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Malky back to work…the holidays almost over for me too! He was off to work at Boat of Garten and I was going to hitch a ride and cycle back but when the weather changed and forecasted a load of crap for the morning I decided to change my plans and curl up of the sofa with a cup of tea and chocolate for an extra couple of hours
A few showers later I got off my backside and headed out with a different plan – I headed straight up the hill behind the house which was unfortunately straight into the wind! It got me warmed up quickly though and as the gradient eased I got some great views
Kessock Bridge 
Moody hills above Loch Ness 
Here comes the sun However, now I was on the relative flat the wind was even more of a pain (although I’d take it after the mental winds we tried to cycle into last week near Durness
)
Meall Fuar Mhonniadh 
My beautiful shiny machine I’d decided to come up this direction to add on a bit more distance but missed the turning I was planning to take (well…I wasn’t sure and couldn’t be bothered checking the map
) so ended up coming further than planned
Tom Bailgeann in the distance I did turn off at Loch Duntelchaig and looking back the views were awesome
Loch Duntelchaig A few ups and downs later I was looking back at the impressive Creag nan Clag – much more interesting from this side to the heathery nightmare the other side
The impressive side of Creag nan Clag 
Loch Ruthven 
Creag nan Clag & Tom Bailgeann A few more miles back the road I cycled through Farr and ignored the inverness turning which took me towards the A9. I took the Midlairgs turning and followed the road – there were various tracks leading off but I decided to stick to the better road…which took me to a quarry. There were various vehicles around so I tried to slip around the side unobtrusively.
Unfortunately all the tracks on the map didn’t exactly match what actually existed and I got lost. After cycling around in circles for a bit I was accosted by a nice man in a hard hat.
He was actually very friendly and threw me and the bike in his truck and dropped me at the edge of the quarry on the forestry track I was after. I cycled past some forestry toys and a got asked for a tow from a couple of guys who had driven their truck into a ditch
Soon enough I was at the crossing point at the A9. I dumped the bike, switched my hat and ran across the road
This is where most people drive to I hopped the fence and followed the track to the right as suggested by a couple of reports I’d read. I did think about a short cut but the ground looked pretty awful so figured it was worth the extra distance!
Bloody awful ground At the end of the track a muddy path continued up to a gate through the deer fence. From here I was on my own – the ground was soaking after the deluge of rain the day before, there were a lot of clumps of mud, bog and heather. It was pretty nasty. As I climbed higher the bog got drier but it seemed someone was planning to plant trees here, as there were giant holes filled with water with huge piles of earth next to them. And it was all covered with heather so I kept nearly falling in
Beinn a' Bheurlaich If I ignored the crap I was walking through, it was a lovely afternoon
Looking back I finally reached the summit – the views were stunning but it was so windy that my hat blew off and I could barely stand! There were a few flurries of snow too
Carn na h-Easgainn 
Summit views to Beinn a' Bheurlaich 
A9 South & Loch Moy 
Beautiful early evening over Strathnairn 
Meall Mor summit It was not a day for sitting around up there, and although I had thought to go over the lower summit of Beinn a’ Bheurlaich as well, I was quite keen to find my way out of the forest before it got dark
Looking back - an interesting summit 
Heading down The way down wasn’t really any more enjoyable than the way up but it was marginally quicker and before long I was sloshing my way through the gate
Looking back up 
Back at the gate Back on the track I jogged back along as the light was already starting to drop
Back on track 
Back at the A9! I ran back across, jumped on the bike and found a much easier way through the woods avoiding the quarry. I decided I didn’t want to go back on myself so headed out towards Culloden a short distance.
Culloden Viaduct Before long the lights were on and it was a bit of a smash back into the wind back into Inverness. Bit of a longer day than planned but always good to get out
65.53km, 717m ascent & 4 hours cycling
