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From WhatMountainBike? Magazine.CORRIEYAIRACK PASS

Distance: 41.8km (26 miles) Rating: Hard Time: 3-6 hours Maps: OS Landrangers 34 Fort Augustus and 35 Kingussie

Essential lnfo.

Best time to go: May or June, look for a dry spell.

Maps: OS Landrangers 34 Fort Augustus and 35 Kingussie

Getting There: Nearest train station to Fort Augustus is Spean Bridge, 36.8km (22.9 miles) to the south, nearest to Laggan is Newtonmore, 12.9km (8.0 miles) east. Approach by car from Edinburgh direction is best via A9 to Dalwhinnie, then A86 (now greatly improved) to Spean Bridge, and finally NE on A82 to Fort Augustus. From Glasgow follow A82 all the way to Fort William and on to Fort Augustus.

Food and where to stay: Running water is the only refreshment available along the entire route. Fort Augustus is well geared to travellers, there is a full range of accommodation. Excellent food at the Lock Inn - Mallaig haddock and chips must be attempted! There is the village store at Laggan, the Monadhliath Hotel about a kilometre south of the village and a seasonal bunkhouse/tea shop 500 metres further along the A82 towards Dalwhinnie.

Tourist Information: Fort Augustus (Apr-Oct) 01320 366367; Aviemore (Jan-Dec) 01479 810363.

SYHA: You could stay at Aviemore, Loch Lochy or Loch Ness youth hostels but bear in mind these are some miles from the start/finish points.

What to take: This is an unrelenting, high-level route, a full mountain expedition, so treat it as such. Carry food, water, first aid kit, appropriate clothing, tools and the map!

Bike shops: There are no local bike shops. Nearest are to be found in Fort William, Inverness and Aviemore.

The rating of 'hard' here might seem a little strong for what is not, for the most part, a technical ride. But it is intended to reflect the severity of a true mountain route through wild countryside with no escape options, apart from retreat.

Due purely to the isolated situation, the easiest and most sensible way to do the route is to have a vehicle meet you at Laggan or even Melgarve bridge (point 9 on the route - see route map) where the road section ends. There are also a couple of places alongside the reservoir above the Spey Dam near Sherrabeg where your 'lift' could pass a very pleasant hour or two, and even an historic Wade bridge sitting in splendid isolation next to the road near the concrete canal bridge, at map reference 35/554931.

Wildlife, mainly in the form of red deer, is a major feature of the ride. You may encounter the deer anywhere between Knollbuck road end (point 4) and the canal bridge (point 10), but the most reliable area is invariably down the eastern side of the pass and onwards down the strath to Garva Bridge. Pheasants abound between the Spey Dam and Laggan village, to the point where you need to watch out for them darting across the road, and on the freezing day of the 'official' ride the star attraction was a highland stoat in full ermine trim - completely dazzling white with only the jet black tip to his tail. He even had the cheek to pop back out onto the track near Melgarve to see if we were getting the camera out, then disappeared into the frozen vegetation as the lens cap was removed.

Navigation couldn't be much simpler. Once you hit the start of 'Wade's Road' (at point 3) you just follow the historic route SSE then ESE through Glen Tarff, up over the Corrieyairack Pass itself, then down to Melgarve and onwards to Laggan. You have the electricity pylons for company most of the way, which some purists might abhor, but if the mist comes down - which is not infrequently - they are a great comfort! Motorised vehicles are now discouraged from using the route, but until a few years ago this was the highest public road in Britain, and if the weather is less than kind, you will surely have great sympathy for the soldiers of General Wade who built the road between April and October 1731. It hasn't altered much since that date!

An ideal memento of your crossing can be the purchase of One for the Pot, a little book by Dr Ian Richardson, who for many years was the local doctor. A brave piece of writing which could only come from a man in his position. Copies can be bought (£6.50) from the Community Office or Laggan Stores - both within 20 metres of the finish. Having traversed the wild country, you will understand better than most the importance of the book

Route Info

The start: There is a large car park on the W side of the A82 just N of the canal and river bridges in Fort Augustus. Tariff 60p for up to 10 hours. This is the best place to unload the bikes, although the ride nominally starts on the A82, from the bridge over the Caledonian Canal.

1. 0.00km (0.00 mile) Fort Augustus, A82, bridge over Caledonian Canal. Ride S then swing L within 100m past the abbey entrance onto B862, huge signpost (SP) Errogie. Follow this narrow road for 1.30km (0.81 mile) past the southern end of Loch Ness, looking to turn R when the B862 swings L, uphill.
2. 1.30km (0.81 mile) Extreme southern tip of Loch Ness. Turn sharp hairpin R, uphill into narrower single track road. No SP for us. Follow SW for 1.80km (1.12 miles) past Ardachy Lodge and Culachy House, turn L into gorse lined track before white cottage.
3. 3.10km (1.93 miles) General Wade's Military Road. Turn L into rough track, before drive to white cottage. Scottish Rights of Way Society plate; 'Corrieyairack Pass. Fort Augustus to Laggan'. Intermittent flood damage to track, but all clear after 400 metres, when you simply follow the main track for 1.80km (1.12 miles) keeping R above Culachy Falls into wilder country altogether.
4. 4.90km (3.04 miles) Knollbuck road end. Keep L down towards the trees. Look for old road weaving its way up the far side of the glen. Several apparent options, but once you cross the burn the 'smoothest' road becomes obvious. Tough sustained climbing to Creag Dhubh col after 2.75km (1.71 miles).
5. 7.65km (4.73 miles) Creag Dhubh col, 320m. Under the power lines, briefly downhill, then up again and around to Blackburn. Big undulations for 2.54km (1.58 miles). Starts to get lonely.
6. 10.19km (6.33 miles) Black Burn. Straight across the burn, then swing L and back up to the pylons again, eventually swinging L down to the 'old' Bailey bridge (1961) at Allt Lagan a' Bhainne after 2.87 km (1.78 miles). Original Wade bridge upstream in the trees. Repairs imminent - follow signs.
7. 13.06km (8.12 miles) Allt Lagan a' Bhainne. Cross the Bailey bridge then steeply up through the hairpins, around to Allt Coire Uchdachan and same again. Onwards into the upper reaches of the Corrieyairack Pass itself, 4.56km (2.83 miles) to the summit. Still good stony surface and great views from the summit.
8. 17.62km (10.95 miles) Corrieyairack Pass summit, 764m. Straight on past the little building and power lines at 775m, then steeply downhill to the top of the zigzags. Take special care if misty. Follow the only track for 6.67km (4.14 miles) to Melgarve bridge, but keep an eye out for the older zigzags in the early stages. There used to be 18 traverses, now reduced to 13. Rough in the zigzags, even rougher at the bottom after a hard winter. Wet fords! Road improves as you approach Melgarve.
9. 24.29km (15.09 miles) Melgarve bridge - just beyond the bothy. Use the platform bridge - ford hazardous even when frozen - then follow the undulating single track Tarmac roughly for 9.92km (6.16 miles) to the canal bridge at the mouth of Glen Shira. Leave the gate at Wade's Garva Bridge, 5.86km (3.64 miles) as you find it. Sometimes the stalkers leave it open deliberately.
10. 34.21km (21.26 miles) Concrete canal bridge. Cross then turn L, past the 'stranded' little Wade bridge, past the Spey Dam, down across the River Spey again and on to Laggan.
11. 41.76km (25.95 miles) The final point is Laggan, reached after 7.55km (4.69 miles). Time for some well earned refreshments!

Total distance: 41.76km (25.95 miles)

This route was provided by WhatMountainBike? Magazine

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