ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Open a new leaf with ride above Loch Ness
There are many ways to seek out peace and quiet from the sometimes-relentless pace of life – and this outing combines two of the best.
A school holiday children’s activity at Glenurquhart library gave me the perfect opportunity to escape and explore some of the tracks and trails from Drumnadrochit.
The library is situated at the high school, so in term time it would be best to start this route at the main car park at the Loch Ness Hub in the centre of the village.
I dropped Meg off with the kids at the library and then set off on the mountain bike, heading into the woods at Craigmonie and Balmacaan. The road merges onto a track, veering left to soon reach a large sequoia tree at the start of the Craigmonie forest paths.
Keep straight along the track here until you pass a house with a walled garden on the right. Beyond that, take a right turn immediately before the next house and follow the track as it bends right and climbs to approach a field with a metal enclosure. Bear left here onto a rougher bit of track that soon becomes a nice woodland trail.
Keep right at a fork then pass some houses to emerge at a track junction. A right turn here leads you up into Glen Coiltie on a long and rougher-than-it-appears vehicle track.
You’re soon climbing the contours and, despite hearing it, there’s no view to the River Coiltie hidden in the glen far below.
The three kilometres or so to the next junction seems a long way off, with a constant climb and some really big chocks making the track hard work to negotiate. Still, I made progress as the view began to open up – the hills seen ahead are the series of lower hills obstructing the view to the higher Meall Fuar-mhonaidh beyond.
After a slight drop, the track climbs steeply again to the right before reaching the junction, which is marked with a fingerpost sign for the Glen Coiltie Loop. I’d earned a rest after that climb, so I propped the bike against one of the large boulders here and took a long drink.
Turning right, the track continues to rise but it improves in quality quickly and soon it’s much easier to pedal along, taking in the first real view over to Loch Ness. At this slow speed, I was able to enjoy the plethora of flowers lining the track as well, from eyebright and foxglove to the bold purple heather and yellow bird’s foot trefoil.
For expert mountain bikers, there are some serious singletrack trails here on Cnoc a’ Bhuachaille, but I was content to stick within my abilities and keep to the main trail. At a large turning point, a wooden post points to the Craigmonie forest paths three kilometres ahead – follow this on the right fork to enjoy a well-earned long downhill.
Care is needed here as you pick up speed really quickly, and I also came across a couple of forestry and estate vehicles using the route, so you need to have your wits about you!
The bottom of the hill is about two kilometres away, and that is followed by a sharp right turn onto a narrower path, signed to Craigmonie on the Affric-Kintail Way. The rest of the route is on paths that are popular with walkers (and dogs), so you’ll need to keep the speed down despite the temptation to go for it in places.
In fact, in this first section there is one big hairpin bend and a series of tight turns on this flowy, steep downhill. After crossing a wooden footbridge, continue further down the hill to a junction (signed left to Milton) where you go straight on to a viewpoint with benches carved from logs.
There’s a short, sharp climb followed by a nice trail along the side of this hill to reach the edge of the Balmacaan woods just below the fort at Craigmonie.
Keep left here to stay on the main path, heading downhill. It twists and turns between rocks and trees before bending right to merge with one of the woodland paths that lead back over roots and earth to the sequoia tree beside the track near the start.
I still had some time before I needed to meet up with the family, so decided to visit the Divach Falls instead of heading straight back.
To include this detour, go right to head along the track again but this time go straight on past all the houses until you come to the minor road that leads from Drumnadrochit to Dhivach Lodge. Turn right and follow it over the River Coiltie and up a steep zigzag climb, heading right further on where a parking area is signed.
I left the bike at the gate and wandered on foot through the nice oak forest to reach the viewing platform over the falls. The woods were busy with birdsong as I admired the 100ft waterfall cascading down the Divach Burn on its way, eventually, into Loch Ness.
I returned to the bike then down the road – passing a couple of holiday-makers making the climb look easy on e-bikes – following a nice bit of singletrack to cut out the hairpin, then left back along the track and onwards to return to the library.
Route details
Glen Coiltie loop and Divach Falls
Distance 11 miles / 18 km
Terrain Forest tracks and paths, steep inclines and descents
Start/finish Drumnadrochit
Map OS Landranger 26; OS Explorer 431
A short, sharp mountain bike route taking you above Loch Ness from Drumnadrochit – mostly on forest tracks and good paths
Click here to see the route in OS Maps