Rest and Be Thankful

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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island girl
Posts: 127
Joined: 9 Oct 2008, 5:30pm

Rest and Be Thankful

Post by island girl »

Hi, looking for information re traffic on the Rest and Be Thankful. Will be cycling Claonaig, Tarbert, Lochgilphead, Inveraray,, Follow A83 round to Tarbet on Loch Lomond.
irc
Posts: 5192
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 2:22pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Rest and Be Thankful

Post by irc »

It's a fairly busy road. Probably not much worse than the A83 north of Tarbert, Loch Fyne.

If your end point of Tarbet is to catch a train have you considered instead going north to Dalmally. Very quiet road along the east side of Loch Awe. The bottom end of Loch Awe can be reached either on the A road from Lochgilphead of a quieter longer route via the head of Loch Caolisport, a private road up the hill to Kilmory then north towards Tayvallich. I did that in the other direction, Dalmally to Claonaig.

The private road from/towards Loch Caolisport
The private road from/towards Loch Caolisport


Looking towards Jura across Loch Sween
Looking towards Jura across Loch Sween


North of  Crinan
North of Crinan
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Tinnishill
Posts: 235
Joined: 15 Sep 2013, 9:58am

Re: Rest and Be Thankful

Post by Tinnishill »

I presume that this is your mob on this:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvD4dA6 ... e=youtu.be

I might be able to help. I assume that most of you still have the same bikes, that you would prefer tarmac roads rather than gravel forest tracks, that you are looking for up to 5 days, that you were OK with the traffic levels you encountered on the A83 up to Oban and that you have decided against using the Cally Isles or the Portavadie, Rothesay or Dunoon boats ?

If I have guessed wrong, sorry.

Have a look at this map :-

https://cycle.travel/map/journey/83816

Accommodation can be a bit tricky, I would try to book early.

Day 1) Cloaenig to Ford. About 40 miles. Night stop at Torran Bay Hostel bunkhouse at Ford at the foot of Loch Awe https://www.torranbayhostel.co.uk/

Day 2) Ford to Tyndrum. About 40 miles. Night stop at the bunkhouse and camping huts at Tyndrum Station or the SYHA at Crianlarich

Day 3) Tyndrum to Comrie Croft Bunkhouse. About 40 miles.

Day 4) Comrie Croft to Perth. About 25 miles.

Day 5) Perth to St Andrews via NCR 77 and the Tay brig. Again, about 40 miles.


Cheers.
Agitate, educate, organise.
island girl
Posts: 127
Joined: 9 Oct 2008, 5:30pm

Re: Rest and Be Thankful

Post by island girl »

Thank you Tinnishil, that is fantastic information, you have done all my work for me. Could you advise if you have cycled this route and how you found it traffic wise. I have been advised to avoid the A85 and from your route I see it mostly follows the A85 between Dalmally and Crieff. As we are a mixed ability group i would be concerned, as long as it is no busier than the road A816 to Oban we would be fine. Interested that you take us north to Dundee and across the Tay, all my plotted routes were taking us south through the Stirling area. Anyway, many thanks, yes that's us in the video, there are many more out there. Any more input would be great.
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Tinnishill
Posts: 235
Joined: 15 Sep 2013, 9:58am

Re: Rest and Be Thankful

Post by Tinnishill »

I have been over all the ground on your desired route in the last three or four years, but not all on the same trip.

My suggested route involves using some A roads. If you are OK with the traffic on the A83 between Tarbert and Lochgilphead, then the A85 from Dalmally to Tyndrum and Crianlarich to the Lix Toll junction at Killin have similar levels. The A82 between Tyndrum and Crianlarich is a fair bit busier, carrying a lot of north/south traffic, but it’s a fairly short leg.

From the Glenogle Cottages, just south of Lix, you can get on to the Sustrans path on the old railway line to Lochearnhead, then along the minor roads to the south of Loch Earn to Comrie; traffic levels and terrain on these back roads are similar to what you would find between Kildonan and Blackwaterfoot.

Are you sure that you want a night stop in Perth ? From Comrie Croft I would be inclined to head for Kinross or Falkland, where there some small hotels in both towns, on this route :-

https://cycle.travel/map/journey/83844 then follow NCR1 all the way in to St Andrews; that’s about 35 miles each day.

Counter intuitively, if you want to avoid the busier roads out of Argyll, you would have to use the Portavaidie and Dunoon boats, cross the Erskine Bridge and follow the canal and river side cycle paths through the north side of Glasgow. Accommodation on the route might then have to be in Travel lodge type places near the main roads. Here’s one possible route;-

https://cycle.travel/map/journey/83909

I’ll leave these map tracings on the website for a few weeks, before clearing them.

Cheers
Agitate, educate, organise.
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