Ardnamurchan to ness point perm advice

[Timb]

I’ve done a few 600k Audaxs and was hoping to do LEL next year, however, Ardnamurchan to ness point perm captured my imagination.  I recently suffered a very sudden family bereavement which has made me consider just doing this rather than putting it off and there probably isn’t any better training for LEL!  I have the time booked off in May with work but was going to start looking at travel and accommodation.

The 600s I have done I have found a bus stop or bush to sleep in with them taking me about 35 hours, however, wasn’t too sure how to approach this.  It will be my longest ride, if I complete it, by quite some way. I assume that it is best just to split this into 333k a day sections?  Or am I best to try to get some kilometres in hand and do a 400k first day or something?

Also I live in east anglia.  I was planning on getting to ardnamurchan to start rather than finishing there as if something goes wrong I am closer to home with every pedal stroke and when fresh I get the travelling done.  My two options are -
Using a normal train from home to lochilart during the day.  This gets in at about 11pm, I then cycle the last 70k and wild camp, use the cafe in the morning and get going.
Use the Caledonian sleeper to fort william with a sitting seat, use the next day to cycle to kilchoan and maybe sleep in the hotel or camp site or wild camp there before starting the day after.

I’m not that experienced at taking a cycle on a train or the Caledonian sleeper so any comments or shared experience would be great fully received.  Also any comments on either of my options, i think option 2 would definitely leave me being fresher when I start.  Suggestions also taken for accommodation in the area or bivy spots!

Cheers in advance

Tim

[John Stonebridge]

Initial thoughts -

- For either option (Scotrail to Lochailort or Sleeper) you can book your bike online (in fact its compulsory). 

- Booking a seat on the sleeper in my experience is a false economy ie you don't sleep.  Berths are eye wateringly expensive but you'll arrive more refreshed.

- It might work out cheaper and more practical to avoid the sleeper and split your journey north ie day train from home to Glasgow, stay over then Glasgow - Lochailort the next day.  Alternatively the sleeper north to Glasgow / Edinburgh might be a bit less extortionate and have more availability than the West Highland one.   

- Wild camping in the West Highlands in May risks exposure to the dreaded midges.  They tend to surface mid May each year and can really make outdoor life a misery.  Buy a midge net it will be worth it. 

- You'll probably need to factor in the Corran Ferry crossing.  From Ardgour the first one is 0640 last one 2120 

- You may have to give serious thought to your route south of the Corran Ferry.  This thread refers.  https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=127081.0 

[abc123]

N.B. LEL is 2025 (apologies if I am misunderstanding you, and you are referring to next Audax season, rather than next calendar year).

[yorkie]

Initial thoughts -

- For either option (Scotrail to Lochailort or Sleeper) you can book your bike online (in fact its compulsory). 

- Booking a seat on the sleeper in my experience is a false economy ie you don't sleep.  Berths are eye wateringly expensive but you'll arrive more refreshed.

It is probably worth pointing out that there isn't a coach that carries bikes through from London to Fort William. The Highland Sleeper only has 2 coaches that carry bikes, one goes to Inverness and one to Aberdeen. When taking a bike from London to Fort William, you have to get out in the middle of the night and transfer it to the Fort William portion whilst the train is being split and shunted in Edinburgh.

[Rod Marton]

I did this (though in the other direction) about 25 years ago. There should be a write-up somewhere in the annals of Arrivee.

We started at midday in Lowestoft and the plan was to ride through the first night to an overnight stop for the second night in Cumbria. Then keep things flexible for the rest. What actually happened was that my partner gave up on the first night, I had a brief nap in Selby (or possibly Goole) during the first night, a good sleep at a youth hostel in Cumbria for the second night, then slept rough at Bridge of Orchy on the third. This gave time to get to Ardnamurchan and (most importantly) back to Fort William on the fourth day in time to catch the sleeper home.

The one thing I be sure to schedule in is riding the A82 at a quiet time (preferably night). This is an extremely busy road and unfortunately there are limited alternatives. You could manage this by catching the sleeper to Fort William, riding to Ardnamurchan in the morning, then back to Balachulish in the afternoon and continuing on the A82 overnight. Riding it night is fine in the Highlands in May is very pleasant as it only really gets dark for a couple of hours. Though I must admit that I rarely manage to sleep on a sleeper, so this might be a bit exhausting!

During the day I would be tempted to get the ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory, then cycle to Craignure to get the ferry to Oban. Then there are various possible routes from Oban avoiding the worst of the A82. But I'm not entirely sure that going via an island is entirely within the spirit of a side-to-side.

[John Stonebridge]

Initial thoughts -

- For either option (Scotrail to Lochailort or Sleeper) you can book your bike online (in fact its compulsory). 

- Booking a seat on the sleeper in my experience is a false economy ie you don't sleep.  Berths are eye wateringly expensive but you'll arrive more refreshed.

It is probably worth pointing out that there isn't a coach that carries bikes through from London to Fort William. The Highland Sleeper only has 2 coaches that carry bikes, one goes to Inverness and one to Aberdeen. When taking a bike from London to Fort William, you have to get out in the middle of the night and transfer it to the Fort William portion whilst the train is being split and shunted in Edinburgh.

Ooft I didnt know that.  Another reason to avoid such an approach then.

I've caught the Edinburgh - Ft William service a few times in the non recent past as seated passenger and iirc it departs Waverley at 0450. 

Last time I did it I was walking past big groups of nightclub revellers going home as I made my way to the station! 

[yorkie]

Initial thoughts -

- For either option (Scotrail to Lochailort or Sleeper) you can book your bike online (in fact its compulsory). 

- Booking a seat on the sleeper in my experience is a false economy ie you don't sleep.  Berths are eye wateringly expensive but you'll arrive more refreshed.

It is probably worth pointing out that there isn't a coach that carries bikes through from London to Fort William. The Highland Sleeper only has 2 coaches that carry bikes, one goes to Inverness and one to Aberdeen. When taking a bike from London to Fort William, you have to get out in the middle of the night and transfer it to the Fort William portion whilst the train is being split and shunted in Edinburgh.

Ooft I didnt know that.  Another reason to avoid such an approach then.

I've caught the Edinburgh - Ft William service a few times in the non recent past as seated passenger and iirc it departs Waverley at 0450. 

Last time I did it I was walking past big groups of nightclub revellers going home as I made my way to the station!

Aye, I also seem to remember that the seating coaches don't run through from London to Fort Bill either, so seating passengers also have to do the long walk down the platform at 04:chuff me it's early!
The main problem is that the longest platforms at London Euston can only fit 16 coaches plus the locomotives, which restricts the size of the different portions. Sadly, it's the Fort William portion that loses out with only the sleeping cars running all the way. The seating and lounge coaches for Fort William are added to the sleeping cars at Edinburgh when the main train is separated and formed into the trains for Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness.

[bikepacker]

Train to Oban. Ferry to Mull and cycle to Tobermory about 20 easy miles. Ferry to Kilchoan and then cycle to the lighthouse to start your ride.

If you use this route buy joint ferry tickets at Oban it is cheaper than getting individual tickets

[bhoot]

Definitely easier to get a bike booking on the lowland ie Glasgow and Edinburgh sleeper than on the highland in my experience. In particular we have always managed to get bookings to Glasgow. From central station to Queen Street is a very short hop to pick up the train out to either Oban or FW and it is a fabulous journey to do during daylight. I think the Oban service has benefitted from the new carriages with loads of bike space as it's popular for heading to the Hebrides.

[howdee]

Watching this thread with interest as I would like to ride this route as an audax.

The leg from Ardnamurchan to/from the nearest train station is the challenging bit that has put me off to date.

Regarding the Caledonian Sleeper. I've used it with a bike on several occasions from Euston to edinburgh and Inverness, most recently this summer. I don't find the airline seats very comfortable after a couple of hours and struggle to sleep at all. But much cheaper than a cabin.

[lissotriton]

The leg from Ardnamurchan to/from the nearest train station is the challenging bit that has put me off to date.

Train to Glenfinnan, then a boat along Loch Shiel to Acharacle. Then a wee ride to Ardnamurchan. Maybe not the quickest route, but could be fun.

[bhoot]

I would also think the route via Mull given above would work well, especially as it suppose to be a lot easier to get a bike on a train to Oban now. But is dependent on Calmac...

[FifeingEejit]

Train to Oban. Ferry to Mull and cycle to Tobermory about 20 easy miles. Ferry to Kilchoan and then cycle to the lighthouse to start your ride.

If you use this route buy joint ferry tickets at Oban it is cheaper than getting individual tickets

Island Hopscotch tickets no longer exist, but I was going to suggest exactly this.
A decent night sleep in Tobermory before the first ferry over (there are locals with boats that may be able to help out if that fails, cos you know... calmac are cursed) and a lot less hills (yes the lump from Salen to Tobermory is quite big but lesser than Ardnamurchan IMO)

Definitely easier to get a bike booking on the lowland ie Glasgow and Edinburgh sleeper than on the highland in my experience. In particular we have always managed to get bookings to Glasgow. From central station to Queen Street is a very short hop to pick up the train out to either Oban or FW and it is a fabulous journey to do during daylight. I think the Oban service has benefitted from the new carriages with loads of bike space as it's popular for heading to the Hebrides.

Twice a day in each direction IIRC, it's the ones that don't split at Crianlarich but only go to Oban

The leg from Ardnamurchan to/from the nearest train station is the challenging bit that has put me off to date.

Train to Glenfinnan, then a boat along Loch Shiel to Acharacle. Then a wee ride to Ardnamurchan. Maybe not the quickest route, but could be fun.

Oh Now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Timb]

Blimey, so much information.  Thank you all very much for the replies.  It certainly looks more doable and I hadnt considered the sleeper to Glasgow, train to Oban, ferry to mull a night in Tobermory youth hostel and then on to kilchoan in the morning.  This seems to work really well and would enable me to have an early start with a decent nights sleep the night before or have a slow morning depending on what worked best later on down the route as you have suggested.
Really appreciated.

[telstarbox]

You can also take the bike on the LNER day train from Peterborough to Edinburgh but need a free reservation.

[seasider]

I'm with Mr Bikepacker on this one. I've been on the route from Oban (early ferry to Mull, think it was 07.00 or 07.30) A steady ride to Tobermory and the ferry across to the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Ride to the Lighthouse and then reverse route back to Oban. That without riding at breakneck speed is a full days ride. It involves a bit of planning to enable smooth progress and to give stressless ferry timings. This route works well by booking two nights in Oban. You can then travel light leaving non essential luggage back in Oban. We then rode South, staying in Helensburgh, very handy for trains out of Glasgow.

[arabella]

I think Andy Terry, organiser of the Santa Special in December, did this once upon a time. Also, iirc, starting in Scotland. He may also have done a write up here as orange Andy, or in arrivée.
Being full value end of the ride, when I did my 1000, the now no longer extant Great Eastern, I left around midday, night 1 was 40 winks draped over a table, night 2 a full 12 hours in strategically chosen B&B and night 3 on the road. See arrivée #110/autumn 2010 if more detail necessary.

[ElyDave]

I have also been turning my thoughts to a summer in that area, and in particular basing myself at Fort William with day rides from there. So far I've plotted a circular route from Glencoe over the pass adn back round again, and another up to Inverness and back in a long day.

Are folks on here generally advising against that Glencoe route? I don't see any options other than at least part on the A82 if you want to ride the pass?
Whilst I've drive the A82 past Loch Lomond, and would definitely use the cyclepath there, I have no experience of it further north

[FifeingEejit]

A82 Bargepole
A9 Not even with someone else's

[ElyDave]

so you're saying don't bother trying to ride Glencoe?

[FifeingEejit]

Pretty much.
It can be tolerable once the Weegies have had their tea and gone home, but you're on for a late night

[Lightning Phil]

Get train to Rannoch and do a circuit of the loch.

[Flâneur]

so you're saying don't bother trying to ride Glencoe?

When I do it (and I do intend to as part of ticking off a list of Scottish climbs) I'll do it early morning in summer (the sun rises at 4:30am-ish at the solstice). Should give enough time to do it before the 'commuting' traffic starts.

Not sure I'd proceed much beyond the top of the climb - it's a long way to the next turnoff at Bridge of Orchy. (Edited to add - 16 miles with the last bit downhill so maybe not too bad)

Regarding riding to Inverness - A82, no thanks. There's an alternative NCN route but it requires a bit of gravelling alongside Loch Lochy and Loch Oich. It is nice though.

[ElyDave]

so you're saying don't bother trying to ride Glencoe?

When I do it (and I do intend to as part of ticking off a list of Scottish climbs) I'll do it early morning in summer (the sun rises at 4:30am-ish at the solstice). Should give enough time to do it before the 'commuting' traffic starts.

Not sure I'd proceed much beyond the top of the climb - it's a long way to the next turnoff at Bridge of Orchy. (Edited to add - 16 miles with the last bit downhill so maybe not too bad)

Regarding riding to Inverness - A82, no thanks. There's an alternative NCN route but it requires a bit of gravelling alongside Loch Lochy and Loch Oich. It is nice though.

Don't mind a bit of gravelling, I'll likely be on the Faran for those rides with gravelly tyres.  I was looking at the route along the other side, using the old militaty road. I used one of those between Newton Stewart and Dumfries on the way to Gretna

[Timb]

Just out of interest from Corran towards Glasgow would the a828, a85 and then a83 to come out onto the a82 at Loch Lomond be a slightly better route than just using the a82?

Again, thanks for all of the information and tips.  Very useful.