glasgow to inverness info please

[TerryJ]

In a few weeks I intend to go to jog and back.
What are these roads like for cycling:
A83 loch lomond to Inveraray
A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
and A82 ?

Has the great glen cycle route been surfaced and made good for road
bikes?
If not what is it like going up the A82 to loch ness and further to
the turn off at drumnadrochit?

TerryJ

 

[PoB]

"TerryJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| In a few weeks I intend to go to jog and back.

| A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
| and A82 ?
|
The road from Ballachulish (sp?) to Fort William scares the caca out of me.
It's one of the few places I'd understand if folk wanted to cycle on the
pavement/footpath alongside. It's very busy, very narrow, and the
sight-lines are poor. Driving it isn't much more fun. South of
Ballachulish it's a lot quieter, and it's a nice ride (Nice bar in
Kentallen, check out the Castle Argh (aka Stalker Castle) north of Oban, and
Connel Bridge, again, just north of Oban, seems to be a work of art, more
than engineering)

North of Fort William, leading to the Great Glen, they seemed to be
constructing a bike path segregated from the main road, I don't know if this
has been finished yet - if it has, it should be good, but the road is better
than the south road, and there's less traffic.

I'm slightly less familiar with road alongside Loch Lomond, although I do
know it's busy, but wide, the only two wheeled contraption I've been on
along there had a 900cc engine*, so.... The Rest and Be Thankful is a long
slog, but the road is good, and there's a superb restaurant on the way down
to Loch Fyne (most of my cycles on the west coast seem to be a long hard
slog to a superb seafood restaurant - over the Bealach na Ba to Applecross
for example)

Drivers in the highlands tend to be tired tourists on holiday - take care.

Not a vast amount of info, but have fun when you go!

pOB

*I was pillion - I do more than enough damage to me with only pOB power, let
alone many hp

 

[Craig Wallace]

TerryJ wrote:
> In a few weeks I intend to go to jog and back.
> What are these roads like for cycling:
> A83 loch lomond to Inveraray
> A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
> and A82 ?
>
> Has the great glen cycle route been surfaced and made good for road
> bikes?

Not as far as I know.

> If not what is it like going up the A82 to loch ness and further to
> the turn off at drumnadrochit?

IMO this is a horrible road. It is narrow and twisty, and very busy,
especially in the summer. There's lots of coaches and caravans, and cars
overtaking them on blind bends, even when there's traffic coming the
other way.
Instead I would suggest heading up the south-east side of Loch Ness.
i.e. follow the B862 up out of Fort Augustus, then along past Loch
Duntelchaig to Inverness. Yes, it is a bit hilly, but its a great road
over the moors.

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 17, 12:49 pm, TerryJ <[email protected]> wrote:
> In a few weeks I intend to go to jog and back.
> What are these roads like for cycling:
> A83 loch lomond to Inveraray
> A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
> and A82 ?

No direct cycling experience, but I drove round there last summer, and
all the major routes south of Fort William (A82/3/5) seemed pretty
busy to me. Most are a reasonable width, but the A82 by Loch Lomond
north of the A83 is particularly twisty and narrow (south of there
it's wide and fast).

FWIW, I'm thinking of a tour in that area later this year - not JOG,
but west Scotland and the isles. My idea is to get the ferry from
Ardrossan across to Arran, and then from Lochranza back to the
mainland at Claonaig. My guess is that the route from there to Fort
William will mostly be much quieter (though I've never done it).

Rob

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting TerryJ <[email protected]>:
>What are these roads like for cycling:
>A83 loch lomond to Inveraray
>A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
>and A82 ?
>If not what is it like going up the A82 to loch ness and further to
>the turn off at drumnadrochit?

We went straight up the A82 from Glasgow in 2004, all the way to Inverness
(not turning off at Drumnadrochit, the climb north from Milton is brutal)
and then up the A9. Perfectly tolerable - my co-rider predicted we'd see
more speed merchants, but in fact the cage density isn't too bad. You'll
need to be a bit careful on corners with poor lines of sight, though.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Oil is for sissies
Today is Gloucesterday, April.

 

[terryJ]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Apr 17, 12:49 pm, TerryJ <[email protected]> wrote:
>> In a few weeks I intend to go to jog and back.
>> What are these roads like for cycling:
>> A83 loch lomond to Inveraray
>> A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
>> and A82 ?
>
> No direct cycling experience, but I drove round there last summer, and
> all the major routes south of Fort William (A82/3/5) seemed pretty
> busy to me. Most are a reasonable width, but the A82 by Loch Lomond
> north of the A83 is particularly twisty and narrow (south of there
> it's wide and fast).

Thanks to all so far.
I gather that without taking a detour round the west coast one just has
to bite the bullet and take the main road for some stretches to and
north of fort william.
The A9 has a cycle route along it. What's that like now?
Terry J

 

[vernon]

"David Damerell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:JuF*[email protected]...
> Quoting TerryJ <[email protected]>:
>>What are these roads like for cycling:
>>A83 loch lomond to Inveraray
>>A85 glen orchy to the coast then up the coast to fort william by A828
>>and A82 ?
>>If not what is it like going up the A82 to loch ness and further to
>>the turn off at drumnadrochit?
>
> We went straight up the A82 from Glasgow in 2004, all the way to Inverness
> (not turning off at Drumnadrochit, the climb north from Milton is brutal)
> and then up the A9. Perfectly tolerable - my co-rider predicted we'd see
> more speed merchants, but in fact the cage density isn't too bad. You'll
> need to be a bit careful on corners with poor lines of sight, though.
> --
Used the A82 in both directions for JOGLE and LEJOG in 2005 and 2006
respectively. There seems to a be a lot of undue fuss about the perils of
the A82. Locals wrung their hands with angst as they discovered my
intentions to cycle along it similarly for the A9. Didn't find the roads
worrisome at all - local traffic certainly treated me with respect and the
traffic levels were not what I'd consider to be busy.

 

[iarocu]

On 17 Apr, 17:32, terryJ <[email protected]> wrote:

> Thanks to all so far.
> I gather that without taking a detour round the west coast one just has
> to bite the bullet and take the main road for some stretches to and
> north of fort william.
> The A9 has a cycle route along it. What's that like now?

I live near Glasgow so I'm familiar with the A82. It's nice and wide
up to the A83 turn off towards the Rest and Be Thankful. From there to
the top of Loch Lomond it is narrow and winding and carries heavy
traffic in the summer. I'd avoid in July and August anyway. If you
want to go via Inverary a nice alternative is to get the ferry from
Gourock to Dunoon then cycle up avoiding Loch Lomond and the Rest and
Be Thankful. As suggested already the route via Arran and Oban is even
better, quieter roads.

For a route to Inverness from Glasgow though I would suggest
Callander, Killin, Pitlochry, then the old A9 to Inverness. Most of
the way north this route follows the old A9 there is a short section
(3 miles?) over Drumochter summit where it is a poor quality cycle
path. I had no problems here with 700x32mm tyres with due caution for
frequent piles of loose gravel on corners. The A9 here is a dual
carriageway where traffic is at 70-80 mph so it is worth suffering
this sort section to avoid that.

Iain

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting vernon <[email protected]>:
>"David Damerell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>We went straight up the A82 from Glasgow in 2004, all the way to Inverness
>>(not turning off at Drumnadrochit, the climb north from Milton is brutal)
>>and then up the A9. Perfectly tolerable
>Used the A82 in both directions for JOGLE and LEJOG in 2005 and 2006
>respectively. There seems to a be a lot of undue fuss about the perils of
>the A82.

Ha. Reading some of the other replies, I was starting to wonder if I'd been
on the same road.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Oil is for sissies
Today is Leicesterday, April.

 

[terryJ]

David Damerell wrote:
> Quoting vernon <[email protected]>:
>> "David Damerell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> We went straight up the A82 from Glasgow in 2004, all the way to Inverness
>>> (not turning off at Drumnadrochit, the climb north from Milton is brutal)
>>> and then up the A9. Perfectly tolerable
>> Used the A82 in both directions for JOGLE and LEJOG in 2005 and 2006
>> respectively. There seems to a be a lot of undue fuss about the perils of
>> the A82.
>
> Ha. Reading some of the other replies, I was starting to wonder if I'd been
> on the same road.


Thanks for all this. I think we may plan a main roadish route with the
option of going round the pretty ways if we feel fit and the time allows
or the traffic is unpleasant. Gournock ferry looks nice.
We intend to go one way and return another.
We will be going in early june so tourists may not be many.
TerryJ