Hello! It's my first post, so please be gentle!
I have a week in August where I plan to cycle in Scotland based around a friend’s wedding there and am looking for suggestions and input on possible places to go and routes to take.
I’m in Carlisle the Sunday prior and also need to be back there 8 days later on the Monday at 10am, although I live much further south near Preston. So, in summary:
Sun 12th: Leaving Carlisle (probably mid-late afternoon)
Mon, Tue, Wed: cycling
Thu: Loch Lomond wedding
Fri, Sat, Sun: cycling
Mon 20th: Back in Carlisle for 10am
I’m considering trying to get to Inverness on Sunday or early Monday. One way to do this would be by train from Carlisle or Lockerbie to arrive in Inverness late that night or early the next morning. Another idea was to get the Caledonian Sleeper from Preston near where I live, but that doesn’t really make any sense given I’m already in Carlisle on the Sunday. But I’m not averse to getting trains at each end of the trip – I’d rather do that than drive into Scotland and have my car with me; point to point rather than loops.
Where would you go? What route would you take? Any roads to avoid, or must-see places? I’ll be travelling light (a friend is taking my suit for the wedding in his car!) and want to limit my daily distance to around 120-130km, otherwise the very far north would have been appealing.
Here’s my initial idea at a route from Inverness to Loch Lomond and I’ll look at the 3 days after the wedding later to get me back to my start point/car in Carlisle or wherever it may be.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27858322
What do you think? Are these busy roads? Any better routes? Any sightseeing opportunities overlooked? Thanks in advance!
3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
Looks good, but maybe you should move inland rather than go down the A82.
I don't like the A82 ............ thought I'd just mention that!
I don't like the A82 ............ thought I'd just mention that!
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
PS
We used to live in Balloch back in the the early 1980s and I cycled up and down the A82 when it used to be a good road.
Been back there a few times since then, and it's not a nice road to cycle on nowadays .......... or it wasn't when I was last there in mid 2000s.
We used to live in Balloch back in the the early 1980s and I cycled up and down the A82 when it used to be a good road.
Been back there a few times since then, and it's not a nice road to cycle on nowadays .......... or it wasn't when I was last there in mid 2000s.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
Mick F wrote:Looks good, but maybe you should move inland rather than go down the A82.
I don't like the A82 ............ thought I'd just mention that!
Thanks Mick. I'm finding it tricky to avoid the A82 from Glencoe area without changing the route quite drastically to go through the Cairngorms though, or adding a lot more mileage. Is it a bad/busy stretch from there to Loch Lomond? Any suggestions?
Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
A82 is a good road, but the problem is it's busy. Also, back in the old days it weaved in and out of the bays on Lomandside that slowed the traffic down, but now they've straightened out some of the weaves and it's not so nice.
Old road went through Arden and Luss for instance, but now bypassed.
Further north, the Ballachulish bridge has bypassed the nice road around Loch Leven.
Consider coming down the east side of Loch Ness as a nicer bit, but I know very well that there's not much of a choice Inverness/Lomond.
By the way, where in Lomondside is the wedding?
We lived here, and we could see the summit Ben Lomond from out front windows.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Woo ... -4.5934921
Old road went through Arden and Luss for instance, but now bypassed.
Further north, the Ballachulish bridge has bypassed the nice road around Loch Leven.
Consider coming down the east side of Loch Ness as a nicer bit, but I know very well that there's not much of a choice Inverness/Lomond.
By the way, where in Lomondside is the wedding?
We lived here, and we could see the summit Ben Lomond from out front windows.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Woo ... -4.5934921
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
I did a trip a few years ago as follows:
Glasgow - Callander
Callander - Pitlochry
Pitlochry - Kingussie
Kingussie - Inverness
Very enjoyable but probably not suitable for road bike from memory, used hybrid for the ride. You could potentially do the following if you consider the Cairngorms......
Inverness - Kingussie
Kingussie - Pitlochry
Pitlochry - Loch Lomond
I've just come back from Scotland and had to ride from Tarbet to Oban...I was advised to avoid the A82 at all costs. I ended up riding the A83 across to Oban and that was bad enough, not the most enjoyable ride although road surface great.
Glasgow - Callander
Callander - Pitlochry
Pitlochry - Kingussie
Kingussie - Inverness
Very enjoyable but probably not suitable for road bike from memory, used hybrid for the ride. You could potentially do the following if you consider the Cairngorms......
Inverness - Kingussie
Kingussie - Pitlochry
Pitlochry - Loch Lomond
I've just come back from Scotland and had to ride from Tarbet to Oban...I was advised to avoid the A82 at all costs. I ended up riding the A83 across to Oban and that was bad enough, not the most enjoyable ride although road surface great.
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Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
For something a little more interesting how about, Inverness to say Glenfinnan, then down through Salen to Kilchoan and the ferry over to Mull. Then ferry to Oban and across to Loch Lomond? I like islands and ferries!
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Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
gloomyandy wrote:For something a little more interesting how about, Inverness to say Glenfinnan, then down through Salen to Kilchoan and the ferry over to Mull. Then ferry to Oban and across to Loch Lomond? I like islands and ferries!
I've done that route although in a different direction.
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Re: 3 days to Loch Lomond from.....? Inverness?
matt2matt2002 wrote:gloomyandy wrote:For something a little more interesting how about, Inverness to say Glenfinnan, then down through Salen to Kilchoan and the ferry over to Mull. Then ferry to Oban and across to Loch Lomond? I like islands and ferries!
I've done that route although in a different direction.
Highly recommended.
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