We got to Scotland this year at the end of August. We stayed at Kinlochewe Mountain Chalets.

We had a lovely little mountain chalet for a week at Kinlochewe.

We used this as our base as we rode all over the west of Scotland, later in the week we were joined by our long time friends and travelling companions, Paul and Margaret, from Huddersfield. We had some excellent meals at The Dornie Inn, about an hours ride away, as well as going to Skye, Ullapool and Loch Ness.

Welcome to No 3                                                                 Paul and Margaret stayed at the Kinlochewe Hotel, which was right next to our chalet, on the main road through the town. Near the town is the lovely Ben Eighe Nature reserve, which has stunning scenery and wild life as well a lovely loch.  We visited nearby Poolewe on Loch Maree, which was a strategic staging point for ships in WWII when on the Russian Convoys, it is still    used today for NATO shipping.

  Cove memorial

Looking up Loch Maree from Poolewe	Kyleakin tea stop. Skye	Eilean Donan Castle, Dornie	A view of The Cullin Hills, Skye	Sound of Sleat, from Skye
Skye Ferry	Beinn Eighe, from our chalet	Near Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness	Ship Fuel Terminal, Loch Maree	Dornie Hotel, highly recommended
Castle Eilean Donan	Kathy at Gairloch	Kathy and George, Applecross Pass	Applecross.	Looking down to Loch Maree

Picking your route to Scotland

When we are short of time on our trips to Scotland we normally go via “slab” routes, i.e. M1-A1-A66-M6-M74-M73-A80-M80 then pick up the A9 to Inverness. However if we have some time on our hands we turn off the A66 near Temple-Sowerby on the B6412 and follow this to the A686.Turn right here and you follow it up over Hartside Heights, and you can stop at The Hartside Cafe, a great café and there are always numerous bikers there. Carry on to Alston and turn left on the A689 to Brampton, even though this is an A class road, it is very small, tight and twisty and the surface is quite bumpy. In Brampton we follow the A6071 to Newtown and eventually Longtown, Gretna Green is only 4 miles from here if you fancy a visit, watch it though as it grows on you, we ended up getting married there.

From Longtown follow the A7 north into the Teviot Valley, the road is great for bikes, nice, fast, sweeping bends, with a real tight and twisty section as you head into Langholm. The road continues through Hawick, Selkirk and into Galashiels, after Galashiels it turns into a real twisty, good surfaced road, you can tell by the road signs that a lot of people speed along here, and you will see why when you ride it. The A7 leads onto the Edinburgh bypass, the A720, we follow this around and cross the Forth Road bridge to get on the M90 to head for Perth.

From Perth there are two ways to get to Inverness, again depending on your time available:

There is the shorter, A9 north to Inverness. This is a busy road, especially in the summer, but being on the bike we have never been held up. The traffic normally lets you through , and the road is well laid out and wide enough for you to exploit this to your full advantage, we have been barrelling along there at 80-90MPH, easily. There are numerous distilleries along here, and the fish ladder at Pitlochry is quite a nice stop, here you can watch wild salmon climbing the ladder, on their way up the river. There are a few speed cameras along the route and the police seem to like the road, they have well marked stops where they hide, but you can see them if your paying attention, and if you are riding fast then you should be paying attention.

There is a good detour off the A9, turn off at Carrbridge on the A938, sign posted to Grantown-On-Spey, after about 2 miles you turn left on the B9007. This is a long road that offers great views, and is normally very quiet. And you can stop at Lochindorb Castle remains on Loch Indorb. It is really quiet here and when we  stopped for a picnic we have always spotted brown squirrels and dear, very peaceful place. Pick up the B9007 and head north for Forres, where you get on the A940, this will take you to Forres and the main A96, Inverness to Aberdeen road. If you are after a B+B around here, then we can truly recommend, Milton of Grange Farmhouse. It is a great B+B with excellent rooms and a massive breakfast spread, and Hilda and Alexander Massie will look after you really well.

The A96 toward Inverness is a fast road, but very busy. Passing Brodie Castle, it  takes you through Nairn and past Fort George, we called in there years ago, and it was a truly impressive Fort, great for photo’s of the Moray Firth, and sometimes you can see the dolphins and seals. Back on the A96 you go past Culloden Moor, now this a place with a lot of atmosphere. Visit here and you can feel the passion and fear that must have reigned here when the Jacobites made their last stand, with Bonnie Prince Charlie, in 1746. When we visited, it was a very overcast and misty day, and as you walk amongst the tombs in the deep heather, you really get a feeling for the place, lots of coaches here again, so the café is quite expensive.

From Culloden sticking to B class roads, you can get to Cawdor Castle, but watch out though as there are lots of small roads around, and as well as being in the woods mainly, they all look the same. Again on the A96 toward Inverness, you past another excellent B+B, Woodside Farmhouse, run by Margaret MacLean. They have an great view over the Moray Firth with really nice and cosy rooms, if we are pushed for time, we sometimes stop here for the whole weekend, as there is lots to explore around the Grampians. The A96 will then take you straight into Inverness.

Or there is the longer west route:

At Perth you can head west on the A85 to Crieff, the road is excellent, and well maintained, however it is expensive, as every time we go down it we have to stop at Crieff, and call in to the Glenturret Distillery. Here we always have a tour and a wee dram, have a meal and stock up on the excellent 18 year old malt, if your feeling like a nice walk, try the route up to Loch Turret, where they draw the water for the whiskey. Having sobered up continue west on the A85, enjoying the twists along Glenn Dochart, and join the A82 at Crianlarich, head north toward Tyndrum, where a lot of bikes stop at The Green Welly Shop, for tea, cakes and fuel. A little expensive here as it is well in the tourist trap zone, lots of coaches, cars and caravans, but nice toilets though.

From Tyndrum you have two routes to choose from, they both end at the same place though.

Southern Route:

The A85 heads west toward Oban, is an excellent road, taking you through Glen Lochy to Loch Awe over the Pass of Brander down to Loch Etive, passing the old iron works monument at Bonawe. At the end of  Loch Etvie, you turn north on the A828 toward Fort William, when you pass Barcaldine, there is a new bridge over Loch Creran, do not go over it. Instead turn right toward Druimavuic, this is the old road around the loch, and it is great on a bike. We were told about it by a café owner years ago, it loops the loch and brings you back on the A828, where you continue toward Fort William. Soon you will join the A82 again, do not turn toward Fort William, continue toward Glen Coe village, when you get there turn off the main road toward Kinlochleven on the B863.

Now to some people this is the best piece of biking road in the UK, the road is 16 miles long and loops around Loch Leven, going through the old aluminium town of Kinlochleven. It is quite a fast road, with a good surface, loads of great turns and a lot of hills on the south side, some folk prefer to go around clockwise, some counter clockwise, I will leave it up to you. From North Ballachulish, you can easily pick up the road to Fort William, from here the road is not that good at all, very busy so take care.

This route from Tyndrum to Glencoe village is 67 miles long.

Northern Route:

Dead easy from Tyndrum, follow the A82 to the Bridge of Orchy, if you didn’t like the prices for food at Tyndrum, then stop at the old railway station here, most excellent grub and good prices. North past Loch Tulla, over Rannoch Moor, good fast road, with great sweeping bends, this road is fast, do not try and keep up with the locals on the first day. Past Glencoe visitor centre, and you are into the Pass of Glencoe, where you will see the Three Sisters, good road, but watch out for tourists pulling out of the lay by’s. Soon you will see Glencoe village, turn off here for the loop around Kinlochleven, and join the A82 at North Ballachulish, this route from Tyndrum to Glencoe is only 33 miles.

From Sheil Bridge continue north on the A87, you will come alongside Loch Duich, follow this along and you will soon come along to Eilean Donan castle. This is a very popular tourist castle, and when you see it you will see why, it really looks like the fairy tale castle. If you are after food or drinks, there is a great café on the north side of the bridge with public toilets there, and it is a good place to take photo’s. The village you are near here is called Dornie, and if you follow the signs to Dornie you will come to the Dornie Inn, a small hotel and restaurant. We called here one evening, and we had such a great meal, that I decided to have some wine, so we stayed the night there. The food is excellent, with some great local dishes, all using locally sourced produce, the haggis with whiskey is brilliant, and the restaurant is well laid out and quite plush. Continuing along the A87 for about 3 miles and you need to turn right onto the A890 towards Stromeferry. This road climbs from the loch for about 2 miles, and it is a really fast, well maintained road. You can really get some speed on along here for about 5 miles, when you see the signs for Stromeferry, slow down as the road soon turns to single track, and also drops down to Loch Carron. Single track for 8 miles now, so watch out for coaches as when they come around the corners, the road is so narrow that you struggle to find anywhere to go. Soon you will get to Achintee where you cross the railway line and come to a tee junction. You want to turn right on the A890, turning left on the A896 takes you to Lochcarron, which has a fuel station, from where you can take the old pass over to Applecross, more about that later. The A896 is now single track again for about 9 miles and it is quite twisty, after Achnashellach railway station, the road is two lane again. Changing up again it is truly a great fast road, as it was recently upgraded and rebuilt, so you can go fast along here. Even though I have never seen any, Duncan, from The Sheilings, has warned me that the police like to check for speeding along here, but it is such an open road that you can see for miles. The road ends at Achnasheen, here there is a small café, fuel and toilets. Turn right at the roundabout on the A832 and ahead of you lay 16 miles of truly awesome road through Strath Bran to Garve, you will really enjoy this road, there is one section where you have to take it easy as you pass a school, but it is well sign posted, but enjoy the road. You will soon come to Garve where you need to turn left on the A835, Ullapool is only 32 miles from here.

Inverness to Ullapool.

From Inverness, to get to Ullapool you can either go straight up the A9 and turn north west on the A835, shortest route. Or follow the A82, along the shores of Loch Ness toward Kyle of Lochalsh, a lot longer route, but the roads are brilliant.

Short Route: 55 miles

A9 out of Inverness, then turn off north west on the A835, this route is only 55 miles, so if time is against you, you can be there in under an hour. It is a great road, well maintained, and easy to ride fast along, I mean fast. Watch out for the tourists pulling out, usually near a good view point, petrol station or any monument. Watch out for the rail crossing in Garve, especially when wet, sometimes you see the Highland Tour Train that rattles along the main line here. If you have a little time, turn left on the A832 toward Achnasheen, this 16 mile stretch of road ranks amongst my best roads ever, really fast, a mixture of nice and tight corners, and high speed sweepers. Use it as an excuse to fill the bike up, as there is a fuel station, toilet and café in Achnasheen, and when you are done, do the 16 miles back, and you will be back on the A835 to Ullapool. The A835 takes you the remaining 32 miles from Garve to Ullapool and again it is still a great piece of road. There are some great bends along Loch Glascarnoch, passing the Aultguish Inn, a popular stop for tourists. Soon you will see the signs for the Corrieshalloch Gorge, near here there is a lay by with toilets, watch it here as you get tourists running across the road, and they don’t appreciate how fast you will be travelling. Through the woods again, watch out for some of the really large trees, you can see scars on them, where cars have hit them, and the cars lost. You soon rise up, along Loch Broom, and this stretch of road lead you down nicely into Ullapool itself.

Short Route. Click to enlarge

Long Route: 164 miles

From Inverness, follow the A82 along the shores of the most Famous Loch in the world, Loch Ness. The first stretch to Lochend is quite slow going, so take it easy, it soon opens up a little, very busy road, but with good views. Soon you will be able to get past most traffic, but again the road is quite rough. 15 miles from Inverness. You will come across Drumnadrochit, and the Loch Ness exhibition, not bad, but very touristy (expensive) and busy. Soon you will see the famous Castle Urquhart, again it is very busy here, a great castle though, after here the road gets quicker, and you will soon be in Invermoriston The road will be signposted A887 to the right, don’t take this road, stay on the A82, going through  Fort Augustus, tourist trap here. You will cross the Caledonian Canal bridge and soon be at Invergarry, turn right here, on the A87, probably sign posted for The Kyle of Lochalsh and Skye. The road soon climbs up alongside Loch Garry through the forest bringing you to a great view point over Glenn Garry, beware tourists on the sharp corner, and carries on, fast sweeping corners to bring you to a tee junction, where you turn left on the A87. Past Loch Cluanie and climbing into Glen Shiel you are soon amongst the Five Sisters. A series of high peaks, that look like an Alpine Pass, if you use your imagination a bit. At Shiel Bridge there is a small petrol station and cafe here, and is quite a haunt for bikers. They stop here to fill up before they take the small un classed road to the Skye Ferry at Glenelg where for £2 or so they will give you a return trip to Skye, better than the bridge. From Shiel Bridge keep on the A87 around Loch Duich.

Long route. Click to enlarge