Ardverikie Loop
Route: Ardverikie LoopDistance: 22.2m / 35.8km
Profile: View
Grade: Moderate
Fitness: High
Time: 6-7 Hours
OS MAP: 34 & 42
Route Data: GPX KML
Riders: Dave Banks, Brian Gray
Date: 24/05/2014
Summary
A mixture of tarmac road, landrover track and single track make this a rewarding mountain bike trek through interesting scenery.
This route requires an extensive bike and hike section lasting over 1.5Hrs as you climb from the river crossing to the high point on the route. Your reward for all this effort are the views back over to Loch Pattack, which makes it all worthwhile.
High levels of fitness are required only due to the extensive bike and hike climb.
Details
Starting at the small car parking area near the gate house to Ardverikie Estate, cycle across the bridge and follow the tarmac road through the trees. The trees soon open up with a grassy area to the right of the road. As the road swings left, sand can be seen through the grass and the small Scots Pine trees, this is the sandy beach of Loch Laggan and a small detour to see the beach is recommended. Back on the tarmac road, continue for a short distance until the forest road appears on the left. A small climb takes you up to some estate buildings used for their forestry operations, before the track descends down towards the river and open ground. As you approach some trees, don't take the first track on the right, but continue a little further through the gate and turn right up the hill towards Gallovie. This climb is rough in places and a bit on the steep side, especially on the hairpin bends, but soon levels off as you reach Gallovie.
As the track climbs away from Gallovie and levels off, a sign post can be seen for the Falls of Pattack. They are just a few hundred metres from the forest road, so a detour to see the falls is recommended. Back on the forest track again, you come to a locked gate, the pedestrian access gate to the side of this is a tight squeeze, but you can get the bike through after some careful negotiation.
The track heads out into open countryside and follows the course of the river, crossing it before and after the Linn of Pattack. The surface varies from being quite firm, to soft, to loose stones, but in general progress is good as it gently climbs up towards Loch Pattack. After another set of falls, the track heads out into open countryside again and as you get near Loch Pattack, it gets increasingly boggy and progress can be slow. As you reach the stone pillars, the track becomes a proper track again. Take the turn off to the right and head down to Loch Pattack and the footbridge. Stopping for lunch at this point, we were visited by one of the wild ponies that roam this area, it crossed the river at the ford and started mooching off us. Crossing the shoogly footbridge, we left it behind as we followed the track along the beach of Loch Pattack. Depending on water levels, the amount of track under water varies, but it is all easily manageable. The track soon climbs away from the beach where a fork on the right can be seen. Take the fork, which climbs more steeply up the hill before descending and turning into a singletrack following the river.
Looking at the map, it shows a track crossing the river and climbing up the hillside. Assuming the track is similar to the singletrack you are on, the point where you need to cross the river is very easily missed, as no such track is visible. In fact, this is the second time we have done this run. We attempted this run 4 weeks earlier and we missed the crossing point as we followed tyre tracks along the singletrack, assuming the crossing point was further up the track than it actually was. By the time we realised we had passed the crossing point, time was an issue, so we just continued round to Lochan na h-Earba before re-joining our original route again, missing out the long climb and downhill section. This is why the photos in the Photo Gallery show differences in the greenery and Brian's clothing.
After studying the map and the photos taken on our first trip, we identified the crossing point and saw the track was just a line in the grass on the opposite bank. To help others following this route, we gathered some of the loose stones in the area of the crossing point and built a small cairn about 6 feet to the right of the track where you need to leave the singletrack to cross the river. Any additional stones on the cairn to make it bigger and more visible to other mountain bikers would be appreciated. There aren't any stepping stones, so you will get your feet wet. The next 1Hr 40Min is basically just pushing the bike uphill, the gradient varies in places, as does the state of the track, varying from firm to boggy. When we did it, we had to contend with the remains of the winter snow and an avalanche debris field. The views back to Loch Pattack and Allt Loch a' Bhealaich Leamhain make it all worthwhile.
The descent from the summit is rapid, the track varies from firm stony ground to loose stones in places and is only interrupted by one water crossing that is easily managed. In 25 minutes, you are off the hillside and at the head of Lochan na h-Earba. Follow the landrover track as it undulates, steeply in some short sections, as it follows Lochan na h-Earba and eventually comes to a gate as you enter the forest again. At the junction, keep straight ahead and follow the track as it descends down to Ardverikie Lodge. The descent is fast and you quickly reach Ardverikie Lodge where Monarch of the Glen was filmed. At this point, swing right and join the tarmac road again as you follow the shore of Loch Laggan back to the gate house.
Photo Gallery