Scotland yet again?

[Kirstie]

By the way, you could go off road on that bike, it just depends on the kind of off road you do. There are a lot of military roads and drovers roads across scotland which are traffic free and quite well surfaced. They are marked as doubletrack on an OS map. If you want to check out what they are actually like on the ground, use the 'geograph' website.

I ride my ultragalaxy on fairly rough tracks with a load on it, on 35mm schwalbe marathon racers and it's fine. They are the kind of tracks which would not be worth doing on a mountainbike, but are actually quite fun on a tourer. eg:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmichaelwright/4511204555/sizes/m/in/set-72157623832236860/

 

[smeg]

If you go to Orkney get your ass over to Hoy, Rackwick. Amazing place, it's like going back in time. Don't forget to go for a stroll along the beach.

 

[ufkacbln]

We did the Great Glen earlier this year - a fantastic ride from Fort William to Inverness - lots of canals, tracks and quiet roads.

 

[furball]

If you go to Orkney get your ass over to Hoy, Rackwick. Amazing place, it's like going back in time. Don't forget to go for a stroll along the beach.

If you intend staying at Rackwick hostel you need to check in advance if it is available. It may not be if schools are using it.

 

[samid]

We did the Great Glen earlier this year - a fantastic ride from Fort William to Inverness - lots of canals, tracks and quiet roads.

Thanks Cunobelin, that sounds very interesting, I love canals (enjoyed riding the length of Union canal last year a lot) - could you please provide some details about your route? Any photos would be great as well

Kirstie - thanks for the info/encouragement/photo - yes, roads like the one shown on your photo are fine for my bike.

Smeg - I am planning to go to Hoy, likely without a bike though - my friend's GF lived there for a few years and also said that it's worth a visit.

Cheers

 

[fimm]

If you fancy a slightly more knarly bit of off-roading, have a look at the Corrieyairak Pass. You will have to do some pushing, but I think you could ride most of it; I know it is passable by mountain bike.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Thanks Cunobelin, that sounds very interesting, I love canals (enjoyed riding the length of Union canal last year a lot) - could you please provide some details about your route? Any photos would be great as well
...
Smeg - I am planning to go to Hoy, likely without a bike though - my friend's GF lived there for a few years and also said that it's worth a visit.

Cheers

Just google "Great Glen Way". It is a recognized way marked 'long distance' footpath in the UK. Also ties in nicely with the "West Highland Way" which I much prefer. Most of the WHW is now open to bikes including all of the east side of Loch Lomond. The WHW runs from Glasgow to Fort William and the GGW runs from Fort William to Inverness. Totals around 160miles put together. There are some issues with campsites on th GGW at the moment, it seems quite a few are now not accepting tents which is a huge shame - but you are permitted to camp wild in Scotland just not in Forestry Commision land - but they do sometimes provide dedicated camping areas such as the one that I have used on Conic Hill - don't know if it is still there or not - one thing to bear in mind is that these routes were origianlly long distance footpaths and were not 'designed' for bikes so in one or two places there are gates or styles to be negotiated - but we have yet to have an issues with climbing these - on the WWH cycling website there is even a picture of someone doing this - to highlight the issue, but it is not a huge issue. If you want to know of the wild spots for camping just PM me. Also consider the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (as well as the independant hostels) there are some really good ones along those sections. Wild camping along the GGW is difficult, but if you pop down one of the side Glen's there are some nice spots.

The Orkney's in general are just great - we are planning to go back there on our round the world tour when we set out in March. We personally really enjoyed Westray and Pappa Westray (or Papay as it is sometimes called). They are quiet and very peaceful, but there are not too many roads etc to cycle. The Mainland (Orkney's main island) is great for cycling though with some beautiful areas, and the Churchill barriers interconnect the largest of the islands which are well worth visiting.
Hope you enjoy your visit.

 

[ufkacbln]

The massif of Ben Nevis overlooks the first part through Neptunes lock and the Fort Williams end

The route is then a mix of roads

Canal side paths, usually a good fine gravel / cinder surface, grinding paste when wet though!

The forest tracks can be somewhat variable, including almost "technical" single track downhill routes in some cases

.. and the locals are friendly!

 

[samid]

Thanks for the info and pics.

Regarding the West Highland Way - is it really possible to do it on a loaded road-style tourer with skinny 28mm tyres? I looked at some slideshows on Youtube and from those it looks a bit too strenuous for that. Lots of mountain bikers (usually unloaded) but no loaded tourists. I could push the bike on some parts but the abundance of sharp rocks on the road visible in almost all pictures frightens me. Anybody done it not on a mountain bike with knobbies?

Cheers.

 

[007fair]

Thanks for the info and pics.

Regarding the West Highland Way - is it really possible to do it on a loaded road-style tourer with skinny 28mm tyres? I looked at some slideshows on Youtube and from those it looks a bit too strenuous for that. Lots of mountain bikers (usually unloaded) but no loaded tourists. I could push the bike on some parts but the abundance of sharp rocks on the road visible in almost all pictures frightens me. Anybody done it not on a mountain bike with knobbies?

Cheers.

There are parts of it which are not possible on any bike unless you hoist it over your shoulder (Loch Lommond before and after Inversnaid for example) and only very small parts which would suit a touring bike with 28 's Walked it three times .. cycled parts of it on a mountain bike

 

[samid]

007fair - thanks again, you confirmed what I thought unfortunately