Put the "mountain" back in mountain biking!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Today, for a change, I went mountain biking with Ailsa and Heather as part of their week's holiday of biking in the Outdoor Capital of the UK. They had already explored the Witches Trails and taken the train to Corour for the trail down to Spean Bridge past the Lairig Leacach and the legs were feeling a little sore so a shorter day was the plan.

So we went for a wee ride up to the CIC Hut along the Allt a'Mhuillin starting from the North Face Car Park in Torlundy. This is a great trail but you have to put in the effort at the start to reap the rewards later!

The new Forestry Commission trail going up to the Allt a'Mhuillin at the top of Torlundy Forest is very steep and usually requires some pushing (or burning thighs). However there are two well marked viewpoints just off the trail that break up the climb and give fantastic views over Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil at the first and the best ever view of Ben Nevis from the second.

The Allt a'Mhuillin trail sits back at a much more friendly angle but still with bits of pushing over the drains. It goes right into the heart of the north face of Ben Nevis, a fantastic sight, and we even got a cup of tea from the guys working on the hut just now.

The descent (all 650m vertical of it!) is a bit technical with lots of drains to cross but great fun and flowing in between. A section of fast forestry track then got us on to the Witches Trails as part of the descent. Down by The Wall back to the North Face Car Park and we finished with a wee loop by the River Lochy. It was a superb short day out, wet and windy for much of it but this just added to the sensation of being right in the heart of the mountains. Fantastic single track that puts the "mountain" back into the "biking"!

Regards,

Mike

posted by ocuk @ 12:16 PM  0 comments

Red sky at night...

Saturday, September 13, 2008

...what a delight! I haven't seen sunsets as spectacular as this from my house in Glen Spean for a long time. Here are views of the skies over the Aonach Mor and the Grey Corries last Friday night.

Labels: glen spean, lochaber, OCUK, sunset

posted by ocuk @ 4:09 PM  0 comments

The UK's longest cul-de-sac

Thursday, September 04, 2008

An appointment in Invergarry yesterday lunchtime was a great excuse to drive on a little further and make the journey down 22 miles of spectacular single track to Kinloch Hourn. Along the way, you encounter Tomdoun Sporting Lodge and the tiny church next door, the imposing Glen Quoich dam and great views around every bend. The further along you travel, the steeper and windier the track gets and, as we descended into Kinloch Hourn, I was glad I was driving in, rather than cycling out as several hardy souls were! The weather was a little gloomy at first, but the clouds broke just as we got out of the car and allowed us to take a really pleasant walk along the path towards Barrisdale Bay. The clarity of the water in Loch Hourn was amazing, and we saw a fair amount of birdlife. Time didn't allow us to make it all the way round to the bay, but we shall certainly return in the future to make a day of it. Next time you visit Lochaber and really want to get away from it all (even though it's just off the A87!), head for this beautiful part of the Outdoor Capital.

Labels: Kinloch Hourn, Loch Hourn

posted by ocuk @ 2:53 PM  0 comments

Wet weekends are good for Waterfalls!

Monday, September 01, 2008

The weather has been mixed recently with quite bit of rain interspersed with sunny periods, with the weather forecast often worse than reality. However Sunday's forecast was completely correct and rain it did - all day on and off! With trip to the Skye Cuillins coming up I need to get out and get some longer walks and hill days under my belt, so I roped in a friend to accompany me on Sunday. We changed our plans once we were out and realised that the weather wasn't going to lift and kept to paths below 600 metres. Starting in Kinlochleven our walk took us out to Loch Eilde Mor, up and over past Meall na Cruaidhe, down to the Blackwater Reservoir and then down the Kearan trail along the river back to Kinlochleven. A good walk that gets you out without going too high. One thing all the rain was good for was waterfalls. As we walked back into Kinlochleven we went past several that were spectacular. Some of the river crossings were 'interesting' as water levels rose during the day - we were both glad we had poles to help us balance as we crossed over some quite fast flowing water.

Anna

Labels: Highlands, walking in scotland, waterfalls

posted by ocuk @ 9:47 AM  0 comments

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