Tasty filling in a glen sandwich
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CYCLE ROUTE
Strathglass and Glen Cannich
Distance – 34 miles
Terrain – Mostly single track roads
Maps – OS Landranger 26
Start/finish – Glen Strathfarrar car park, Struy, off A831 Beauly to Cannich road
Discovering a remote glen that can hold its own against its popular neighbours
Sandwiched between the two more popular glens of Affric and Strathfarrar, Glen Cannich is often overlooked. The head of the glen at Mullardoch is a possible access point into some of the area’s more remote mountains, though with less well-trodden paths than its near neighbours.
I’d been guilty of bypassing Glen Cannich myself, so decided to pedal to the end of the glen to see what I could find.
Knowing there’s a big climb out of the village of Cannich, I decided the lovely ride through Strathglass would act as a decent warm-up before the main event.
I left the car at the Glen Strathfarrar car park, reached by turning right immediately before Struy Bridge on the B831 between Beauly and Cannich, and headed back to the main road.
Turn right on to the B831, then immediately after the Struy Inn go left to join a minor road signed for Eskadale that soon crosses the River Glass via Mauld Bridge.
Turn right on to the stunning single-track road that follows the strath for the next six or seven miles. I love cycling this stretch of gently undulating tarmac that tempts you forward with glimpses of the Affric mountains and forest ahead.
It meets the A831 just above the village. Turn right down the hill then follow the bend sharp right to cross the river and head through the village past the campsite (where there’s a good café) and ahead to a give-way junction beside another bridge.
Go straight ahead following the sign to Glen Cannich and Mullardoch, nine miles away. This is where the climb begins.
As you gain height the views become more and more impressive, overlooking Strathglass and the Affric hills until you finally steer away into Glen Cannich proper.
As the slope finally relented – a mile or so up from Cannich – I got a fabulous view of the Strathfarrar Munros, with their jagged tops piercing the blue sky.
A short stretch of downhill was relief for the legs, too, and the way then levelled out, giving me the chance to appreciate the beautiful River Cannich as the road weaved along above it. Soon I reached the so-called “singing bridge” that takes you across the river and into the Glen Cannich Deer Forest. This is real hill country now and the road climbs again (though thankfully not so steeply this time).
As I rounded a corner and approached Loch Carrie, I got a sense of where I was heading. The Affric Munros – still holding patches of snow in places – rose majestically ahead and I could even see the huge concrete dam holding back the water of Loch Mullardoch.
It looked fairly flat in between, so I pushed on past the stalker’s house – what a view he has – and on to the end of the road, where it climbs steeply again to reach the top of the dam and the view I had been waiting for. It stretches across the loch into the depths of Glen Cannich.
Just beyond Benula Lodge a gate across the road marks the end of the public route. I hopped off the bike and sat down to enjoy a bite to eat and take in this magnificent landscape.
The sun was hitting the mountain tops in this peaceful location.
There’s only one way out of here and that’s the way you came, so I turned round and headed back through this wonderful glen, wondering why it doesn’t have the same draw as Affric and Strathfarrar.
It’s a lovely place, especially on a glorious spring day like this.
Back in Cannich the route goes left at the bottom of the hill, following the A831 single-track Beauly road back to Struy.
