Contin to Garve and the A832 Achnasheen Road.The main A835 is twisty, up and down and quite narrow between Contin and the A832 Achnasheen road. It is a main road and can get busy with lorries, campervans etc. If you are used to this sort of road, it may present you with no problems. However, note that you MUST dismount and walk over the level crossing in Garve (the yellow signs telling youthis are not clearly visible until you move out towards the middle of the lane). The railway lines cross the road at an accute angle making it easy to catch slim bike tyres, possibly throwing you off. A number of cyclists have been patched up at the café at Tarvie this summer.

It’s not till you move to the middle of the lane that the yellow sign is visible

Friends who did cycle this section in the evening, in high season didn’t find it too bad but they do live and cycle in Leeds so are more used to traffic than me. The only alternatives are the forest roads or taking the train from Inverness, Beauly, Muir of Ord or Dingwall to Garve.

Forrest roads:

Off-road route - Contin to Garve

This is a lovely ride 6 mile ride through forest and natural woodland on a core path. Core paths give the public rights of access, so if forestry operations are close to the path, you must be granted safe passage. However, this route is only

suitable for more lightly loaded touring bikes, mountian bikes with tyres which have good tread. It took me about an hour to complete the 6 miles on a mountain bike, stopping to take photos, so undertake this if you have a bit more time on you hands and you are happy to get off and push over the rougher sections.

Just to the west of Contin village, turn off the main road and follow the signs for the forest car park. Immediately after the forestry buildings, turn right to take the up-hill track for a short way before following it left where it continues, undulating gently with one reasonable hill.

Forest road sign

The map here gives you an idea but the 1:50,000 OS maps (sheets 20 and 26) show it better as does the Trailmaps Highland Map 5, Strathpeffer (available from www.trailmaps.biz or from Square Wheels bike shop in Strathpeffer). The first half, up to where the route goes under the railway bridge, is on a forest dirt road which should present most bikes with no problems in the dry. In fact, most of it is smoother than some Highland tarmac you will encounter!

Smooth forest roads – but most is smoother still! Open forest just beyond the railway bridge- a bit rougher.

Once you pass under the railway bridge, turn sharp left and continue on somewhat rougher roads on which you may have to push for short sections, depending on your bike and luggage.

The section which goes up a short hill, away from Loch Garve and then back again, would be a push with anything but a mountain bike, not because of the steepness but because the surface is loose with sharp stones.

The roughest section up to the top of the rise Back down to the loch is steeper but still a little rough

The route crosses one small ford before you reach a sharp left turn onto the unclassified tarmac road into Garve, or alternatively carry straight on to continue on minor roads to the junction to Achnasheen.

The ford Getting closer to Garve

Train – if you don’t like the sound of the main road and your bike isn’t suitable for the off-road tracks then the train which runs from Inverness via Beauly, Muir of Ord and Dingwall to Garve (then on to Achnasheen and Strath Carron) may be of interest to you. It’s run by Scotrail and can take up to 4 bikes (no trailers or tandems) – it’s definitely best to pre-book the bike when you buy your ticket, or call Scotrail on 0344 811 0141. To give you an idea, here are the 2016 times - but don’t rely on them for 2017.

2016 Times: Monday to Saturday: leaves Inverness at 08:55, 11:00, 13:35, 17:54. Sunday: leaves Inverness 10:59, 17:54 (possibility of an extra train in the summer)Journey times: Inverness to Garve about 1 hour, or Dingwall to Garve 20 mins.Cost (full prices): Inverness to Garve £10.30; Dingwall to Garve £4.40.

Garve to the A832:

Garve to the A832 Achnasheen road

Even if you have taken the main road to Garve, you may want to cycle this lovely little detour on surfaced minor roads. You cross the Garve river by an old military bridge dating from 1767 when the Jacobite clans were being ruthlessly subdued after the 1745 uprising, to get to the tiny settlements of Little Garve (Garve Beag) and Gorstan. Take the unclassified road that continues from the end of the forest track and follow it to the bridge. After crossing the bridge, turn left and head back to the A835 where you turn left, then right, onto the A832 Achnasheen road. Continue on the usual NC500 route until the turning for the Bealach na Ba at Tornapress where you have your next route choice. Look out for November’s blog for this.

Little Garve Bridge