National Cycle Network Route 7 Scottish Highlands Blair Atholl Drumochter Dalwhinnie Newtonmore
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Part of a series covering cycling in the highlands of Scotland - Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 7 Lochs and Glens North (Glasgow - Inverness). Watch for new sections as they get added. The routes are all done as return trips so you can see the conditions and scenery in both directions and are intended to give you a feel for the route, gradient and surface - as well as showcasing the beautiful scenery.
Blair Atholl to Newtonmore over Drumochter summit - about 35 miles each way, 70 miles round trip.
Although it’s the summit of Lochs and Glens North (and the highest point on the UK rail network) - the ascent of 320m from Blair Atholl is only a wee bit more than the climb up from Aberfoyle on the Drymen Callander stage and its nothing like as steep . That stage - Drymen -Callander also has twice as much total climbing. So the gradient on this stage is really no problem.
So the heights - Blair Atholl - 133m, Drumochter Summit - 457m, Newtonmore 246m.
Starting at Blair Atholl, we’re on the old A9 that we joined at Pitlochry. After 5 miles we reach Calvine where that big ’Are you really sure’ warning sign is. That’s where the path starts and from then you are traffic-free for 18 miles on a mixture of wide old A9 complete with cats eyes and narrower cycle track. The route stays close to the Railway and the River Garry on the left and the ‘new’ A9 on the right most of the way up to Drumochter. That new A9 is sometimes uncomfortably close. The cycle track is sometimes nothing more than a pavement at the side of the thunderingly busy A9, sometimes without even a wire rope crash barrier.
At Drumochter the River Garry takes a left into Loch Garry and the River Truim begins as it heads north towards the Spey. The traffic-free part of the path ends at Dalwhinnie and then its one of general Wade’s military roads to Newtonmore. This is a really nice section and although not all traffic-free its very quiet with very good visibility. There’s a surprise uphill a couple of miles along it …. No big deal - it’s just a surprise after all the downhill from Drumochter. There are old milestones on the military road that count you down into Newtonmore - and that’s about the only distance signage I noticed northbound which is a pity given this is such a long and isolated route. There is an additional traffic free section for a couple of miles as you get closer to Newtonmore.
Surface quality - generally good, but some of the tarmac is a bit crumbly and there is some lumpy gravel in places too - Road bike just about OK, but be careful.
Watch out for the wind - it can be pretty windy this high up. Although strong, It was fairly kind to me on the day - a North Easterly combined with the bend in the route meant that I generally had it with me when going uphill and against when going down - a good result. Although, when I set my camera up on a tripod to get a ride-by shot between Newtonmore and Dalwhinnie, the wind blew it over.
Cycled with a Specialized Tricross with 32c Marathon Plus tyres.
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Edited with Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13. No stabilisation (it cuts the field of view). Some UA-cam compression artifacts after upload owing to the lack of stabilisation.
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Thanks for taking the time to make these videos very much appreciated sir take care 🚴🚴👍
I cycled from Dalwhinnie to Blair Atholl at the weekend. A lot of the cycle track has just had a beautiful fresh layer of smooth tarmac laid on it. What a stunning cycle it was
Yes. I keep an eye on the NCN Facebook group and it's good to see the surface improvements you mention, and also added distance signage. When i was there it was a long way between milepost for such an exposed route.
Sartorial Pictures. Thanks for the great vids. My girlfriend likes cycling but hates cycling on the main roads. Your uploads have been invaluable in helping us finding routes to cycle. Thanks again and stay safe 👍🏽
@@B16Kev Thank you. That's great to hear.
Did the route from Pitlochry to Aviemore via Loch Morlich two months ago. Also thanks to your videos. I was a little unsure if I could make it. But it turned out to be one of the best holidays I've ever had. The landscape is so beautiful, it is not touristy at all and the scottish food is outstanding. Favourite part was Loch Morlich at 5 AM when there is this fog over the lake, such natural beauty. I'm definitely coming back one day!
I dont mean to be so off topic but does anyone know a trick to log back into an instagram account?
I stupidly lost my login password. I would love any tricks you can give me!
@Rocco Jude Instablaster =)
@Alan Matteo i really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and im in the hacking process now.
I see it takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Alan Matteo it worked and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thank you so much you saved my account!
@Rocco Jude Glad I could help =)
That looks a great ride to do
Epic adventure!
It's so bauitiful
that's the reason I don't come to Scotland, terrible fast traffic and lots of it, a nightmare if you are not on a cycle path.
Hey,
I was thinking of doing that route and going up til Aviemore. I'm not a bad bike-rider, can easily do 50 km in one day. But I always driven my bike in flat areas. Is that section of the route steep or not? I was thinking of doing camping along the way (going in june by the way). How did you navigate? I guess you had a proper GPS and didn't navigate with your phone, right? Merry christmas, thank you!
Hi Happy Christmas. So this section isn't steep. While it's the summit of the route and has an overall climb of 350m it is a very gentle climb. Sure there are some short-lived ups and downs but overall it's a gradual climb and descent.
Alright, thank you!
Was that an Afghan melon?
How long did it take you to do
9am start, 4pm finish with maybe 2 hrs of stops