great glen way help needed

[jackthelad]

Hi guys looking to do the great glen way with the wife and friends in July and was wondering if you could give advice to how far each day and reasonably priced accomodation .I was hoping Fort Augustus the first day, Drumnadrochit the second day and reaching Inverness day 3.We are coming from glas gow and dont know if to take the train up and down or take the car with us.We were going to stay fort william going up and come down on the Inverness to Glasgow route by train ,would this be ok on the train with mountain bikes

any help to organise this trip highly appreciated

jackthelad

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Not sure what help you could want with cycling the great glen way - its not that long at 79 miles. There are plenty of campsites along the way when we walked it a few years after it first opened.

But the main issue is that the cycle way does not run all of the way along the route. See here
Pretty much everything you need is on the Great Glen Way website including accommodation and the cycling side of things.

 

[jackthelad]

aramok thanks for getting back to me,the things I am interested in is can the bikes be taken on trains without notice.To hire bikes for the wife and myself is £140,we where thinking of b and b instead of camping so was looking for recommendations of accomodation thats at fair prices

 

[toroddf]

I would also add a very boring advice here: Contact the tourist info in Fort Williams. They are brilliant and will sort you out.

Another good advice is to avoid the mainroad on the north side of Loch Ness if you can. It is a narrow road with heavy traffic. It is also dangerous and pretty unpleasant. I have done it twice, but will not do it for a third time.

 

[jackthelad]

Thanks tor but hoping to do it with mountain bikes along the canal paths and the forest paths

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

aramok thanks for getting back to me,the things I am interested in is can the bikes be taken on trains without notice.To hire bikes for the wife and myself is £140,we where thinking of b and b instead of camping so was looking for recommendations of accomodation thats at fair prices

We have taken bike on trains in Scotland without notice, but it is hit and miss and entirely up to the conductor on the day. We have only used the West Highland line. We were lucky - there was space for the bikes. If there is no space, you won't get on, so it is better if you can to book the bikes on a specific train. Info can be found here.

 

[lpretro1]

Nice independent hostel at Invergarry.

 

[jackthelad]

Hi guys thanks for the replies, contacted scotrail and they said the trainlines to fort william and inverness take bikes but better to get intouch when leaving.I was going to take the car with the bikes in and leave the car in fort william but to get back via taxi that carries bkes and us back to fort william is a £100 and a single from inverness to fort william going on present site prices is £81 so for the 2 of us £162,I know a bit expensive for one way.Its a hard one to take the car or not as it gets costy no matter which way we travel.Looked at camping with tent for £8 per person per night (£16) but hostel with own bed and room works out at £32 so a difference of £16 per night a no brainer taking the b and b or hostel route without all the kit to carry.Its seems to be getting back from inverness creates the problem.So recon the cheapest way to do it is bikes on train to fort william (do the glen) then come back down on the inverness to glasgow train.

 

[Slioch]

Not sure what previous experience you have of camping north of the Central Belt in July JTL, but just in case you are tempted to take the tent and camp in the Great Glen during July I've got one word for you - Midgies! Take plenty of repellent, a head net, and maybe even consider taking up smoking a pipe.

Sorry, but I've got a pathological fear of the little blighters.

 

[mcshroom]

It's a nice route, though not quite as flat as riding along a canal may seem

I've ridden the stretch between Fort William and Laggan and it starts of as gravel towpath then goes onto back roads for a bit and then does a long stint on forestry commission tracks. This was the surface running alongside Loch Lochy (although it was rougher in places): -




There are hostels at Fort William, Laggan, Invergarry, Fort Augustus and Drumnadrochit, so it should be easy enough to split over 2/3 days. I'd go for two, but it depends on your fitness, how much sightseeing you want to do in the villages etc.

I think trains up to Ft Bill and back from Inverness are a good idea. There's no railway along the glen, so you'd have to go back down south and across anyway. Also the West Highland line is very scenic.

 

[GlasgowGaryH]

Taking bikes on Scotrail is dependant on the conductor. Some stick strictly to only 2 bikes per train and others do not mind how many bikes when there is room on the train.

 

[jackthelad]

this is the problem fokker dont know to take the bikes up or pay the extra £140 for 2 bikes to hire,would make life more easier but puts a dent in the pocket

 

[ufkacbln]

Superb ride, but I would be very reticent to take on something with remote sections, some technical downhill and off road on a machine that I was not either familiar with or aware of its provenance.

We stayed at B&Bs or with friends and took our time.

Whatever you do have a pint in the Eagle Barge!

 

[jackthelad]

cuno just looking at your bike there in the pics, we were going to take mountain bikes with 2.1 tyres
but looking at your bike could the route be down by switching the tyres for 1.5 marathon plus tyres.Like the idea of battering along at a faster pace, just wondered

 

[HDG151]

Hi I am planning to do this in early June and still wondering if I should go off the GGW at Fort Augustus and head over to South Loch Ness to the Military road, this is still under discussion. I spoke to the Ranger at GGW and he said it is not pleasant on a bike around Fort Augustus unless it is a mountain bike, however there are some good websites showing alternative routes through the forrests if you stay on the GGW side. The ranger was very helpful and his one piece of advice was avoid the A82 at all costs. http://www.greatglenbikes.com/index.php?module=webpage&id=44

Re the train, if you book this well in advance you will get the train for £12.50 so if you have time it's well worth it.(12 weeks) Once you have booked your tickets, just phone Scotrail and book your bike on the train.

Good luck, I think it looks a good wee run for a few days and the scenery will be stunning
Hazel