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Bikepacking Scotland's North Coast 500 In Three Days | Si's Ultra Endura...

This scenery on this video is simply stunning and a great inspiration for our ride! I hope we get the weather and will checking out similar scenery to this( if not covering quite the distance1)Remember Wednesday night is stovies night!

Met Office Forecast - Ben Nevis

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/forecast/gfh7n5qpt#?date=2019-05-05

Forecast for the next 7 days shows snow all week, heavy on Friday and Saturday and below freezing (down to -7 deg C). A heatwave the following week seems unlikely.

So I may opt for Glenfinnan Viaduct.

I will probably be on the 10.34 from Queen Street and might get off at Connel Ferry to check out the route into Oban. I will buy milk and bananas, and anything else we may need for breakfast and the ride to Fort William.

Who's on Whatsapp?

I have a new phone! and have mastered(?) Whatsapp which is a convenient way to share messages often FOC. We could set up a group  something like Dragonriders.

This way all messages,photos, attachments,links to routes etc can be kept in one place for us all to see and share as we see fit. You can link your Whatsapp app from your phone to  your pc so messages and photos can also be accessed there.

I am already sharing routes and messaging through whatsapp with Clyde. Do the rest of you use it?

If you do message me through google contacts and I will set up the group ahead of our trip only 2 weeks away now!

Day Two Highlight - Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge not to be missed!

Whilst reading up on day 2 as I plotted my Garmin Route I noticed that just 3-4 miles off NCN78 is a fine memorial to the British Commando Forces commissioned after WW2 overlooking the training depot at Achnacarry Castle. This detour I believe is too good to miss with fine views back over Ben Nevis and Aonoch Mor so I have incorporated it in my route to share with you. I now have 4 routes plotted from day 1 to 3 as I have split day one to ensure we can find the hostels en route.

             

Ferries

If you follow NCR78 religiously from Oban to Fort William, you have to cross the water on two ferries. The first is Inchree to The Corran. If you look up something called the Corran ferry on line, you will find departure times from places called Ardgour and Nether Lochaber, neither of which bizarrely is given on the Landranger sheet 41! Nevertheless, the good news is that ferries are very frequent and go on until the evening (the last is 2110 from Nether Lochaber = Inchree on the map, if you want to be that late!) 

Once on the western side of the loch (northern end of Loch Linnhe, I think, altho the Landranger doesn't give this stretch a name. Could be Loch Eil), you have to get back to Fort William, which is on the east side. Route 78 crosses once again on a ferry, at Camusnagaul. The ferry is not so frequent nor does it continue to as late a time as the other. You must not arrive at Camusnagaul later than 1635, according to the timetable, altho I have phoned the ferry operator, asking if there are any later boats (the website invites you to do this). It seems that the boat ties up at Fort William for the night, so there should be a ferry after this 'last' one (outside of the holiday season, they don't normally have anyone to go back), but we can phone on the day.

Or you can just stay on the east side of the loch and avoid either ferry! But then that isn't Route 78.

PS First ferry is free. Second is £1.80 adult fare but a pedal cycle costs £1.50. Is that extra, so £3.30? I didn't ask. I guess we can stretch to that!

Ben Nevis Summit

Ben Nevis May 2005!