Glen Duror

Glen Duror to Ballachulish

A challenging little adventure – not to everyone’s taste! A full tool kit, a couple of spare tubes, and a triangular bandage are essential kit for this ride.

If we were issuing route grades, then this one would have to be a ‘black’, though the warm up on tarmac and then on forests roads might lull you into a false sense of security.

Best started in Ballachulish, the first section of the route follows the Sustrans Cycle Track to Ballachulish Bridge, on to Kentallen and then over the small hill on to the village of Duror.

Turn left off the main road, past the houses at Achindarroch and up the hill to the car park and the start of the forest roads.

Through the gate, take the lower of the 2 forest roads and settle into a steady rhythm as you’ll follow this and the left bank of the river all the way up the glen.

As you start to think that you’re running out of forest, look for the footpath off to the left. There’s a small extraction quarry and a marker post to show the start of the path. This path used to be very wet (see the photo gallery!) and barely ridable, but has now been upgraded and provides an entertaining bit of mostly easy singletrack to the forest fence.

From the deer fence at the edge of the forest, the path leading through the glen is often indistinct over this high section, but look carefully and find a way through the moorland. The character of the riding from here on in changes; very technical, with rocks, tussocks, streams, hidden holes and sweet sections of singletrack.

The good news is that you’re soon over the high point and you’ll get a bit of help from the downhill gradient. This section of riding is the perfect antidote to too many visits to trail centres, putting the mountain back into mountain biking.

An old gate (use the low style) across the trail marks the beginning of the descent into the village of Ballachulish. Be warned, the rough track through sheep pastures looks like fun but with a few hidden holes and plenty of slippery slate blocks hidden in the grass, there’s still time to come a cropper on this final section.

A couple more gates past sheep pens and farm buildings lead through to the tarmac road and the entry to Ballachulish village.