Drove Road Annat to Dalnaspideal

[saoirse50]

Those here who know me, know how much riding I’ve done in Scotland over the years. Although I never get bored of riding those roads, I think I’ve ridden every public road up in the north west by now, at least once or twice. Some roads many more times. And some of those lovely roads so much busier now. So, I’ve started doing a bit more off road. And now, inspired by being loaned Raleigh’s 2018 Mustang, their gravel bike, to write a magazine review of it, I started searching out the gravel tracks. I’m popping up for a few days in September and thinking of riding out from Rannoch and then heading up the old drove road that links Loch Rannoch to Loch Garry and the A9. It looks fine on the OS..about a mile in the middle looks like it could need walking and what little I’ve found about it online suggests it’s definitely bikeable, if a little boggy now and then. I just wondered if anyone here knows it first hand at all. On paper, it looks a great route.

 

[andrew_s]

It came up as a recommendation on a topic on the CTC forum recently, as part of a mostly gravel road loop from Dalwhinnie to Corrour and Rannoch station and back.

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=123335

 

[rualexander]

I rode it back in May on a bikepacking trip.
We went in from Loch Rannoch at Craiganour Lodge, rather than at Annat.
It's all pretty good track apart from the 1km just at the south end of Loch Garry, as you say.
I couldn't find the footpath marked on the OS map there, so we followed a faint quad bike track along the flats just below where the OS marks the footpath, maybe they have the path in the wrong place.
Anyway it was pretty straightforward, and not boggy then as the weather had been dry for ages.
The main track has been rebuilt along a slightly different line, just before this section due to a new small scale hydro plant, which was the reason I struggled to find the footpath.
But if you follow the new track to the new building which services the hydro plant, you should find the quadbike track just behind it (east).
Duinish bothy is in good condition and worth a stop, either overnight or for a lunchstop in bad weather.

 

[rualexander]

It came up as a recommendation on a topic on the CTC forum recently, as part of a mostly gravel road loop from Dalwhinnie to Corrour and Rannoch station and back.

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=123335

Ah, yes that was my recommendation.

 

[saoirse50]

Great. I’ll be taking a tent. But I’ve also started bothy collecting as well! Didn’t know there was one at Duinish. Thanks people!

 

[saoirse50]

And thanks for the link to the thread. Just what I’m looking for. Just back from the Cairngorms so did something similar to the Cairngorm circuit mentioned. Was on a hardtail then though. Have put Alness to Tongue down on my list.