Cycling Loch Ossian to Cape Wrath, part of the An Turas Mor

 Introduction

The An Turas Mor is a great gravel ride, predominantly off-road on non-technical terrain (254 Miles / 409 km). The worst of the uphills are over in the first 2 days, and the day to Durness seems to be a never-ending descent. At times, particularly between Fort Augustus and Struy, the scenery did not feel as remote nor was it as beautiful as I had expected. This was largely due to following the line of electricity pylons through a managed landscape. 

The lighthouse at Cape Wrath

Accommodation largely dictates the length of the days. We managed largely to stick to our ideal tour of shorter days (30 - 40 miles) giving us time to explore the area and stop at cafes (if you can find any). However, being a lot more off-road than our usual tours, we were quite a bit slower. The penultimate day to Durness is unavoidably long.

We cycled this in June 2024.

Day1, travelling to Glasgow, Buchanan Galleries Premier Inn

A combination of thinking the complete An Turas Mor route from Glasgow would be too long and tough, along with not liking the look of the first day, combined with limited leave from work, we chose to start the route from Loch Ossian on Rannoch Moor. We took the train from home, breaking the journey at Glasgow. We stayed at the Buchanan Galleries Premier Inn. They are true to their word about being bike friendly, to a point. We struggled up the stairs in the main entrance with fully loaded bikes, to reach the lift. We could get 1 bike in a lift at a time. No-one batted an eyelid as we took the bikes to our room, where there was plenty of room for both. The room and food were great, we were very impressed.

We stocked up with lunches for the next couple of days as there were no shops or cafes on route to Corrour and from Corrour to Fort Augustus. 

Premier Inn with plnety of room for the bikes

Day2, travelling from Glasgow to Loch Ossian YHA

We caught the train to Corrour and made the short (1km?) trip down the track to the YHA on the shore of Loch Ossian. It had been raining hard all day but we missed the showers. The YHA is basic but comfortable. It has 2 single-sex dormitories, a communal kitchen / diner / lounge and Portaloos. (The composting toilets were out of order). The hostel is much like an Alpine or Scandinavian tourist hut.

The train leaving us almost in the middle of nowhere at Corrour

Rather than cooking dinner at the hostel, we treated ourselves to dinner at the restaurant at Corrour Station. It was great food and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Again, we escaped the rain showers. Comedy moment when the member of staff asked which table I was from, when paying the bill. ‘Is it the one with man putting on his trousers?’ The faces on the ladies at the bar were a picture! Andy was putting on his waterproof trousers, over his cycling shorts).

Day3, Loch Ossian YHA to Morag’s Bunkhouse, Fort Augustus, 50 miles (80km)

The ride finally begins! We were a bit nervous, with this being the second longest day of the trip and a tough climb late in the day. However, we forgot about our anxieties as we woke up to the most stunning views. The rain had disappeared in the night, to be replaced with clear blue skies and a mist rising off the loch. We started early, at 07:00, to ensure we finished in good time.

A stunning morning after a wet day

Loch Ossian

Glacial scenery at Strath Ossian

We saw mountains with snow patches in the distance but soon the views closed in as we cycled through woodland, following the shores of Loch Ossian. This was the start of a beautifully sustained but gentle descent to Loch Laggan. We passed some stunning scenery as we cycled through u-shaped valleys, before entering woodland above Glen Spean. The 18 kilometre ride alongside Loch Laggan was again glorious. Mist was forming as the heat of the sun burnt off the moisture from the day and night before. We didn’t know there was going to be such a lovely beach at Kinloch Laggan and unfortunately had stopped for our lunch a little earlier. We joined the main road, forgetting to navigate we cycled a mile past the turn-off before realising our mistake.

Starting to descend towards Loch Laggan

Loch Laggan

Steaming roads in the sunshine after all the rain the previous day

Kinloch Laggan

It was good to get off-road again. The route continued with a short climb before dropping down to wide-open pasture, home to both Fallow and Red Deer herds and estate buildings. Expecting a tough climb, we were pleasantly surprised to climb only gently for the next 14 or so kilometres, along tarmac, to the end of the road at Melgarve, following the River Spey upstream. Here the real climbing began, with a view of the dreaded Corryairack Pass ahead. The track was a good surface and easily rideable at first, however, it got rougher and it was this that forced us to walk. We then had a short downhill before climbing the zig-zags of the pass itself. Each zig or zag didn’t seem too steep but the bends were and we walked all the way to the top. 

Imperceptibly climbing up the Spey Valley

Now the real climbing begins

Unfortunately, this was the hottest part of the whole trip without a breath of wind. At the top, we could clearly see the bad weather that had formed during the day, following us. We hoped we could get to Fort Augustus before it reached us. The descent was lovely and soon Fort Augustus was in sight. As so often happens, towards the end of the day, what looks so close takes much longer than expected to reach. However, we got to Morag’s Bunkhouse after 9.5 hours of riding, with plenty of time to sort dinner and food for the next day. It was a great relief to have got the big climb of the trip out of the way but we had 2 climbs coming up tomorrow, both almost as big!

We bought lunch for the following day as the first stop would be Cannich and we didn't think we could last that long.

Hurrah! At the top of the zig-zags with the bad weather following

Looking down to Fort Augustus

Day4, Fort Augustus to Cnoc Hotel, Struy, 36 miles (58km)

We awoke to steady rain, which was due to last for most of the day. With full waterproofs on we rode away from the hostel; the riding didn’t last long and soon we were walking our bikes up steep zig-zags on single-track through dense woodland. It wasn’t long before we reached the forestry tracks, where the angle eased and we were riding once again. At was at this point that the power lines and pylons that we would follow all the way into Glen Affric came into view. We reached the summit without any bother and began the descent into Glen Moriston. We nearly missed the route, signposted to follow the Old Military Road. However, this overgrown singletrack didn’t look appealing and we decided to stick to the forestry track. The descent flew by and soon we were seeking shelter from the rain in Glen Moriston, before starting the second climb of the day.

Steep and difficult climbing on single-track, away from Fort Augustus

The second climb started steeply and we were walking once again. The climb to the top of the pass was a mix of walking and riding, on a good surface. As we climbed, the wind picked up and we added layers. Just past the summit we were relieved to find a small, derelict building which was open. We ducked in to escape the weather to refuel. Had this not been open, we wouldn’t have been comfortable. We would have been hungry, thirsty and cold, as we cycled easily downhill. Had the weather been better, I think the views to the mountains of Glen Affric would have been stunning. We soon reached a minor road and decided against taking a short detour to see Plodda Falls. Instead, we started the gentle descent along the Glas valley, stopping for cake and hot drinks at the café at Cannich Campsite and resupplying at the village store.

The summit of the first hill

It's raining and the temperature is dropping

Starting the second descent of the day

Wet, wet, wet

The lower part of the descent to Glen Affric

It had stopped raining when we left the café and the easy ride, carrying on down the valley to Struy gave us a chance to dry out. The ride down the valley, a further 18km, was pleasant but long! Finally, our accommodation, the Cnoc Hotel appeared. Our host was really accommodating. We stored our bikes in an outbuilding and dried our shoes in the boiler room. Our room was large and comfortable and dinner at the restaurant was perfect. We realised we had ridden some of the next day’s route before and were looking forward to it.

We bought lunch for the following three days at the store in Cannich as our first stop would be in Contin. Again, we didn't know if we would be hungry for lunch before we got to Contin, nor did we know what supplies there would be at Contin.

Day5, Struy to Altgruish Inn, 33 miles (53km)

Climbing away from Struy

We set off, quite excited about the ride. We soon had to walk up a steep track from the road but were once again in the saddle, following a forest track. The weather was threatening and we stopped to put our waterproofs on. This did the trick! It didn’t rain on us. We hadn’t anticipated such a climb, and following a steady rise we could once again see zig-zags in the track ahead of us. At least the hill was small and the climb would be short-lived. This was the first time in the trip that we saw herds of red deer, apart from the managed herds on Day2. Once over the summit, we were looking forward to a good descent to the dam, from there we knew the route was on tarmac, all the way to the road. What an unpleasant surprise! The recent wet weather had waterlogged the track which contoured its way around this peat land. Every few metres the track would have an impassable puddle, well over 40cm deep. So we would dismount and walk our bikes through the boggy land to the side. The puddles became so frequent that it wasn’t worth getting back in the saddle between them.

More zig-zags in the distance

Another day of pushing....

We were following a large water pipe and once we passed a substantial but small dam, the track surface improved and we were able to ride. We continued traversing the hill, before a short climb and then descent to the dams of Orrin Reservoir. We found shelter from the wind but not the rain and had some lunch before the long, glorious descent to the road at Fairburn House. Just short of the buildings we saw an Osprey fly over us pretty low. We were concerned at the time taken so far, knowing we still had a long way to go. We made the most of the continued descent before a short stretch on the A road to Contin. We knew the shop at Contin would be the last for a while, so stopped to resupply.

One of the impassable puddles

The water pipeline

From Contin we were back in the forest and had a pleasant ride on good tracks all the way past Loch Garve, stopping at the picnic spot at Little Garve to admire the bridge and the whitewater river beneath it. Crossing the road, we continued on a good forest track through Longart Forest, which had some unwelcome, but thankfully short, uphills, eventually dropping to cross the river again. Thankfully, this section had been fast, making up time we had lost earlier in the day. Here we were back on the main road, all the way to Altgruish Inn. We expected this to be a quick section of the route. Unfortunately, about 4 kilometres from the Inn we turned into a strong headwind, which also brought rain. Waterproofs on again, we battled the weather and arrived at the Inn a little damp. We hoped the wind would be the same tomorrow, to give us a tail wind back to our turn-off.

Good tracks on the trails beyond Contin

Into the woods

Little Garve

Good trails in Longart Forest

We had a courtyard room which meant we could have our bikes right outside the room, mostly undercover. We had dinner at the hotel whilst our kit dried out in the room. We welcomed all the toiletries provided, lacking luxuries such as moisturiser and shampoo on the trip.

Our room at Aultguish Inn

Day6 Altgruish Inn to Woodland B&B, Rosehall, 40 miles (64km)

A good track heading up Strath Vaich

We set off in the dry, with a slight tail wind helping us along. Soon we were off the main road, heading up Strath Vaich. We followed a good track beside a stream before reaching Loch Vaich with its dam and estate buildings. Heading north above the loch, the ride got more remote with steep-sided hills towering above us, their tops reaching well into the cloud. The track has a good surface and is easily rideable. We could see the way through the hills ahead of us, thankfully there was not much of a climb. We had a short but sweet descent to Gleann Mor where we sheltered in an outbuilding of Deanich Lodge, for a snack. Apparently, this is one of the most remote buildings in the UK. It was here that we read that we were entering Glen Alladale, a wilderness reserve. As we descended gently down the Glen it was noticeable how different it looked to other Scottish glens. It was lush, verdant and nature was thriving. Even on this grey day, it looked wonderful.

Alongside Loch Vaich

Climbing up to the pass to Glen Alladale

Dropping down towards Deanich Lodge

Crossroads

Gleann Mor, the upper reaches of Glen Alladale

The lush Glen Alladale

After 10 kilometres or so of easy riding, we arrived at Alladale Lodge and were soon on tarmac. We followed this to Croick, where we were hoping to have a break from the rain in the church. Unfortunately it was locked so we sheltered under the trees for lunch. From Croick we followed Strath Cuieannach, another gentle glen. Again, this was a good surface to ride on and the gentle ascent was barely noticeable. After about 9 kilometres, the river bent around to the south-west. We continued north-west with a slight climb over the watershed before entering Einig Wood and the start of a fast descent to Oykel Bridge. 

Finding shelter at Cruick church

Climbing up Strath Cuileannach

Still gently climbing

Turning uphill to pass over the watershed

Nearly at the top

Good forestry trails to Oykel Bridge

From Oykel Bridge there was a slight climb on tarmac before a gloriously long descent to Rosehall. Our accommodation for the night, Woodland B&B was just beyond Rosehall and unfortunately uphill. We arrived at 5pm to find …. The hosts ready with tools, oils etc, for us to work on our bikes. They also kindly offered to pick us up a takeaway from Oykel Bridge Hotel. What great service! This was the first day that I hadn’t needed to walk sections. It was a long but the best day so far, due to lack of uphills, stunning scenery and the remoteness.

There were no cafe or shops today. Good job we had stocked up!

Descending to Rosehall

Day7 Rosehall to the Lazy Crofter Bunkhouse, Durness, 70 miles (113km)

The weather was good when we set off but we knew we had a long day ahead, but we were expecting to ride only 55 miles. We also knew that the winds were increasing throughout the day, with the speeds rising to over 30mph later on in the day. Whilst the winds would predominantly be behind us, we had a short section where we would be riding into them and anticipated this could be quite tough.

The River Cassley

From the B&B we retraced our route downhill to Rosehall before following a lane up Glen Cassley. This was easy riding and there were deer everywhere, on the flat bottom of the valley. The tarmac ended at Duchally Lodge and we followed a good track beside a white-water stream. This continued up to a small hydro-electric power station. There were pipelines above on the hillside and tracks heading off in various directions. We turned east here, for a steep climb up, before a long descent to Loch Shin. Thankfully the route was on tarmac and although it was steep, it was rideable. The descent was glorious, almost all the way to the road. At the road we encountered a gate that was impossible to get the loaded bikes through. Once the panniers were off it was manageable. We were now on A-road but were surprised to see vehicles as it is a narrow and remote road. We passed a small loch before the larger Loch Merkland. At West Merkland (2 or 3 buildings), we stopped for lunch. Here we saw a White-tailed Eagle souring high over the hills.

Upper reaches of the river

Starting the descent to Loch Shin

The long, glorious descent to Loch Shin

Loch Merkland

It looked like quite a climb away from the road but it was actually short-lived and relatively easy. It was also on a good track. The track skirted the hillside before passing small lochans. The wind was noticeable on the lochans but thankfully it was following us. The lochans fed into a river which we followed at first, before skirting underneath Suil a Bhadain Duinn and its glacially scoured rocks. We had now been descending for about 9 kilometres, with a further 3 kilometres to go to the dramatic Gobernuisgach Lodge. From the lodge we continued downhill along a good track, through the woods until the track turned sharply to climb uphill to the road. The climb was just over 1 kilometre and easily rideable. On the road, we had another long descent, passing the substantial remains of Dun Dornaigil Broch. From here it was about 5 kilometres (still downhill) to the turning to the ford at Cashel Dhu. We knew the ford might not be passable due to all of the recent rain but wanted to check, as the alternative added a lot more distance to the route.

A gentle climb to Bealach nam Meirleach

Starting the never-ending descent

Still descending

Still going down...

Glacially scoured rocks

Cycling away from Gobernuisgach Lodge

A good track to the road

Dun Dornaigil Broch

At Cashel Dhu it quickly became clear that it was not passable. You couldn’t see the bottom and the river was probably twice as wide as we had seen in any pictures of people crossing it. I had been watching the river levels for higher upstream online. I think it was at 0.4 on the guage, which was as we found out, too high. We turned around and headed back to the road, to cycle an extra 24 kilometres along the road instead. The wind was pretty strong now but still behind us. We were already dreading the short sections where we needed to pedal into the wind. We flew down the road beside Loch Hope, passing a cyclist fighting his way into the wind. The waves were pretty large on the loch, all topped with white horses. Reaching the small settlement of Hope we had to climb over the headland to reach the sea Loch Eriboil. 

Apparently there is a ford under all that water

Going back to the road from Cashel Dhu

The wind made parts of the climb challenging but soon enough we turned to face the full force of the wind as we cycled south-west along the loch. It was stormy and the loch looked really dangerous and powerful. Thankfully, there were headlands and sheltered parts but it was really slow going as we cycled the 12 kilometres or so to the head of the loch. At times it was too tough to cycle and we pushed into the wind. Towards the head of the loch it started to rain too. It was only 2 kilometres around the head of the loch but the wind was too much for me to cycle against. Although it was predominantly on my side, I struggled to push my bike. The wind was funnelling between the hills, straight down Loch Eriboil. I estimate it was blowing at least 60mph. On making the turn back up the loch, the wind was now behind us. We absolutely flew! We must have been moving at nearly 30mph without really pedalling.

Heading into the wind

It's going to rain any minute

We sheltered from the wind and rain for a drink and snack at Laird. It was 8p.m. and the café was shut. We then continued at speed before turning towards Durness. Thankfully the road along the north coast was fairly sheltered and we made good progress to the town. The Mathers village shop (the only one we haad passed all day) was still open so we bought a pizza for tea, before finally arriving at a packed bunkhouse at 9p.m. We found some space to hang our wet clothes before scoffing our dinner and falling into bed. What a day!

The rain has arrived but thankfully the wind is now behind us

The sun must be out somewhere

Sheltering from the wind and rain

The final stretch up to Durness

Day8 Exploring Durness

We had planned to continue to Cape Wrath but apparently the ferry wasn’t running but would be the next day. Thankfully, we had a few days spare, which we had been planning to use to explore around Cape Wrath. The ferry does not have a sheduled timetable and relies on the weather and tides. We were relieved to have a day off, particularly as it was beautifully sunny, if still a little windy. We booked another night at the hostel (thankfully there had been a cancellation) and explored the area. There are stunning, white, sandy beaches, along with cliffs and caves. We checked out where the Cape Wrath ferry departed from before lazing back at the bunkhouse.

The beach at Balnakeil Bay

The dunes at Balnakeil Bay

Cliffs at Faraid Head

Kyle of Durness at low tide

Day9, Durness to Cape Wrath and the Ozone Café, 14 miles (23km)

On the way to Cape Wrath

We were up early to catch the ferry across the narrow Kyle of Durness, to continue our journey to Cape Wrath. There is a minibus that drives to Cape Wrath and this was the first day that it was running this season. The track had been worked on, filling some of the may potholes and the heavy machinery needed moving across the Kyle before the ferry could take any passengers. Finally we got on one of the smallest passenger ferries in Great Britain, to make the short journey across. On the other side we started the 14 mile ride towards the lighthouse. The road was rough but rideable and generally uphill. The landscape is wild and the track winding. Around each corner we expected to see the lighthouse but it remains out of view until the last kilometre or so. We took a detour to see the beautifully located Kearvaig Bothy on the way, finally arriving at the Ozone Café and the lighthouse. We were staying the night at the lighthouse and once all the other visitors had departed we were treated to homemade curry. We were the only 2 in the simple but comfortable dormitory. We shared the family toilet with the owners but unfortunately were locked out of it overnight!

Kearvaig Bothy

We made it!

The most north-westerly point in Great Britain

We explored the area in the afternoon, watching ships and yachts rounding the most north-westerly tip of Great Britain. We got up early in the morning, to make the 14 mile journey back to the jetty, in time to catch the ferry before the winds picked up and it wouldn’t be able to run. The winds were forecast to remain high the following day and we didn’t want to get stranded at Cape Wrath.

Nothing until Iceland

Day10 returning to Durness, 14 miles (23km)

We got back to the bunkhouse in the morning and thankfully were allowed in to shower, before heading off for further exploration. We visited Smoo Cave and took it easy around Durness. We had another rest day in Durness the following day and had a day off the bikes, exploring the area on foot.

Heading back to the ferry, to arrive before the gales

Wild and remote

Almost back at the ferry

Kyle of Durness at high tide

The small Cape Wrath ferry

Smoo Cave

The waterfall in Smoo Cave

The rocky coast around Durness golf course

Smoo Bay, Durness

Relaxing at the Lazy Crofters Hostel

Leaving Durness

We had booked the Durness Bus, with 2 bike spaces, from Durness to Inverness. From Inverness we had various trains booked to get us home to Buxton. Even though I had booked these months in advance, some of the trains I had wanted to book didn’t have 2 bike spaces left. Being a bit creative, I found the journeys where the spaces were booked and worked around this. Therefore, we ended up getting a train from Inverness to Stirling, having a long wait at Stirling, before continuing our trip to Edinburgh. From Edinburgh it was quite straightforward to get home.

Our bikes getting loaded onto Durness Bus

Gravel Rides in the Peak District

If you enjoy non-technical, off-road rides, like to avoid the mud, don't mind joining the off-road bits with quiet country lanes and are thinking of cycling in  the Peak District, you might enjoy the rides in my book.

Me and my book, on one of my rides