Being a Railwayman, the twin routes of the West Highland Line and the Highland Line have always had a certain hold on me. Both run north to south, separated by hills, lochs and glens, but with a bit of planning you can use them to carry out some interesting walks. In the past I’ve walked from Dalwhinnie to Rannoch, and from Dalwhinnie to Corrour, but I’ve always had the notion to cycle a longer route. I would like to cycle from Dalwhinnie to Corrour but I’m still concerned about the middle of the route where it crosses the Bealach Dubh. Another route I’ve thought of was the more conventional route by road from Rannoch to Pitlochry. At around 40 miles, this seemed a good route which would allow an overnight camp somewhere along the way. The only thing which was throwing a spanner in the works was the severely reduced timetable, caused by a Scotrail driver dispute. I took a chance that midweek would be quieter, and managed to get my bike booked on a train to Rannoch and also one back from Pitlochry. I packed my gear into my panniers and off I went.
Rannoch Station is one of those places where I’ve started a fair few walks from, and I recalled a few as the train approached. I’ve hiked across Rannoch Moor to Glencoe from here, and also had one of my favourites walks with my daughter on the Road to the Isles among others. Setting off along the B846 I was soon past the point where the latter walk leaves the main road. Further on I was reminded of a walk I’d done from Dalwhinnie to Rannoch, where I’d come over Sron Smeur while trying to catch a train, hoping to save a few miles. I can’t recall if I made it in time. I do remember that my knees took a pounding…
After this it was all new to me, at least for a few miles. Killichonan is a small hamlet consisting of a few cottages and a sadly overgrown burial ground of the MacGregor clan containing a number of ancient headstones. The Killichonan Burn tumbles past the graveyard, and this is where I’ll make my first stop of the day. This was an old stomping ground of mine, and I last came here 11 years ago, after a gap of around 25 years from my last visit. At the time I wrote of a walk I had taken to visit a waterfall hidden in the hills where I fished for brown trout. At the time I didn’t reveal this secret location as I would dread to see it being spoiled. Time however has taken its toll, and after a short walk uphill, crossing the deer fence and the burn, I descended to the waterfall to find my way blocked by numerous fallen trees, and without a significant clearing job, the bottom of the waterfall is now inaccessible. As such the brown trout who lurk there are safe from human predators, for now at least. I sent the drone over the top of the waterfalls to gain a view, but with such a build up of trees and the loss of line of sight I did not send it all the way down.
I returned to the bike, and pulled on the waterproofs to counter the rain only to be able to remove them shortly afterwards, and for the rest of the journey the weather was in my favour. I passed through Kinloch Rannoch, and the Allt Mor, where as a boy I would fill bottles of mountain water to take home. Nowadays I would be purifying it before drinking it, back then it was a treat! I whizzed passed Beinn a’ Chuillaich, which I climbed 10 years ago, and made good progress towards Tummel Bridge. This was an old holiday destination of mine, and back when I could still go running I would pound the roads here. Nowadays my knees have long given up on running, but it was good to be on familiar ground again. I stopped off at the always impressive Eas Chliabhan waterfalls on the River Tummel before arriving at Tummel Bridge, an impressive stone humpback bridge dating back to 1730. This bridge was built by the British Army on the orders of General George Wade as part of military measures to control Scotland in the wake of the 1715 Jacobite Uprising.
I took the opportunity of grabbing something to eat and fresh milk at the shop nearby, which would the last one until Pitlochry, before crossing the Tummel Bridge once more, past the power station and the steep climb south on the B846, before taking the Foss road along the south side of the loch. This was now unfamiliar ground, since pretty much all my journeys from Tummel Bridge to Pitlochry were normally made along the busier B8019. This road, pretty much devoid of traffic, was therefore a joy to cycle on. No close passes, no irate drivers sounding horns, just miles of quiet road and natural woodland. I noted that there were numerous signs in place welcoming wild campers, although there were also a few signs of land owners trying to deter wild campers too. I had made good progress, and had I continued I could have been in Pitlochry in around an hour or so, but as I was looking to camp out I pulled up at one of the recommended campsites at the east end of the loch. I was booked on the lunchtime train the next day, so this would give me a short cycle out with bags of time to spare.
I set up the tent and settled in for the evening. I had the area to myself, if you didn’t count the midges. Lochside camping always runs the risk of having a high midge presence, but I was well prepared. I had picked up a Thermacell MR300, a small gas powered unit which apparently creates a 20m² midge free zone, and overall I found it worked pretty well, and I was able to sit comfortably in the open and enjoy dinner; a home made “boil-in-the-bag” mushroom risotto. I spent a bit of time getting some drone shots of the loch, before calling it a day. I fell asleep around 10, just as the forecast rain arrived, only to be woken in the wee small hours by the hooting of tawny owls, which went on for some time before either they cleared off or I nodded off, I can’t remember which…
It was raining next morning, and under no pressure for time I loitered within tent until the rain had ceased, before starting the morning rituals of breakfast and breaking camp. The milk I had bought the previous day was nicely chilled in the loch and was a pleasant change from powdered. With the campsite cleared, I climbed back on to the road and set off for Pitlochry. This section is fairly steep and I was glad I was tackling it after an evening’s rest, rather than at the end of a days cycling. The pay-off was a long downhill section, and soon I was on familiar ground again, having walked this section many years ago. That still didn’t stop me becoming confused by the route from Clunie Bridge to Pitlochry. Signage seems to indicate you should join the A9. Common sense indicates you don’t, and I about turned, crossed the bridge (which has a “cyclists dismount” sign in one direction, but not the other) and made my way into Pitlochry. With time to spare I had a wee cycle round the town, before managing to wangle a space on the earlier train. One thing I have consistently underestimated is my ability to put in a decent mileage, and on my last couple of trips I’ve found myself with a lot of “leisure time” to spare. On a road bike this route could easily be done in a morning or afternoon with no need for a camp, and perhaps I’ll aim to do just that at some point. On the other hand, I got a few ideas for other longer bikepacking routes in this area. If the stars align, hopefully I’ll manage to get back here sooner rather than later. The south road along Loch Rannoch is calling me…
The Airdrie Rambler 
Brilliant post – love the ‘loitered within tent’ – Richard always says that! I haven’t been to Kinloch Rannoch although I think we once diverted off the A9 to drive to Tummel Bridge – not sure…
I’m the opposite way around with my cycling – I definitely don’t underestimate my potential on the bike – I’m always hopeless and know I will be!