Laura Martin Knoydart

Share

Hidden on a road alongside Loch Morar in the Scottish Highlands is the we start point of our trip. Loch Morar, famous for many reasons; the deepest loch in the UK, and shrouded in myth and legends. One of which is the home to the lesser-known cousin of the Loch Ness Monster, Morag. Many of the locals swear they have seen her. But I would guess these sightings may be on the long walk home from the pub. But I can't be sure. 

I am lucky to call Mallaig my home, and have dreamt of making this trip for a few years. So when The lovely people at Hope asked me what my dream summer mtb trip would be? There was only one answer. I wanted to show the amazing remote and lesser ridden trails in the area. Planning for my trip started immediately, as I already knew a couple of things: I wanted to explore the rugged landscape of the area, to be as remote as possible and I wanted to take my HB.130 on a boat. I know, I didn't want much, did I?

After a lot of planning later with the help of my friend Billy, who owns and operates Minch Adventures (it's his boat we would be using.) The route was decided. It would involve riding to Tarbet, overnighting there, followed by a boat ride the following morning to the Camousrory estate for a little hike a bike that finishes with an epic descent into Inverie on the Knoydart peninsula. Here we would be collected by boat and taken back to Mallaig. We were set, now I needed to get to packing joined by my other half, Hugo, and Pete Scullion. (who was there to take photos, and as always provide some banter.) 

The day I had been dreaming of had arrived and in Highland fashion, the weather wasn't looking good. The ride kicks off with a couple of miles along the road to the start of an old drovers path that runs along the edge of Loch Morar. (It is in fact closer to 8 miles to Tarbet, not the 5 and half the sign would suggest.)

I love Loch Morar. Beautiful scenery surrounded by rugged mountains steeped in history and home to a wealth of wildlife. From sea eagles to stags this area does not disappoint. Back to the path it's challenging, It's loose, techy in places, and about 1400ft of climbing.

The first stop of the day was to admire a ruined church on the edge of the loch. The Chapel of Inverbeg was for the people of Morar until the 18th century. The nearest house is about two miles away, must have been a fair walk to church on a Sunday.

Further along the trail there's an old croft house. It's also seen better days. A tree had fallen through its roof and now its only used to house the crofters sheep.
If you were to imagine a remote highland house from a horror film this would be it: creepy, old and lonely. I can imagine in its heyday, a stunning working farmhouse. But today abandoned.

We had a little explore, but noticed the weather was changing. Until now, we'd missed the rain but the sky was darkening and a storm was rolling in. I love highland storms. There is something beautiful seeing the mountains and calm loch turn grey and evil. It was time to up the pace to avoid the rain, and head to our home for the night, Tarbert.

I don't know where to start with Tarbet. A little slice of heaven nestled on the banks of Loch Nevis. Once the busiest fishing village on the west coast long before Mallaig grew Tarbert was the place to be. It can only be accessed by the route we had taken or by boat. There are no roads here!

Descending into Tarbet the landscape had us in awe. The storm was coming in behind us, illuminating the cove, its small stone cottages and old church building, with the mountains perfectly enclosing everything. There are sheep, chickens and dogs running free. The only noise is the little humming noise from the generator that powers the houses.  

Lucky for us, our friend, Norman lives here and is putting us up for the night. Have you ever met a highlander so friendly and knowledgeable, that you could listen to his wonderful stories and tales all night? Well this is Norman. The stories this man can tell from the history of Tarbet, the fishing village to the war efforts in the area. He is one of those people who should write a book. I would read it in a heartbeat. 

A little tip from Norman if you are heading up here and need a good midge deterrent buy cedarwood oil. He swears by the stuff and works. 

Time to refuel: dinner then get our heads down for the night before the big day tomorrow. 

We woke early to explore before Billy arrived with the boat. The sun shone down on the Knoydart peninsula across the water from us. Illuminating what would be our end point later in the day, like waking up in the middle of a dream. The storm had passed and the day was to be dry and clear. 

Just like that the boat appeared on the horizon. Time to leave Tarbet and Norman behind, for the trip up Loch Nevis to the Camusrory estate to the next part of our journey.

Billy carefully lowered the bikes onto the Minch Adventure boat, accompanied onboard by his faithful dog Darcy.
We set sail up the loch to our start point for the day.

Something you should know about me. I love boats, of all shapes and sizes, bikes and remote Scottish areas. To be able to put these things together in one trip was a dream come true. The sail up Loch Nevis was stunning, Billy told us the history of the area and how it was made with all the faultlines and glaciers. Billy, like Norman, is a wonderfully knowledgeable guy, and is also an incredible mountain biker. I have been luckily enough to have learnt a lot from Billy over the years. 

We phoned ahead for permission to use the jetty at the Camusrory estate.

Time to offload the bikes and hit the trails. Luckily we could leave a few bags with Billy so we didn't have so much to carry.
The stars had aligned for perfect weather, it was going to be a beautiful day.

We pedalled along a stalkers path, featuring a few climbs and a fun descent with a river crossing. Are you even a mountain biker if you don't try to make the biggest splash. Yes, I was soaking, yes it was worth it. Along the way we discovered a 5 point antler. Pete strapped it to his bag as a souvenir of our adventure. 

I had never been to this glen before, and I was delighted to get a bit closer to one of my favourite mountains, Sgurr Na Ciche (The pointed mountain in the photos.)
You can see it for miles, and it's a fantastic marker on land or sea. Many shepherds and fisherman have used it to navigate in the past. The glen is also known for flooding and being unpassable at certain times of the year. 

The ruined farm at Carnoch marks the start of the hike a bike. 
We took a break to have a look at the croft. This area like all the Highlands was victim to the highland clearances and this croft was one of the many casualties. It is one of the most intact I have seen.

We started the steady climb, and were treated to three eagles circling above. They continued the whole way up. Living in the Highlands, I've been lucky enough to have seen eagles a fair few times, it never gets old, I could easily have watched them all day.
It's a 1804ft hike, challenging especially with bikes on our backs. This route isn't as well trodden as other paths.


The summit was a welcome sight, especially now it's all downhill from here.
Fun, fast, techy with loads of loose rocks the descent was a blast. 
Due to yesterday's storm, it was wet, slippery and worn, giving it more features and making it twice the fun. 

Halfway down I decided to give my beloved HB.130 a wee bath using nature's bike wash because why not.

Near the foot of the descent there are a few big slabs to have a play on. Followed by a flat section over the river, luckily there's a new bridge, so no wet feet this time!

From here it's a short undulating ride before the descent into the village of Inverie. Famous for having no road access and the most remote pub in mainland UK.
It would be rude not to grab a drink whilst we waited for the boat for the return trip back to Mallaig.

On the way back along the coast to Mallaig, Billy suggested a spot of fishing, and having grown up in a fishing family I had to.

We caught mackerel for the harbour seals in Mallaig, and were back on our way with one just more thing I wanted to do before we got back: hauling a creel also known as a lobster pot. 

I hauled in the creel, and there were two lobsters inside. Unfortunately they were females so are always put back. This is important to preserve the eggs they carry, and protects the species.

As we sailed back into the harbour I could see some familiar faces. We had been spotted by the harbour seals they knew dinner was on its way. You might wonder why we have so many in Mallaig, and why the fishermen like Billy look after them. They are actually very old and loosing their sight, so the fisherman see it as their responsibility to look after them. Many of the boats will bring fish in for them. Without this stunning creatures wouldn't survive. 

I am back in my home village and just like that the dream trip is over. I've never done anything like that before, combining all of my favourite things in one go. This will stay with me for a lifetime, and I am so grateful to Hope for making my dream a reality. 

I've always tried to encourage more women into mountain biking, and would love to see more women and girls get out and ride their bikes.
You don't have to be able to hit the biggest jumps or ride the hardest trails. Just get out there and enjoy it.
This is what the trip was all about. I have seen a few men doing these types of trips but not many women and I wanted to show that if I can. you can. Mountain biking is for everyone, and us, women can do anything we want to!