{"id":2865,"date":"2017-04-14T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-14T10:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=2865"},"modified":"2017-04-04T11:59:01","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T10:59:01","slug":"out-on-the-bike-west-of-inverness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2017\/04\/14\/out-on-the-bike-west-of-inverness\/","title":{"rendered":"Out on the bike west of Inverness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A series of signposted routes follow the quiet roads around Newtonhill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s been great to be back on the bike for more than just the few miles to and from work recently, and this route to the west of Inverness was right up my street.<\/p>\n

I love cycling along narrow country roads, navigating my way along the lesser-used highways and byways, and exploring what is out there off the beaten path.<\/p>\n

Even in Inverness, there are plenty of little cycle-friendly back routes for those willing to explore.<\/p>\n

I started off from the city by heading over the Infirmary Bridge \u2013 the pedestrian suspension bridge nearest the Ness Islands \u2013 and turning left towards the Bught. Go right at the mini-roundabout onto Ballifeary Lane then take a left onto Ballifeary Road to reach the A82 just before Tomnahurich Bridge, where works are ongoing to link this road to the new River Ness crossing.<\/p>\n

Immediately before the canal bridge, I took the towpath right \u2013 fine on a solid touring bike like mine but those with narrower tyres may prefer to go via General Booth Road instead. From the towpath, cross at the first lock gate then go left up Canal Road to meet that alternative road route.<\/p>\n

Turn right then immediately left onto Scorguie Road and, on the way down the brae, take a left onto Kennedy Drive. Then take the second left onto Woodside Crescent and bear right where the road splits to join a narrow lane past a few houses and through some woodland before enjoying views over the Beauly Firth to Ben Wyvis.<\/p>\n

This is a fantastic quiet route that all too soon comes to an abrupt end where the public road stops.<\/p>\n

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On the outskirts of Inverness there are plenty of country roads to discover, such as this one that leads from Scorguie on the west of the city.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, you can carry on by bike, going right down the steep hill which twists and turns to arrive at a level crossing just before the A862.<\/p>\n

Go left and follow the main road through Bunchrew and under the railway and take the next left, signed to Inchberry, from where it\u2019s back on the quieter roads for some time.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a bit of climbing involved from here, too, as the route follows the road up to Newtonhill, a peaceful spot just a few miles from the busy city.<\/p>\n

Go left then right at the staggered junction and enjoy the wonderful views from this high road before it drops steeply to a T-junction.<\/p>\n

Take a right turn here for a serious descent \u2013 watching out for the signed \u201cdangerous bend\u201d on the way down \u2013 to cross the Moniack Burn at Reelig Glen, once home to Britain\u2019s tallest tree Dughall Mor at more than 200ft (64 metres) high. After going left past Moniack Castle take the first left towards Clunes to tackle the steepest hill of the day, bearing right where the road forks ahead.<\/p>\n

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The road heading up from Reelig towards Foxhole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gradient eases and it\u2019s soon an easy ride with views over to the Strathfarrar hills, covered in cloud on my visit, and I was so preoccupied I almost missed the right turn that cuts the corner instead of heading all the way to Foxhole.<\/p>\n

This little road was a great find. It drops sharply past a couple of houses then enters a nice bit of woodland as it meanders down to a serious hairpin on its way to a junction, where a right turn takes you over the Belladrum Burn and to the A833.<\/p>\n

Cross straight over here, heading for the village of Kiltarlity. Turn right at a T-junction then go left a short distance ahead. After a 90-degree left-hand bend, turn right past the free church to reach the main route through the village.<\/p>\n

Take a left and follow the road to a tight left bend, ignoring the sign for Beauly and instead heading to Eskadale and Struy. Keep on this road to Hughton, where you do now follow the sign to Beauly up to the right on another lovely stretch that passes Fanellan.<\/p>\n

A left turn at the end of this road takes you over the River Beauly beside the dam and power station, before you turn right onto the A831 to head towards Beauly.<\/p>\n

Where you meet the main road \u2013 the A862 \u2013 on the corner, turn right to cross the Lovat Bridge then go left at the Kirkhill junction.<\/p>\n

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At the bottom of the fine descent from the road near Foxhole to the Belladrum Burn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I decided to follow the quieter roads as far back to Inverness as possible, so I forked left a little way up the hill at Ferrybrae to follow the minor road as it parallels the railway line before rising away from it to rejoin the B9164 into the village. Keep on this road to Inchmore, where you rejoin the A862 for the last seven miles into the city.<\/p>\n

To avoid any further traffic, after reaching the railway bridge at Clachnaharry, I turned left at the lights to join the canal path at the Muirtown Basin and follow my outward route back into town.<\/p>\n

It made for a gentle finish to a fairly hilly ride that makes the most of some of the area\u2019s most pleasant and peaceful roads.<\/p>\n

* Article first published in Active Outdoors | April 7, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been great to be back on the bike for more than just the few miles to and from work recently, and this route to the west of Inverness was right up my street. I love cycling along narrow country roads, navigating my way along the lesser-used highways and byways, and exploring what is out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5M0xs-Kd","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2866,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865\/revisions\/2866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}