The Great Glen Cycle is a brand new three day mountain bike experience brought to you by Ptarmigan Treks for 2005. This three day trip covers the full 80 miles of the designated Great Glen Cycle Route covering the distance mainly off road. This cycle trail follows most of Scotland's newest formal Long Distance route, which was officially opened on the 30th of April 2002 by H.R.H. Prince Andrew, Earl of Inverness.

As you enjoy cycling over the mixed and varied terrain that the Great Glen has to offer there is so much to take in, at times you will be concentrating on taking a good line through parts of the narrow twisty trails and at other times you’ll simply be taking in the stunning views surrounding you on route as you make your way north to Inverness. Put all this together and what you will have is a fantastic three day mountain bike adventure and some long lasting memories to take away.

Distance: 34 miles (54.30km)

Fort William to Fort Augustus

Day one begins at the old fort in Fort William at the official start of The Great Glen Way, from here we follow the main A82 road north to Lochy Bridge where we then take the A830 to Banavie and leave the roadside here to join the canal path at a point known as Neptune’s Staircase. From here we make our way over fairly flat ground for some distance to the swing bridge at Gairlochy, then join the single track road that goes on to follow the shores of Loch Lochy to reach the small settlement of Clunes. Here we will be met for a well earned break and served with refreshments! Our route from Clunes then continues on the mostly undulating dirt track that hugs the shores of Loch Lochy all the way to South Laggan ending in a small climb.

We then continue on another quiet single track road for a short distance before turning off on to our first major uphill section of the day to take us on a steady climb above Loch Oich to give some splendid views of the Loch and the old Invergarry Castle. From here we start our descent down into Invergarry to momentarily join the A82 until we reach the narrow and extremely steep path out of the village, here the path takes a series of uphill zig zags and may require us to dismount for this short section. The narrow path continues through the forest to level off at around 130m but the views from here make the uphill climb more than worthwhile.

The route from this point makes a good fast descent on good forest track to meet a narrower and more undulating path that makes for some good mountain biking! And takes us out at Bridge of Oich. From Bridge of Oich we rejoin the canal side for a good flat and steady run into Fort Augustus and the finish of day one.

Distance: 23 miles (37.04km)

Fort Augustus to Drumnadrochit

Our second day begins from the car park that we finished at the previous day. From here we follow the A82 again for a short distance out of Fort Augustus, before turning of at Port Clair and to rejoin the dirt track that now follows the shores of Loch Ness. As we start to gain height the track takes a series of small ups and downs some of which are short but a little strenuous. We then continue on this track until we start our final descent into Invermoriston which is a fast forest track that brings us out on the single track road at the nearby Dalcataig, from this point we follow the quiet road to our tea stop at Invermoriston.

As we leave Invermoriston we begin a steep climb on tarmac that takes us up out of the village, again some may have to dismount and walk as this is quite a steep sustained climb. On reaching the top of the tarmac road we rejoin the forest dirt track and enjoy a more relaxed and easier climb to reach a height of around 200m before we start to descend downwards past a little place of interest known as Stone Cave and over some more undulating track before dropping down to the little settlement of Alltsigh. From Alltsigh we now reach the point that some may find the most challenging both physically and mentally, but yet the most rewarding. This section rises to almost 300m, but the rewards are high as the views back down over Loch Ness and beyond are quite breathtaking.

From our highest point we can now enjoy the fast descent down to where the main forest track ends and the short narrow path begins, this narrow section through the young pine trees is an excellent downhill route and is a real joy to ride. At the end of the narrow path we once again link up with the main forest track but only just before we turn off at Dun Scriben Fort to cycle up through the mixed woodland. Finally we meet the small single track road that leads us toward our finish at Drumnadrochit. The last section of this narrow road makes for a fast descent down towards the main A82 road which we take for a short distance to the main car park in the centre of town and the finishing point of day two.

Distance: 23 miles (37.04km)

Drumnadrochit to Inverness

Our final day sees us mainly on tarmac. From the car park in Drumnadrochit we head off on the A831 for a short distance then turn off onto the A833 and another exhausting climb for a short distance. The climb ends with a pleasant and far more easier cycle along the A833 to reach our turn off for Foxhole, from here we are met with another series of minor uphill climbs on these quiet back roads. These climbs come to an end at the little dwelling of Teavarran, where we continue past and onward to the little Loch known as Loch Laide.

Past here we meet a crossroads from which we turn back on ourselves and continue along over open moorland to reach Blackfold for our tea stop. From Blackfold we continue along on the fairly flat road before the steep descent down towards the Main A82. Once reaching the main A82 we continue on this main road to reach the City of Inverness of which we pass through to reach our final destination of Inverness Castle and the finish of The Great Glen Way!

All accommodation is provided by The Scottish Youth Hostel Association, which are of a very high standard of comfort and cleanliness. This type of accommodation involves small groups sharing.

Packed lunches are distributed every morning prior to each days cycle and will contain whatever you requested on your daily lunch form. All evening meals will be a set 2 course meal with a couple of menu choices (inc vegetarian options) these will be provided by the local hotels and inns along the way, transport between these locations will be provided each day. Breakfast will be continental each morning i.e. cereal, toast, fruit juice etc.

All of our cycle leaders are highly motivated, experienced mountain bikers and qualified first aiders. They offer both experience and encouragement, as well as sharing their great sense of humour, you really couldn't be in better hands!

Transport will always be on hand during the trip. Its main role is to transport us to any outlying accommodation that we may be staying in the evening, and for the movement of luggage to each overnight location. It is also there for safety reasons should anyone retire medically, or for any essential cycle maintenance. The leaders are in contact at all times with the transport through radio communications should it be required. At certain locations along the Way, we have the transport meet us to serve tea, coffee or orange juice, and let us replenish our water bottles. And not forgetting our transport back to Glasgow!