Bikepacking The Wildcat Western Loop (Video)

Words, photos, and video by Allen Boardman

It had been a few months since I last went to the Scottish Highlands on a bikepacking trip. With the August bank holiday getting closer, I started looking for inspiration for my next adventure. That’s when I found The Wildcat route by Nima Khorshidi on BIKEPACKING.com. I was excited to see that the route incorporated two ferry rides and also went past the door of the most remote pub in the UK, The Old Forge. I’ve never linked a ride together via water before. I just had to go.

I set off straight from work on Thursday night, giving me five days to complete the trip. Planning would revolve around getting to the pub on the Saturday night and taking the Sunday morning ferry from Inverie to Mallaig. I booked my ferry ticket and my table at The Old Forge, and started planning all the details in between, including rough distances per day, potential camp locations, and resupply options.

For ease of logistics, I added Blair Atholl as the new starting point for the Western Loop, a familiar start point to the Cairngorms loop. Talking in NCN7 to the Centre Of Scotland monument, then some of the blue trail of Laggan Wolftrax, up and over Corrieyairack Pass into Fort Augustus, along the Caledonian canal, eventually joining the route at Invergarry. I was now onto following the Western Loop GPX from this point back to Fort William.

I cycled further than planned on day one, as camp spots were difficult to find in the forest. I knew I’d struggle even more once I got on the road. I loaded the route I had planned for day two and pedalled into the night until I found a good camp spot up at Loch Cuaich.

The hike-a-bike section after Loch Cuaich felt so much more remote than I expected – though I was very happy to be the only human there from what I could see. It was challenging at times to follow the GPX. I couldn’t remember if I loaded the GPX directly onto my computer or through a route-building website, which might have adjusted the line. There was no turning back. I trusted the line and pushed, shoved, and dragged my bike for the rest of the morning into the afternoon.

I was looking forward to what I thought would be the descent from the top of Mam Barrisdale to the pub. I hadn’t looked too far into this section and assumed it would be rideable as the trail conditions on the push up from Barrisdale Estate Campsite were pretty decent. I set off the top of the climb, and before I knew it, I was grabbing the brakes hard and struggling to control my speed. The track became increasingly chaotic, and I finally resorted to pushing downhill.

The last few kilometers before the pub started to mellow out. I was keen to try to make up some time, and I pedalled a little quicker, though I needn’t have bothered, as I arrived at the shop just before the pub with four hours spare to enjoy a beer on the shore.

My table wasn’t booked until 8 p.m., though around 7 p.m. I let them know that I was there and I had made it. They sat me down a little earlier, and a local traditional Scottish band came on. I couldn’t have been any happier: remote pub, epic bike ride, and hike-a-bike, beer, and Scottish music. I chatted with a couple of locals who shared my table from the local Knoydart brewery, and it turned out their son was in the band. Inverie felt warm, hospitable, and I didn’t feel like an outsider merely passing through. I settled down for the night, overindulging in food and beer.

I didn’t want to leave the next morning, though I was excited to get on the ferry I had booked. I’ve watched countless videos of bike packers on YouTube using a ferry to hop around islands and headlands, and I wanted to experience it myself. The weather was perfect, and I even saw porpoises or dolphins. I’m unsure which, as I was too busy smiling from ear to ear to tell. The smell of seaweed and fishing vessels in Mallaig took me back to 2017 when I cycled the NC500. Once off the main roads, I relaxed and took in the views. I’ll certainly go back and explore more around this area.

After about 35km on the A830, I arrived at Glenfinnan Viaduct and got a free coffee for arriving by bike. It was then that I realized I might have missed out on a beer at The Ole Forge since I didn’t mention that I came by bike. Another time, perhaps. Another long hike-a-bike was ahead of me, though the descent down Cona Glen felt like it went on forever with a tailwind and the sun on my back. Absolute bliss.

I had another ferry to catch over to Corran that I couldn’t book online, even though it runs regularly from early to late throughout the day. Once off the ferry, I rode until I found a camp on the West Highland Way. My legs felt like they were on fire, being bitten by midges whilst putting the tent up – they were really testing my patience. I was tired, hungry, and just wanted to sleep. The sun was out again for the entire day. I made some porridge for breakfast, packed up, and headed out to Fort William for lunch before the next section of the day.

I wanted to reach Lochan na h-Earba for a camp on the last day of this adventure. I’ve always enjoyed the area and have visited a couple of times before, but I never managed to camp there. After studying the Ordnance Survey maps, I realized that some of the trails leading from the end of the forest road out of Fort William weren’t as rideable as I’d hoped, making progress more challenging around the River Spean.

The camp at Lochan na h-Earba didn’t quite go to plan as the short brace bar across the top snapped before the winds picked up. After sitting up holding the tent steady for a while, I had to move to a more sheltered part of the Loch. I did consider riding back to the van as it was only another 60km, but opted to aim for a cut out in the forest I knew about. The next day was interesting because the most midges I’d encountered were that morning.

The ride back to the start was pleasant and relaxing, with quiet forest roads meandering toward Loch Pattack. Even that section of the ride was a pleasure to cycle on now. The old boggy section has been gravelled over. It was nice to stop and take in the views of the Loch before moving on towards the last few kilometres of the route.

Having somewhere special to aim for on a ride always makes for the best adventures. I’ve known about the Old Forge for a while now, but never planned a route to get there by bike. I’m pleased I came across Nima’s write-up and will follow another of his trails.

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