Roam Scotland Rally Reflections

After a short ride around Inverness on the Sunday I caught the train back to Edinburgh in the company of fellow Roamers Andrew and Tim, and then we caught the same train back down south. We chatted on the way, and after parting at Oxenhope and Preston I spent the rest of the journey reflecting on the previous seven days.

I had no preconceptions about the ride, other than seeing a few videos on You Tube, and was approaching it with a slight trepidation but much anticipation. I was hoping for some cracking scenery, which it delivered in spades. The days were very long, in a good way, due to the tremendous variety of terrains and scenery on offer, and this led to the week feeling very long as well. Edinburgh seemed days away on the Monday! In terms of the weather, the main thing was the cold temperatures, particularly in the latter part of the week. Yes, it rained, but not much, not for long and there was usually some sun to come afterwards to dry you off. The wind was not helpful as it seemed mostly north westerly, and given we were heading north north west for much of the time it was in our faces.

Overall the route was very rideable, with some wet and muddy places, some tough rocky tracks but a lot of good gravel and road. The hike-a-bike sections were necessary, and even if I had to stop pushing occasionally to get my breath it was an opportunity to take in the scenery and listen to the nature. My bike coped with everything I rode on, and gave me no trouble mechanically.

I generally prefer riding in my own company, but meeting with other Roamers on the trail throughout the day, or at cafes or campsites was great, and made you feel connected on the route. Everybody was friendly and helpful.

I dipped out on some challenging parts of the route some days as my body reacted to the efforts during week. I wasn’t disappointed or downhearted about this as I still saw plenty of good things on the route I did take anyway, and it was good to be able to be flexible as and when necessary without feeling judged.

There’s a few things to look at for next time – maybe look at using the MTB setting on my Garmin maps to avoid / reduce navigational issues, and perhaps consider a saddle pack rather than panniers. But that’s not to take anything away from what was an amazing and satisfying week of roaming. And will there be a next time? Oh yes, as long as my health holds you bet! 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 7 : Contin to Inverness, Saturday May 16th

It was bloody freezing overnight! Previous days had been quite chilly early doors, but this morning was really cold. Nipping out of the tent for an early toilet call at the dawn chorus I noticed that there was ice forming on the lower edge of the tent. After breakfast I packed the tent up, saying my farewells to Kenny who was up before me, then set off on the uphill stretch to Jamestown where I turned off, passing what looked like the ruins of an old church before heading onto a climb through some woods.

 Here I lost my route, as I couldn’t see any obvious track ahead of me, nor could I see any helpful tyre tracks from other Roamers, and so I turned round and retraced my route to get back onto the A835 for a short while before turning off for Marybank, crossing the mighty River Conon again. At Marybank I took the road towards Urray, passing the Urray West Church of Scotland and heading on into Muir of Ord where I spotted the pagoda chimneys of the distillery. At the junction by the railway station I was waiting to turn right when I noticed Kenny riding in from the direction of Conon Bridge and caught up with him for a chat. After a few navigational issues the route took a fabulous track through Spital Wood which gave the first glimpses of the pan flat Beauly Firth with reflections from the bank opposite. 

At one point I came through a gate in the woods into open fields on my right, and here I spotted a couple of what I believe were Red Kites engaging in a bit of play fighting. I stopped to watch for a while, during which time a third Red Kite appeared, before setting off again along the singletrack, meeting three bikepackers going in the opposite direction. Eventually the track came to an end at a road, where I turned left and headed for Redcastle Viewpoint on the shores of Beauly Firth. 

Here I took a photo of an old boat with a heron on the Firth shore before turning back inland to head into Redcastle estate, passing the ruins of the medieval Redcastle and a rather nice looking farmhouse to follow a track which came out on the road running along the side of the Firth. This ran smoothly through to Charleston passing Coulmore Bay Holiday Park, and I also saw a small sign on a post at the side of the road saying “Do Not Photograph This Sign”. From Charleston I’d planned to detour to the Black Isle Brewery inland, as I’d missed this on my previous trip to the Black Isle. I climbed up out of Charleston to pick up NCN 1 running alongside the A9 for a while before dropping onto B roads for the three mile ride to the brewery. 

I bought myself a cycle jersey and sat outside with a couple of beers enjoying the sun and chatting with a guy from the shop about bikepacking kit. As I was starting to feel the midday sun I finished my beer and retraced my route back to Charleston to follow the cycle route to Inverness. At North Kessock I came across Graeme and Zak sitting outside a cafe and stopped for a chat. After the cafe a short steep ramp took me up to the Kessock Bridge separating the Moray and Beauly Firths, and I rode over on the cycle path where I got a superb view back over the Beauly Firth to the mountains in the west. 

Over the bridge I turned off on the outskirts on Inverness and headed into the city. Inverness was very very busy, and after a week of riding through very quiet out of the way spots came as a brutal assault on my senses. By now I was starting to feel a headache coming on and decided to head to my accommodation for a refreshing shower and rest. I crossed the Greig Street Bridge over the River Ness and saw a cyclist coming in the opposite direction. It was Kenny again, off to catch his bus back to Glasgow. We said our farewells and I booked into my room, then showered. My headache wasn’t going away, so rather than meet the other Roamers for a beer I picked up some supplies, including some paracetamol, from Tesco and went back to rest in my room. It was the end of an absolutely superb week of roaming through Scotland! 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 6 : Cannich to Contin, Friday May 15th

I woke to hear a little bit of rain on the tent, but fortunately it didn’t last long. I had breakfast, packed up and set off, but not before one of the local feathered friends dropped a present on my hand and my frame bag! I’d decided to do the simple road option today rather than the rolling route up a hard climb as I didn’t feel my legs were up to some more off road stress. It was good to feel the tarmac buzzing under my wheels as I set off, and after a quick divert to find a post box I left Cannich over the River Cannich. This fed into the River Glass, which was a good size and remained on my right as I headed north. A couple of miles out of Cannich I passed St Ignatius’ Well, a historic holy well and roadside cairn built in 1880. 

More gorse was blooming along the road, and I came across a sign declaring “Never Mind The Ballachs”, designed to resemble the Sex Pistols album of nearly the same name. This was advertising a group campaigning to stop a proposed Ballach wind farm by a German company. As in many other places in the Highlands, this highlighted the ongoing debate / fight between needed energy and destruction of local habitat, and in that place it was hard not to argue with any potential desecration of such a beautiful wild landscape. Further on I passed a field of black sheep, of a type I’d not seen before, then the beautiful church at Struy just before crossing the magnificent River Farrar on a bridge. 

Here I stopped for a photo and noticed two other Roamers coming up – it was Fiona and Sara, Calum’s sister and niece. We had a chat and then resumed our journeys. The Farrar joined the Glass shortly afterwards and the two combined became the River Beauly. Approaching Beauly I passed the extremely ugly Beauly Substation, a real eyesore although no doubt very necessary, and headed into the village, stopping at the Corner On The Square cafe for coffee and apple pie. As I was leaving to set off again Jim, my glasses saviour, was arriving and heading into the cafe for his break. I headed out of Beauly, noting that the fibre glass Highland Cow from my previous visit was still there, and called in at Robertson’s Larder and Highland Cows. They have two orphan cows which have been on the farm since they were two weeks old, Katie Morag and Jamie Mackenzie Fraser. 

I bought a couple of gifts to take back with me and resumed my journey north to Muir of Ord, where I took a left at the railway station to cycle past the Glen Ord Distillery. From a previous trip here I knew this was going to be a very pleasant road to cycle on, and was even more so this time due to the road being closed at the distillery, resulting in very little traffic as I rode through. There was more gorse at the roadside, and I rode over the River Orrin just down from the falls and passed a very funny roadside sculpture at a house, resembling the robot Bender from Futurama. 

A nice downhill followed into Marybank, then after crossing the River Conon I turned left into a headwind on the A835. This was on the North Coast 500 route, and although very busy it wasn’t long before I came to a turn for Strathpeffer, and I headed uphill for a couple of miles before riding into the village. Strathpeffer is a Victorian Spa town and contains many beautiful buildings including the Spa Pavilion and several churches, but I was heading for the Old Station. 

This was built in 1885, with passenger services ending in 1946 and the line closing in 1951. The station itself is remarkably well preserved, and looks every inch a Victorian station with wood panelling in the gents toilet and other interesting features. Today it houses the Highland Museum of Childhood in addition to a community gift shop and a cafe, which I called in at and enjoyed a warming bowl of soup and a cup of tea. After my break I set off back down the hill to rejoin the A835 into Contin. It had started raining by now, and in a few hundred yards I pulled up at Contin Stores which was just outside my campsite, and joined a couple of other Roamers in the shop where I bought an ice cream – well I was on holiday! The rain had stopped, and I went outside to join the Roamers on the benches and had a chat whilst waiting for the campsite reception to open. As well as Mike and Jason from the train up, I chatted to Graeme and his dog Zak. As well as carrying his camping kit, Graeme was pulling a dog trailer with Zak in it! Zak was the most placid, relaxed dog I’d seen and seemed utterly unfazed by anything that was going on, and stayed in the trailer while Graeme rode over the rough tracks. After this I went into the shop again to pick up my supplies and then booked into the campsite. I pitched my tent, showered and then went back four hundred yards up the road to the Smiddy Chippy, buying fish and chips which I ate whilst sitting at the edge of the River Conon that ran alongside the campsite. 

Another Roamer, Kenny, had arrived at the camp and we sat chatting for a while before turning in. It had been a very nice and reasonably relaxed day, with just one more to go. 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 5 : Fort Augustus to Cannich, Thursday May 14th

Despite the pitter patter of rain on the tent in the night I managed to get packed up and set off in dry conditions. I retraced my route through the forest to get back to the Great Glen Way and set off pedalling, the trees parting occasionally to give some great views over Loch Ness with the occasional yacht or boat breaking the smooth surface. After a while the track dropped down to meet a road which took me on the A82 into Invermoriston, passing St Columba’s Well before a left turn on the A887 and a sharp right up a very steep road with hairpin bends. It was a walk for most of the way up, at the top I was met by an excitable puppy out for a walk with its owner and as expected the height reached gave some cracking views over Loch Ness. I resumed cycling along the forest track, at one point passing a huge pile of felled trees at the side before descending down through where they had obviously stood previously. 

A few miles further on the track climbed through a series of bends to join the Great Glen high route, and as I crested the top of the climb I met Mike from the train coming out of the high route path. The track continued on past some thick gorse and I came across a bit of logging going on, with a winch hauling some fallen logs up from further down the slope. I stopped to watch for a while, then resumed to follow a wonderful bit of singletrack through the forest to reach Grotaig, rejoining the road near the Loch Ness Clay Works Pottery and Tearoom. 

I was tempted by the tearoom bit, but ploughed on along the road for a few miles, passing some more daffodil clumps and coming to a long descent into Drumnadrochit, by which point it was raining steadily. Riding into Drumnadrochit I stopped at Cafe Eighty 2 for a coffee and a Potato Hash Bowl which turned out to be an excellent choice! I ordered a second coffee to wait for the rain to stop then headed into Drumnadrochit to try to find some long fingered gloves, as I had lost mine earlier in the week on one of the rough tracks. At the Whisky Gift Shop I found some leather Tweed gloves, which were clearly not what I needed, however they had a fair selection of whisky miniatures so I bought a couple and headed across the road to the Nessie Gift Shop where I bought some 3M Thinsulate thermal ones. Purchases complete I set off for Cannich feeling a little tired. The road rose gently for four miles before turning off into Balnain Forest where I pedalled along on a smooth forest track, passing trees with little bits of lichen hanging off the branches, something I’d seen before in the Highlands. I’d stopped to take a photo and noticed three other Roamers, a man and two women, riding up towards me so I took a photo. 

They stopped for a chat, and I thought to myself that I recognised the man’s voice. “You sound like you must be Calum” I said, and sure enough he replied that he was indeed. Calum was the founder of the Roam Scotland Bikepacking Society and I’d heard him on a podcast talking about the rally earlier in the year. We chatted for a while and then set off again, Loch Meiklie coming into view on my right hand side through the gorse. Shortly after this I had a little navigational trouble at a confluence of routes, finding myself dropping into a farm with plenty of cows waiting at a gate. I retraced my steps but found myself at the same place, fortunately help came along in the shape of some more Roamers who pointed me in the right direction – this being downhill on a track to a gate with a cow watching on inquisitively on the right. The track met a road at Shenval, then I followed another forest track through to come out near Corrimony Chambered Cairn onto a minor road which joined the A831. 

Back on tarmac I climbed on a gentle gradient for a couple of miles before rolling downhill at speed for a couple of miles with the River Glass on my right to reach the turn off for Cannich. I booked into the campsite and set up my tent, then headed off to Cannich Stores for supplies, passing a house with a large collection of ornamental teapots on the garden wall. I found the stores, which to my surprise and delight sold beer and freshly made pizza, with a bus outside for sitting in! 

It would have been messy if I’d stayed, so contented myself with one beer in addition to the supplies for the night and morning. Back at the campsite I enjoyed a warm shower and ate my food before settling down to relax, the sun shining and the birds singing. It had been another tough day with plenty of climbing albeit over a shorter distance, but another day that I had really enjoyed. 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 4 : Loch Ossian to Fort Augustus, Wednesday May 13th

No dawn chorus today, but I did wake up and go for a wee anyway. To make up for the lack of birdsong a few geese began having an enormous argument around 6 o’clock. The day was grey and chilly, but that didn’t stop a woman going for a swim in the loch! After breakfast I packed up and set off, heading north east along the side of Loch Ossian on a road through the trees that gently rolled. Once past the loch the trees stopped and the landscape opened out in a broad valley, the road running past Loch Ghuilbinn in between the snow capped hills. 

After five miles I came to some woods and the road started descending. I heard more cuckoos, and for the first time in a very long while heard the sound of road traffic. Riding through Fersit I came to the An Dubh Lochan and stopped for a photo of the hills and trees reflected in the still water. 

The road continued descending to reach the A86 where I turned left and rode through Roy Bridge, with a closed cafe, reluctantly passed the Glen Spean brewery and shop and came into Spean Bridge where I stopped for lunch at Faith’s cafe with a few other Roamers. After a very pleasant lunch break I headed back on the A86 for a short while before turning off onto a public path that ran alongside the River Spean on the trackbed of the former Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway and went past General Wade’s High Bridge, where the first shots were fired in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. I had a good view of Ben Nevis from here, and also passed the remains of a railway viaduct over the Spean. The path joined the B8004 just down from the Spean Bridge Commando Memorial, but not before I had to clamber over a slightly wobbly stile after lifting my bike over a fence. 

Turning west here I rode towards Gairlochy, passing the Mucomir Hydro Electric Power Station which takes water from Loch Lochy, and crossing the Caledonian Canal to turn right onto NCN 78, the Caledonia Way. I rode for a couple of miles with Loch Lochy on my right, then turned off towards Achnacarry for a pre-planned diversion to see Loch Arkaig and an impressive looking waterfall. I passed the Clan Cameron Museum, a long single storey whitewashed building, and what looked like the seat of Clan Cameron with some old Steading Apartments opposite. At the head of Loch Arkaig I crossed a wooden bridge and turned back east to come to the Eas Chia-Aig waterfalls, which certainly turned out to be impressive. 

I rejoined NCN 78 along the loch, and in a few miles came across a large wooden statue of a bear and cub, with hiking equipment, which signalled where a basic camping / rest spot was situated on the loch side. Shortly after this a series of hairpin bends diverted the route away from the loch due to exploratory works for the Coire Glas Hydro scheme. 

It wasn’t a long diversion though, and I rejoined the original route and came to the Laggan Locks where I crossed the canal and continued on to North Laggan. Here, I continued on NCN 78 and came across Invergarry Station, where the Invergarry Station Project were restoring the platform and buildings. The former line continued for around three miles through gates, bridges and some wet patches in places before leaving to run alongside Loch Oich to the Aberchalder Swing Bridge carrying the A82 over the canal. As I pulled up at the gates to cross the road the swing bridge started closing, allowing me to nip across unhindered by traffic, and in a short while I came to the Cullochy Lock where I crossed to the other side of the wide canal towpath. It started raining now for a while, and I rode along the towpath avoiding the potholes and puddles where I could. Four miles later, and with the rain having passed, I rolled into Fort Augustus where I stopped to pick up some supplies and have a coffee, and managed to get a photo of a rainbow over Loch Ness. 

I rode out of Fort Augustus to find my campsite for the night which was four miles along the Great Glen Way, passing Morag’s Hostel where I knew a number of my fellow Roamers were staying. I found the way onto the Great Glen Way, which was a short steep scramble up a soft slope, and at the top followed the way for a few rolling miles until I came to a sign for my campsite. I had to follow a track through the woods, waymarked with white tree stumps and over plenty of tree roots, but managed to find it ok. I checked in, put the tent up and had a hot shower then had my tea before retiring for the night. 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 3 : Killin to Loch Ossian, Tuesday May 12th

Having been woken by the dawn chorus at 4:10 I had to go the toilet. Back to the sleeping bag for a couple of hours then got up at 7:30, packed up and left at half eight on a sunny but chilly day. I rode back down the A827 to Killin, turning right before the Bridge of Lochay onto a road with the River Lochay running alongside to the left. I rode past a whitewashed cottage that looked boarded up, then came across a small patch of wildfire damage on the left of the road. I continued on into Glen Lochay passing an information board for the Woodland Project, and then turned right to go over the first climb of the day. I stopped to take a photo and noticed two more Roamers behind me, so waited for them to come through and took their photos. The climb up gave some great views back to where I’d ridden from earlier, and further up passed Lochan Learg nan Lunn before descending again down to the Lubreoch Dam at the head of Loch Lyon. 

The ride down Glen Lyon was absolutely magnificent in the sun, and further on I came upon the Stronuich Dam and reservoir. The road climbed occasionally and on one such rise I stopped to take a photo of another two Roamers who were coming up behind. Shortly after this I came across a herd of Highland cows on both sides of the road, including some calves, and there were also a number of clusters of daffodils still in bloom beside the road. 

A few miles on I came to the Glen Lyon tea room and stopped for soup and coffee. There were a fair few Roamers in there already when I arrived, and I sat at a table with a guy called Jim. After a lovely lunch I reluctantly stepped out into the cold and set off again, and in a mile left the road to head up over a track towards Loch Rannoch. It had started raining at this point and I stopped to put my overshoes on. The track was steep in places and I resorted to pushing more than a few times. The rain turned to hail at one point, covering my handlebar bags. 

Over the top the track started to descend with a few stream crossings where the track had been washed away and repaired with rubble. At the entrance to Rannoch Woods I went through a gate where there was a large piece of bone on the ground, after which the track became a wide forest track and at one point I stopped to let a forest lorry pass. Some time around here I realised that on the descent I’d lost my glasses, which I’d foolishly hooked into the straps of my handlebar bag – obviously they must have shaken loose on the way down. The track continued on through the forest on good gravel, at one point the left side of the track had high stacks of tree branches piled up for a stretch. 

On leaving the forest the track dropped down to Loch Rannoch at Camghouran, and at the road junction I turned left towards Bridge of Gaur. Not long after this I heard a loud roaring, and a plane passed me overhead at a fairly low level. I passed another herd of Highland cattle and stopped for a photo, wondering if these were the same cattle that I’d seen when I passed here in 2024. As I was taking photos the inquisitive herd began to make their way towards me, perhaps hoping I’d have something interesting for them. I set off again, and after Bridge of Gaur turned left on the B846 towards Rannoch Station, into a stiff headwind. It was a bit of a slog for four miles, passing Loch Eigheach Gaur Reservoir after which the Garmin indicated a right turn on Road To The Isles. This sounded exotic, I thought, until I reached it and saw that it was a rough gravel track. 

It was a long slog over this track, with the surface very variable with some wide stream crossings, and some hike-a-bike sections. It was as quick to push as it would have been to try to ride at some points, but as before the payback was some fabulous views over the surrounding area, including the iconic conical Schiehalion peak to the east. To the west black skies and occasional rainbows suggested heavy rain, and although the clouds kept away the wind occasionally blew showers at me. I met a couple of women doing a short tour based in Kinloch Rannoch who were heading in the opposite direction to me, and they warned me about the upcoming “road we all love to hate”. 

I ploughed on doggedly and eventually came to where the track started descending. Because of the surface this was almost as tricky as the ascent, but I made my way down safely to the shores of Loch Ossian and rode to the Youth Hostel. It had taken me two hours to cover eight miles. I’d planned to try and find a spot to wild camp on the north side of the loch, but with dark clouds threatening and it being fairly late in the day I decided to camp at the hostel, and pitched my tent on the edge of the loch with an amazing view. 

A tough day, but at the same time a very rewarding one. Oh, and a bonus – Jim had found my glasses I’d lost, and brought them back to me at the hostel! 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 2 : Callander to Killin, Monday May 11th

I woke and got up for a wee at 5am and was amused to find that the toilet block still had piped music going on at that time! I went back and slept fitfully for a couple of hours then had breakfast, packed away, and set off at 9:20 – one of the last Roamers to set off. I’d planned to do the rolling route today with a couple of detours to Balquhidder (for Rob Roy’s grave) and Dull (twinned with Boring, US). I set off into Callander along the bumpy former railway path, with my legs feeling the efforts of the previous day. Riding through Callander I noticed a few Roamers at a cafe having breakfast, and not long after I turned off onto NCN 7, the former Callander to Killin railway line, returning to the route of my first ride in Scotland five years ago. I rolled along the cycle path, passing the site of the former Roman fort of Bochastle and coming to the A821. Here I turned left and then almost immediately right into Bochastle forest. This was the start of a stiff climb that turned into a bit of hike-a-bike at times, but as I climbed a lovely view over to Loch Venakar opened up. 

The track rolled on and afforded some excellent views ahead to Loch Lubnaig and back towards Callander, before descending back to pick up NCN 7 via a couple of hairpin bends. I rode through Forest Holidays Strathyre park and alongside Loch Lubnaig before coming to a little climb with more hairpin bends up to a higher track. Shortly after here the route dropped into Strathyre, and I called in at the Broch Cafe for a coffee and something to eat. While I was in the cafe I decided to drop plans for the diverts as I was still feeling heavy in the legs. Leaving the cafe I rejoined the path through Strathyre, crossing a road where my Garmin beeped to inform me I was off course. I ignored it and continued along the path, running alongside the A84 for a while until I came to Lochearnhead where another series of hairpin bends took me higher to get a good view of Loch Earn. I passed a couple of Canadian hikers and stopped for a chat. I was starting to feel better by now, so decided that I might go to Balquhidder after all, however I spotted the beginnings of the Glen Ogle Viaduct on the track ahead and realised that the beeping I’d heard earlier was the road to Balquhidder I should have taken! Ah well. I stopped just before the viaduct to take a photo, taking off my sunglasses so I could see what I was doing. 

I took a video riding over the viaduct, and after I’d gone a hundred yards past it I realised I’d left my sunglasses behind! I went back to fetch them and set off again, coming in a short while to Lochan Lairig Cheile. Here I stopped again for a photo, walking down to the shore of the Lochan to get a better view. Remounting I crossed the A82 and headed into the forest, where I came across a memorial on the ground. Stopping to have a look I noticed that it commemorated two RAF pilots who died when their plane crashed on the hills, and was staggered to see that the first was born just four days before Sandra, and four weeks before me! I then noticed the date of the crash, and was amazed to see that it had occurred on my birthday thirty-two years ago! It made me reflect for a while on how lucky I was to be still fit and active at my age. 

Resuming my ride, at a gate on the path I came across a couple on e-bikes coming in the opposite direction who held the gate open for me. They told me I’d enjoy the downhill on NCN 7, however I sadly told them that my route was taking me uphill, up the forestry road, and set off on the track up into the trees. After a while I came to a T junction where my Garmin took me right up a steep climb. More hike-a-bike ensued, but when I stopped it was utterly peaceful with not a single sound. Remounting I passed a couple of sheep on the track, and then came to a spot where some trees had been felled, and this gave a great view down to Killin and over Loch Tay. 

I rode on to another gate, and this led to a downhill on a tarmaced road which popped me out onto the road running south of Loch Tay, where I turned left to head into Killin. After crossing the bridge by the Falls of Dochart I headed to the local Co-op for supplies, and when I came out another Roamer arrived to do the same. I watched his bike while he shopped, and checking Google Maps I saw that my campsite was four and a half miles away, although it did warn of a steep hill on the route. Sure enough, after I crossed the River Lochay on the outskirts of Killin the road headed up, although not too steeply and not for long and I was soon rolling along on the north of Loch Tay. I stopped at a point to take a photo of the loch and the opposite side, where I thought I’d had the splendid Killin viewpoint in the forest, and noticed a buzzard hovering above the loch. A short while later I arrived at the campsite and checked in, set my tent up and then went for a meal at the Boathouse Kitchen and Bar, which was a fair trek down a steep rode. An excellent Cullen Skink starter and Haggis, Neeps and Tatties main with a beer and whisky gave me the energy to walk back up the road to my tent, hopefully for a good night’s sleep. 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 1 : Edinburgh to Callander, Sunday May 10th

I awoke in the hostel and got up for breakfast at 6:05. I was the only one there for a while, but later I was joined by Inge, another Roamer who’d come over from Belgium, and a lady from the Black Isle who’d been on a walking holiday in the Peak District. I had a decent breakfast and then set off through Edinburgh to the start at the Soderberg cafe in The Meadows, where after coffee and a chat from one of the Society trustees we set off, riding through the Meadows to some good cycle paths to the Union canal. 

We rode on the towpath for a while, meeting a few early morning joggers and walkers, and shortly after leaving the canal we encountered our first navigational issue – a road had been completely closed with no way through at all. Fortunately some local knowledge was on hand in the group behind and they led us on a short diversion back to where we should have been. We climbed up onto the Roseburn cycle path, from where we could see Murrayfield Stadium, and followed paths and residential streets, past the impressive Dalmeny House to come to our first view of the Forth Bridges. I stopped for a couple of obligatory photos then navigated through South Queensferry to join the cycle path crossing the Forth Road Bridge, which gave superb views of the Forth Rail Bridge. 

The group had fragmented by this point, with the fitter riders ahead of me. Once over the bridge the cycle path took us past Rosyth shipyard, where I spotted a swallow (or swift), to then follow a narrow downhill track riddled with tree roots which brought us out at a lovely scenic spot with great views of the Firth of Forth. We followed the water’s edge for a while before turning inland at Charlestown to head north, the distant hills giving some warning of a more challenging terrain to come. Riding up Rocks Road in Charlestown I passed a jogger who kindly offered to take my photo. Not long after this we joined a path running alongside the busy A985 which came as a bit of a rude awakening, fortunately it wasn’t long until we came to a roundabout and returned back onto quieter roads. The fields here were full of rapeseed in full bloom, the bright yellow flowers contrasting nicely with the deep blue sky, and I stopped for a photo, and as I did so Jason and Mike from the train up rode past. At Oakley I noticed a Co-op store and stopped for a drink and something to eat. Riding on through Saline I turned onto a Walking and Cycling Friendly road, passing some Highland Cattle at Solsgirth Home Farm where I also had to do a double take as I noticed there were some rheas and emus in a field. 

After stopping for a photo I crossed the busy A977 and dropped down into Dollar, where my Garmin got into a twist over the route. Fortunately I met some other Roamers who had been into a cafe for a break and they led me to the correct way forward. This followed an old railway line, the Devon Way, which was a nice gentle ride through woods with lots of wild garlic, bluebells and some pink flowers I couldn’t identify. At Tillicoultry the route joined a path alongside the A91, with a short diversion away at Alva, before heading into the hills just after Menstrie. This started with a steep uphill onto a track that entailed much hike-a-bike, although with the rewards of some terrific views south over the River Forth and back towards Edinburgh. 

Along the trail a small sausage on short legs (stoat maybe?) ran across in front of me, and I heard several cuckoo calls and saw a buzzard. The track ran downhill and turned onto a road which eventually came to the very busy A9 at Greenloaning. I crossed and headed on to Braco where I turned off, passing Braco Clocktower and former Free Church and continuing up onto a stony track where a strong wind was blowing in my face. The track proved challenging in places, leading to more hike-a-bike and wide open views, and further on it got rougher still. At one point I came across a gate that was locked shut, so had to lift my bike over and then climb over myself. Eventually I came to the Braes of Doune Wind Farm and here the track joined the gravel service roads heading downhill. 

As I descended the open moor gave way to forest before the route took me through some farm fields to another locked gate at a road. The road was rolling, with the head wind sapping my already flagging strength, and it was with a little relief that I came upon my campsite at Keltie Bridge. I checked in, put the tent up and then headed to Callander Co-op for some supplies. Back at the campsite I ate, then showered and settled down to relax for the night. It had been a long and immensely enjoyable day, but now was time for rest and recovery for tomorrow’s instalment. 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 0 : Saturday May 9th

The Roam Scotland Rally is a ride organised by the Roam Scotland Bikepacking Society, and this year the route was going to be from Edinburgh to Inverness over seven days. I’d been looking forward to the Rally for a long while, and at last the day of departure dawned. I packed the panniers, handlebar bag, accessory pack and loaded up the bike. With rain possible by 12:45 I set off at noon hoping to keep dry. 

I made good progress, passing through Haslington where a fair was underway and hopped onto the cycle path at Crewe Green roundabout. This took me rapidly to the station where I found my way to platform 11 where the Edinburgh train was due. By chance the Midland Pullman arrived on an adjacent platform with the “Lord of the Isles”, passing through on its way to Inverness. 

My train came in on time and I loaded my bike on alongside one other, then settled into my seat for the journey. At Preston another cyclist boarded and introduced himself – he turned out to be another Roamer, Jason, who was also doing the Rally for the first time. We chatted until Penrith when his mate Mike boarded, also riding the Rally for the first time. After heading through a slightly damp Carlisle we headed into southern Scotland, passing many fields full of sheep and lambs before finally arriving in a chilly Edinburgh. I left Jason and Mike here after printing my tickets for the return from Inverness and headed out into the streets of Old Reekie. I found my way onto a very good cycle lane that ran alongside the road and soon arrived at the Central Youth Hostel where I was staying. I checked in and was shown down a couple of flights of stairs to the secure cycle storage and my room (coincidentally next door to each other). I left my bike in the store alongside several others, and as I knew there a couple more due I wondered where they’d fit them all. I settled into my room and then went to the cafe to get chicken strips and coffee for tea, with a double Glenmorangie to finish to get my tour underway. 

The train home - not what I'd planned!

I woke reasonably early after a decent nights sleep in a soft warm bed, and lay relaxed until it was almost time to get up. Deciding on a quick check of my emails, my eye was drawn to one from Avanti titled “Laurie, your train has been cancelled”. Seems there had been a fire near Glasgow Central and no trains were going in or out, including my train back to Crewe. Not what you want to see on your day of travel. Fortunately I’m fairly clued up on the rail network, so my thoughts were get to Edinburgh from Queen Street and from Edinburgh I knew I’d get an Avanti service to Crewe. I got changed and checked out of the hostel, picked up the bike from the cycle store and rode the short distance to Oban station. I loaded the bike onto the train, noticing that I’d hung it the wrong way up last time, and sat down in my seat to check timetables and make the necessary bookings. I booked Glasgow to Edinburgh via the Scotrail app quite quickly, then tried to get an Avanti service to Crewe using the Avanti app.

 Interestingly, there seemed to be no services whereby I could book a cycle reservation, at least not until April! Fortunately I got onto the Avanti website via National Rail and from there found that I could indeed book my bike on, and so booked the 14:52 to Crewe. For the rest of the journey to Glasgow I looked out at the scenery, still lovely even though it was again dreich! Closer to Glasgow the scene outside became more urban (and depressing at times) and we were soon rolling into Queen Street station where I disembarked and went to the concourse for the short wait for the Edinburgh service. This train took cycles, but it was first come first served with a maximum of two bikes, which leads to uncertainty and an anxious wait. I saw one other bike on the concourse so wasn’t too worried. The train was announced and I headed to the carriage for bikes, and found I was the first on board – phew. Another cyclist joined soon after me and stored his bike alongside mine. The journey took a little less than an hour, and was through mainly urban countryside with not a great deal of interest to see. Arriving at Edinburgh I got off and went to pick up my tickets from the machine, where again no cycle reservation ticket was printed, so a quick trip to the ticket office was required to resolve that. 

Looking at the screens of arrivals and departures it was clear that Avanti had a problem on the West Coast route, with trains from London Euston delayed significantly – turns out there was a problem with a trespasser at Preston which was causing long delays. My train was suggested as being 31 minutes late, so a long wait of two and a half hours ensued. I had some lunch and did a couple of laps walking the bike around Waverley station to pass the time. At last, my train rolled in, and I loaded the bike into the storage space, found my seat and settled in for the three hour journey. I’d decided to get the train back to Sandbach from Crewe rather than ride home in the dark, so booked onto the 18:16. After a scenic ride down to the borders the weather started deteriorating after Carlisle, and all you could see outside was dank, gloomy countryside. The onboard train progress screens were starting to show further delays to the service, caused by the earlier trespass issue, so I looked up the Northern timetable to see what my options were going to be – fortunately there were trains every half hour so if I missed the 18:16 there would be another at 18:46. 

At Preston it was clear that I’d miss the 18:16, and with further delays by Wigan and Warrington even the 18:46 had come and gone. Finally we rolled into Crewe just before 7, meaning I had a short wait for the 19:16. Luckily we came in on platform 5 and the Sandbach train left from platform 1, meaning no need to get the lift up and over the tracks. My train came in and I loaded up the bike into the designated carriage, and a quarter of an hour later we were off.

Seven minutes later we rolled into Sandbach where I dismounted, manhandled the bike up and over the footbridge (where is the lift when you need one!) and rode the short distance home. Not the journey home I’d envisaged when booking the trip, but it was a lot less stressful than driving would have been, plus as a bonus I’d got to experience Edinburgh Waverley ahead of my trip later this year, and got experience of travelling on Northern Trains which I probably wouldn’t have done if I’d got to Crewe at 17:00 as originally intended. Despite the issues caused by the fire and trespass, my experience hasn’t put me off taking my bike on the trains again in the future. 

Later on I found out that the "trespasser" had climbed onto a bridge at Preston and wouldn't come down. He was later arrested, then de-arrested and sanctioned. It made me think that stress is all relative, a delay to a train is hardly comparable to being in a difficult state of mind.

Strontian to Oban : An unexpected delight

I woke after another decent night’s sleep, had breakfast of fruit and milk (and a cake), and went for a wash before packing the tent away. The weather was still overcast, and every so often a little gust of wind would blow for a few seconds. I set off on a little woodland track that I’d noticed on the map beforehand, which turned out to be a nice little ride that came out at the Strontian Hotel. 

I turned left onto the A861 main road for Ardgour and the Corran ferry, and found to my dismay that I had to contend with a headwind. I rode alongside Loch Sunart for a while and came to the Lochaline turn off, from where I ridden into Strontian last year. Continuing straight on, the road climbed gently for a couple of miles and I found I was getting passed by a few little clusters of vehicles, no doubt heading for the Corran ferry. The road continued to climb and to compound the misery of the strong wind it had started drizzling. Finally, after a long spell of climbing, I began to descend and I came to the Kingairloch road that I’d ridden on the first day of my trip. The rain was stopping by now, and I turned north along Loch Linnhe making good progress. I was still being passed by quite a bit of traffic and wondered how busy the ferry would be. I soon found out as I arrived at the ferry terminal, and sure enough there were around a dozen vehicles waiting for the ferry to arrive from the Corran side. I’d found there was a webcam allowing you to view the queue for the ferry, and so waved at it for Sandra again, and then rolled onto the ferry after the traffic had loaded. I asked the chap managing the loading if the ferry was still free for Over 60s, and he confirmed it was. The ticket collector came along shortly after and said “That’ll be £2 please”. I told him I was over sixty, indeed I was sixty four, and he remarked how well I looked for it.

 

I disembarked at Corran after the short ferry crossing and headed up to NCN route 78, the Caledonia Way. This was essentially a cycle path along the busy A82 road, for which I was very grateful seeing what was flying past. I followed the path south past Onich to North Ballachulish, occasionally swapping sides of the road. Here I crossed the Ballachulish bridge with Loch Leven to the east and Loch Linnhe to the west, and then left the side of the A82 to head up to the old Ballachulish Ferry station on the Ballachulish branch line that linked to Connel Ferry. 

This was an unexpected treat, a great ride taking me south alongside and above the main road. In a while a tunnel took the track under the road and alongside Loch Linnhe, and this continued until diverting inland just before Kentallen to make a short climb up onto the Malcolm Shepherd Way, a part of NCN 78 named after a former CEO of Sustrans. At the top of this climb was a viewpoint over Loch Linnhe with some information about some nearby rocks formed of a mineral called kentallenite, named after the local village. The viewpoint was opposite the glen containing the road to Strontian, where it looked like the weather was continuing to be a little grim. The track continued on a level gradient amongst lineside trees and fields, and I passed a group of Highland cattle in one field. 

Shortly after Duror the track climbed in a series of zigzags up to a bridge over a stream where an old rusty bicycle frame was hanging in a tree. It then entered the Highland Estates Nature Reserve, a forested area with a small lake. The welcoming sign had pictures of red deer, Scottish wildcat, pine marten and otter, but all I saw was a frog that I very nearly ran over. After leaving the reserve the former rail line continued running alongside the main road before leaving it at the entrance to Linnhe Marine. I passed a number of boats, before the impressive Castle Stalker came into view in the bay. 

Shortly after the track ran alongside the former Appin railway station, with the trackbed within the platforms under a bit of water. Just after Appin the rail track ended and NCN 78 ran alongside the main road again, crossing Loch Creran on the Creagan bridge. At Benderloch the track left the road again and went under a bridge with a mural decorated by the local Primary School children, continuing along past Ardmucknish Bay. I passed a sign warning of Loud Noises and Strong Winds and came to Oban airport at North Connel. Here the route put me onto the main road to cross Connel Bridge. I took the walkway across it, and noticed that the Falls of Lora were putting on a spectacular show. 

After a video and a few photos I jumped back on the bike, disregarding the Cyclists Dismount notice, and rejoined the main road to the junction with the A85. I followed this for a few miles towards Oban, thankfully the traffic wasn’t too bad, and turned off at Dunbeg to follow a rolling cycle path that took me to Ganavan Sands, and from there it was a short hop past Dunollie Castle and Lighthouse, past Oban War Memorial and onto Corran Esplanade where I turned into Oban Youth Hostel to end my tour. A day that had started horribly turned into a fantastic experience in the end, a terrific way to end my three day loop around Oban and Fort William.