Thanks for watching! Happy cycling!
It’s really hard to film bike trips. Good effort and a nice job. What if….. most of those should be put in a box. Use the what ifs to have safety contingency plans! Answer the what ifs and the confidence arrives. To answer the title question.. there’s tones of better routes in Scotland. Thanks for sharing. D&L 😊 (Btw.. A Lake is called a Loch in Scotland! 😊)
Thanks. That's a nice way of putting it - 'answer the what ifs and the confidence arrives'. Really looking forward to doing some more routes in Scotland - and continuing to practice getting my terminology right when there ;). Happy cycling!
@@onemorecyclist 😊🙏😂😂😂.. all the best bud
Inspiring little video (but hey, there’s only one lake in Scotland and that wasn’t it). Well done.
Thanks, David. Glad you enjoyed it (dodgy terminology aside). Happy cycling!
🙏🏻 Thanks for the Video!
I do exactly the same route next year end of march.
But as a hiker.
I read that you were traveling at the end of April and I was a bit surprised because of the -5 degrees at night.
😉
Hope I have the same fantastic weather as you had.
Greetings from north Germany
👋🏻
Thanks. Yes it was unusually cold when i did it (the first night) but late March and April are great months to do the trip as it's starting to get a little warmer, more daylight hours and most importantly the midges haven't come out yet! 🙂. It'll be a great hiking trip. Enjoy!
As a Scottish cyclist (and keen gardener) frosty conditions should factored in until the end of may. Especially in the north of the country. frosty mornings usually tail off by mid may but not always.
Your major plus point by travelling in early spring will be the lack of midges. Every cloud!
@@distinctlyaveragecyclist 👍🏻
Yes, I thought that too.
I also take good equipment with me and think I'll be well protected against the cold.
I'm really looking forward to the LochNess360.
It's a little dream of mine to finally visit Scotland.
@@distinctlyaveragecyclist That's a good side effect on the tour.
😉
Well done you. Not quite Cycling for Softies however. Therefore, not for me these days I fear. All the best.
Thanks, Norman. Really enjoyed that one. Agreed, not quite a softies route but I'm a big fan of rides at the less extreme end of the spectrum. Happy cycling!
Nice videos ❤️👍 love your choices of background music. Where do you get them from?
Thanks! I use Soundstripe for music. Happy cycling!
What lovely content. Thanks for sharing. Can I ask about your bike. I gather front suspensions are important?
The bike is my budget Voodoo Braag hardtail and the front suspension definitely makes things a bit more comfortable on off-road bits (for me at least). You can though - and lots do - complete this route on rigid mountain/gravel bikes. I think there's a lot in the old saying that 'the best bike is the one you have' etc. Happy cycling!
Loch!
I like the look of your pannier bags could you tell me what make they are and if there any good plz
Just picked this up on the other video, thanks!
the big pipe, was likely a part of the pumped storage system near Foyers..............
sometimes clear felling is replanted immediately ...other times it's left to look like $h!t£
nice vid man
say hello to Charlie Veitch
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank for the comment. Happy cycling!
Hi Martin, time of year (Spring I assume to beat the midges I hear?) and temps? I always have those questions from Northeast US. Fun video-thanks so much 🍀❗️
Thanks for the nice comment. It was the last week in April if I remember right and yes, timing very much with midges in mind. Generally in my experience you're okay in Scotland up to early May but in the summer months the wee beasties are definitely companions for any outdoor activities (when you stop moving)! Temps during the day were really nice (cool but great for cycling, maybe 10-15C) and night time dropping to -5C if I remember on the first night (although that was unusually cold for the time of year). No problem with a 4 season sleeping bag etc. Happy cycling!
Brilliant film, enjoyed it. Do you have a gpx file of the route? Or a pointer to where I might find it? How many miles per day did you ride? Really enjoyed the film
Thanks very much. I really enjoyed making this one - and of course the route and place itself. There's route/GPX info over at simon-willis.blogspot.com/2022/02/loch-ness-360-bikepacking.html and I pretty much just based my route on this. Some nice videos too by Simon of his trip round. Essentially the route is the Great Glen Way north side and the South Loch Ness Trail heading back. 35 miles a day ish for me (but not exactly sure so please don't quote me on that!). Two 40 miles days would be almost the perfect even split, although my schedule differed a bit from this due to prearranged accommodation back in Inverness, so I rolled in after a very short ride on the morning of day 3 etc. Happy cycling and if you do it, hope you have a good one!
You went past my house in the first two minutes.
Great review. I have been waiting ages to replace my Flux 2S which suffers the odd BT drop with a WiFi enabled Garmin device.
Then they launch it with WiFi as an extra at an inflated price. Deal breaker Garmin, I am off to Wahoo land
Thanks, Brian. My old bottom of the range Wahoo doesn't get me into the cool kids club but it's been completely bombproof and never let me down on any trips - can't ask for more really.
@@onemorecyclist that's weird I was actually commenting on DC Rainmaker testing the new Tacx Neo 3M 😂. I ran out of time and it auto started this one
It is a great vlog though 😁
Oops, wires crossed. No harm done 🙂
A good many areas are left barren/fallow a few years after felling as you usually get an onslaught of pine weevil beetles which can wreak havoc with a new crop of trees ... so replanting is delayed until the population subsides. Theres also something about deja vu in terms of replanting some areas as ultimately it is a cash crop, just like wheat, so it needs to be commercially viable in terms of production yield, planting, fencing and harvesting cost. Some areas planted were never realistically going to make a profit and they may well be reverted to native woodland .. which is a good thing as ecologically dense conifer is somewhat barren ... the big challenge amongst all of this is unsustainable high numbers of browsing deer .. bring back the wolves!
What a nice surprise to have this picked up from the video. Thanks for such a detailed (and educational) answer. More natural woodland, and wolves, I think gets my vote! I feel like I've been hearing about rewilding and introducing wolves into Scotland for a long time, definitely over a decade. I'd guess there's a lot of quite powerful land owner lobbying against. Happy cycling anyway!
18:30 If you don't kick yourself I will! Stop at the first chance, it never gets any better.
Pushing on too late is a bad habit that I'm slowly breaking :)
I cringed every time you said Lake lol.
I don’t know if it’s a solo cyclist thing but I know that I always push on further and further rather than stopping. I do understand the what if thing but I think the more you do it the less it becomes and no matter what life does tend to sort itself out.
I need another cycling trip up to Scotland, just to get the terminology right! I think you're right about the more you do etc. Thanks for the comment and happy cycling!
@@onemorecyclist We do like to have our own words for things. :lol: P.S. A steep hill is often called a Brae and a wee stream, a Burn. . ;)
Martin please promise your viewers that you will go and get a new helmet,,,,, BECAUSE ITS VERY IMPORTANT get one properly fitted, and with a peak...come back and give us a look.... Would hate to hear you had a bad fall and your wrong fitted helmet didnt do it's job,, 😁👍♥️🇬🇧stay safe,,, fantastic programme really enjoyed it 😀👌💙
Thank you (I think! ). Happy cycling!
Stephen, how many times have you fallen off your bike and banged your head. In these days of mass bike helmet use we forget that the risk is actually low. That said , the risk is slightly higher off road and I would have a helmet for this ride..
@@davemoss6976I've fell off on black ice and gave myself a concussion wasn't wearing a helmet had I had one on I'm 100% sure I'd have gotten straight back up just with the scratches.
@@zedddddful riding a bike when ice is about is a good time to wear a helmet. It would also make sense for runners and walkers to wear helmets in those conditions.
🙄
Surprised you don't wear a helmet