Fersit to Fort William: the longest continuous off-road ride in the UK?

If an authentic highland adventure is what you are looking for then this could be the route for you. As one of the remotest mountainbike routes in the UK, it is necessary to take extra precautions before setting out on such a long trail: leave a route card with someone reliable, take sufficient food and water for what may turn out to be over 12 hours in the saddle, and take enough tools to cover most eventualities ? there is unlikely to be anyone out there to help you and walking up to 20 miles to the nearest road would not be fun. This is also not a route to tackle on cold winter days, not only for the obvious reasons such as the lack of daylight hours, but also because the route could well be iced over. I know this from personal experience, for on a day when the temperature in Fort William was in the high single digits, much of the trail (from Loch Treig to Kinlochleven particularly) was heavily iced over and unrideable.

Following the A86 either north from Spean Bridge or south from Laggan, some 8 miles east of Spean Bridge, take the junction signposted "Fersit". Following the single track road for a couple of miles brings you to the car park at grid ref. NN349 781. 

The route heads east from the car park, across the bridge over the River Treig and through the hamlet of Fersit, before swinging left through the forest gates into the Glen Spean forest. Cycling east through the forest, take the second turn to the right (approximately 3 miles from the forest entrance and at grid ref 407 806). The forest road now climbs gently south for approximately 4 miles, the first 2.5 miles of which is in the forest. Once out of the forest, Strath Ossian Lodge starts to come into view directly ahead with Loch Ghuilbinn a few hundred metres down below you to your left.

Continue south through Strath Ossian, following the high road that skirts around the lodge to the west. Approximately 3 miles south of Strath Ossian Lodge, the track meets the north east corner of Loch Ossian. Corrour Lodge is just to your left here, at the head of the loch. Instead of turning left to the lodge, take the fast forest road to the right which runs along the north bank of Loch Ossian for four miles. One mile past the end of the loch lies Corrour Station (on the Fort William ? Glasgow line), where refreshments can be found.

At Corrour Station, cross over the railway line and take the single track trail (often just a railway sleeper laid on the peat!) heading north along the west side of the railway. The trail widens out as it heads away from the railway line and steeply downhill to Loch Treig where it crosses the Allt a Chamabhreac some 100m from the loch shore. Following the trail west around the head of Loch Treig brings you eventually round to Creaguaineach Lodge.

The four miles from Creaguaineach Lodge to Meannananch Bothy/Luibeilt are the least pleasant of the trip ? tussocky and generally unrideable, this section should take around an hour. The reward is a welcome shelter at Meannanach Bothy/Luibeilt and an easier ride from then on south to Kinlochleven. From Craiguaineach to Meannanach/Luibeilt you are faced with the choice of either crossing the Abhainn Rath by the high bridge at Craiguaineach and taking the slightly more rideable north bank or staying on the unrideable south bank (via Staoineag Bothy). Crossing to the north bank necessitates re-crossing the river near Meannanach/Luibeilt Bothy, which can be dangerous when the river is in spate. The south bank is possibly the better bet if you are unable to judge the river levels.

The four mile hike-and-bike to Meannanach/Luibeilt comes to an end when you reach the rough road which heads south west from Luibeilt. Five miles of this road brings you past Loch Eilde Mor and Loch Eilde Beag (on your left) and to the top of the pass above Kinlochleven. The views from here (grid ref. NN209 634) looking down Loch Leven and out to Ardgour are stunning.

From this point there are several very technical, steep single-track paths leading down into Kinlochleven, all of which are suitable only for very experienced riders but are highly recommended as part of shorter routes.

The recommended route for this particular trip follows the main track down the hill for a mile and a half past sheep pens and a farmyard to the Mamore Lodge hotel.

At this point it is possible to divert down the steep hill track that serves the hotel to the village of Kinlochleven where there are cafes, hotels and a shop. If you are tempted, remember that you'll need to ride back up that hill to rejoin the route!

A few metres above the Mamore Lodge Hotel, continue on the high road directly west. After a mile, you will see the West Highland Way footpath to your left winding up the hill towards you. The road now enters the Lairig Mor, the glen which will bring you almost all the way back to Fort William. From here you are following the West Highland Way, which is well-travelled and well-marked, although the track is very bumpy and rocky for the seven miles until you reach Lunn Da Bhra (Lundavra). There are often strong headwinds when heading west through the Lairig Mor, but a rest spot is available at the ruins of Tigh-na-Sleubhaich.

The trail reaches a sheep pen after some five and a half miles of the Lairig Mor and heads into a section of pine forest. After a mile and a half of forest road, the West Highland Way branches off to the right just before Lundavra and becomes a highly recommended single-track path winding over into Glen Nevis.

Alternatively a quicker route back to Fort William is made by heading straight on at this junction, down the hill to the tarred road. Following this road north for five miles brings you back to Fort William town centre.

Turning right on to the single track section of the West Highland Way at Lundavra leads to approximately 4 miles of rolling single track (with several stiles along the way) and a fast forestry road descent into Glen Nevis. At the bottom of the downhill section in Glen Nevis, turn left and follow the forestry road towards Fort William. You have just completed some 40 miles of uninterrupted off road riding!

It is feasible to cycle the 20 miles back to the start of the route, though this involves using the A82/A86 road and the better choice is probably to tackle the route with the use of two cars. Alternatively the train from Fort William to Tulloch will get you to within 3 miles of your start-point. The trains are not frequent so it might make sense to do this at the start of your ride rather than afterwards when your timing will be uncertain.

The start-point is also accessible by bike from the railway station at Tulloch (3 miles, 5km) on the Glasgow to Fort William line. Cycles are conveyed free on all First ScotRail services, but space is limited, they aim to provide between two and six spaces per train, so free reservations are essential. Cycle reservations can be made at principal staffed stations or through ScotRail Telesales when buying your travel ticket on 08457 550033. See Scotrail Cycles On Trains
Current departure times at Fort William are 07:35(not sunday), 12:04, 17:35 but check with Scotrail

Starting Points
Car park at grid reference NN349 781
Tulloch Railway Station
Distance
Approx 40 miles / 66 kilometres
Grade
Experienced/Difficult - You must be competent at navigation with a map and compass. Take adequate warm clothing & waterproofs in case of difficulties or bad weather.
Type of Route
Full day ride (up to 12 hours) for mountain bike only on forest roads and technical single-track, with one hour of hiking
Terrain
Everything except tarred road! Forest roads, narrow single track, river crossings and unrideable sections over remote, wild terrain
O.S.Map
O.S. Explorer 393, 385, 384, 392
O.S. Landranger 41,42
Parking
Available at route start

Railway Stations
Tulloch (3 miles), Fort William (18 miles), Inverness (65 miles)
Refreshments
You need to take plenty of food and drink with you, this is a wild area with very few facilities!
Accommodation
Nearest Independant Hostels - Monessie, Tulloch, Roy Bridge
SYHA Hostel at Corrour (mid point of route)
There are bed and breakfast places and hotels in Roy Bridge and Laggan. Fort William has plenty of accommodation if starting / ending there.
Cycle Repair
If you break down or have an accident CALL Nevis Cycles 01397 705555 FOR PICK UP
Courtesy bikes available while you wait. Work guaranteed for 6 months. All types of bikes repaired!
FREE safety checks - FREE fitting of any accessories purchased from Nevis Cycles!


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Image Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50 000 scale maps by permission of Ordnance Survey® on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ©Crown copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Licence number 100045700