Carn a'Bhodaich: A muddy Marilyn above Loch Ness

[HighlandSC]

Date - Sat 24/07/2010
Hills - Carn a'Bhodaich
Route - From City Centre SW along Great Glen Way route for 15km, turning left (SE) on to track at Ladycairn and on to hill summit. Retrace route to return.
Weather - A bit dull. Light breeze. Managed to avoid rain.
People - Me
Time - 6 Hours
Distance - 36.5km (30km cycling)
Ascent - 648m
Max Altitude - 501m

Carn a Bhodaich finalmc track.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

I'm often without use of a car to get to the bigger hills and having done most of the walking routes in and around Inverness I've been eyeing up things reachable by including cycling. Carn a'Bhodaich is the closest Marilyn to Inverness and with the bulk of the route there on the Great Glen Way track it's easy going, and with cycling you can eat up the mileage in good time.

To access the hill you turn left off the road at Ladycairn (NH558386) on to what's marked on the map as a landrover track - this is where the fun begins! It's more like a single track boggy mudbath! As it goes through the forest it all but dissapears - I totally lost it briefly and dragged the bike through the forest before picking it up again. In fairness it is good, and dry-ish in parts, and if you were walking it'd be a bit easier going. It just gets frustrating - you get a short stretch of passable track before you have to divert through the heather to avoid huge boggy/mudbath sections. Upon leaving the forest it gets a bit better but is very rocky - no real problem walking - I pushed the bike up most of the way. If cycling here it'd be well worth considering leaving your bike near the start of the track and walking. I had my good bike out today so wasn't too keen on leaving it out of sight for long. I must say, it wasn't just the 'track' that caused grief - all the way up I had about a hundred flies buzzing around me!

I went up the track to NH572378. I left the bike there and struck a line up the hill SW toward the summit. It was easy enough going through the heather. I probably went further up the track than is really neccessary - you could also leave the track at around NH565377 - going S from here you'd pick up a line of fence posts that lead E to the summit.

On the return going downhill I made quick progress, managing to cycle most of it - but it was hard work, quite technical and hard on the arms. As I was going at a good pace I gambled on going straight through some of the mud - mostly making it - but getting very muddy! It was a relief to reach the road again - and after just a little bit of ascent on the GGW track it was downhill all the way home

Start - River Ness, Inverness City Centre




Caledonian Canal - opposite cemtery


Across Torvean Golf Course to Dunain Hill
The route takes you around the golf course and uphill, eventually going around the back of Dunain Hill


Reservoir at NH628439


Moray Firth & Inverness


SW along GGW path behind Dunain Hill


There was literally hundreds of tiny frogs on a 15-20 metre stretch of this track - I got off the bike and very carefully made my way through to avoid killing dozens of 'em! (others hadn't been so careful going by the amount of squashed frogs )

Frog


Frog and my boot for scale


Stopped for a rest at a convenient bench just before the GGW track joins the road. Looking over toward todays hill - Carn a'Bhodaich


N to Ben Wyvis


W to Strathconon Hills


Start of track at NH558386 [Ladycairn]
It turned out to be easier cycling over the thick grass in the centre section


Veering on to the actual track only resulted in having to prize the wheels out of thick mud


Going through the short forest section the track dissapears to almost nothing


Emerging from the forest the track changes to a narrow rocky path. I went up about another 1.5km to this point, mostly pushing the bike. This is the point I left the bike for the final ascent up the heathery hillside
Looking back W along track at NH572378


On the left is the 494m top, the 501m summit and trig point is just beyond in the centre


Approaching summit


Carn a'Bhodaich summit - looking to Ben Wyvis


Dunain Hill, Inverness & Moray Firth


Loch Ness & Meall Fuar-mhonaidh


Meall Fuar-mhonaidh [zoomed]


I had a quick sandwich at the summit but didn't hang around too long - the flies were annoying!

Hammered down the track with little concern for the mud!


Back to Inverness in good time


Stopped next to the canal for another sandwich and the Lord of the Glens appeared - carefully squeezing through the open swing bridge




A good day out. Challenge set and completed - but I'll not go anywhere near that hill again unless it's a deep frozen winter!

[malky_c]

Good to see a full report of this. At least the photos are good! In fact good work managing to cycle as much as you did. I dismissed the idea of ever cycling up here as I decided it would be 95% pushing and carrying the bike.

If you carry on down the Great Glen Way, Meall na h-Eilrig is another good viewpoint: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/sub2000/meall-na-h-eilrig
Not found a way to cycle right to the summit, but you can get to within about 30 minutes of it.

[bootsandpaddles]

We saw loads of frogs this weekend too.

[HighlandSC]

I had been eyeing up Meall na h-Eilrig. Have just had a closer look at it on some maps and Google Earth – looks easy enough to break through the thin layer of trees from the GGW track. Older pics on Geograph show the summit area to be fairly clear of trees - I wonder how tree covered it is now? I'm sure it'll be fine - will probably give it a bash next time I'm stuck without a car.

Also considering Grahams Carn nan Tri-tighearnan & Carn na h-Easgainn sometime - I see you've reported on them both - I'll look closely when I have time.

[monty]

Nice report HSC,
With some great pictures. Your certainly getting around on that bike even if its a mudfest. Love the boat