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WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT INVERNESS AND LOCH NESS

A busy Highland city, the largest and most famous Scottish loch, great riding and access to incredible landscapes are all things that will make your trip to the area so special.

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Loch Ness is known around the world for the monster that is rumoured to live in the depths of the loch, but mountain bikers and cyclists can also find inspiring trails around its shores. Undulating gravel riding beside lochs and over rolling hills, family friendly trail centres, steep and technical hand built trails, Inverness has a a lot to offer as a base for cycling and other outdoor and adventure activities.

Located in the Highlands, with good transport links, Inverness is a small city with excellent access to surrounding landscapes for a range of outdoor activities. From the nearby lochs and forests that give great terrain for off road cycling, to the gentle coastline of the east, and the dramatic West Highlands, the Inverness area is a great base for exploring.

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Credit Visit Inverness Loch Ness

Loch Ness 360

The Loch Ness 360 is an 80 mile / 129.5km circular route with over 3000m of climbing around Loch Ness. It trails along its each side of the loch, stretching between Inverness and Fort Augustus.

The south side is generally more remote and rugged, with some steeper and rougher terrain, best experienced on a mountain bike, or a gravel bike if you are up for a challenge. The north side follows generally easier and more established routes of the Great Glen Way (a 79 mile route between Fort William and Inverness) and the Caledonian Way (a 235 mile route between Campbeltown and Inverness).

The Loch Ness 360 route links communities around the Loch with generally off road routes, giving cyclists opportunities to tackle the route as a long single day, or break it up into more manageable sections, allowing time to explore the area and its communities.


Abriachan

Abriachan is a community forest just outside Inverness. The very steep road leading to the forest means the trails start high on the hill above Loch Ness, allowing great views of the surrounding landscape. The trails were revamped in 2023, and whilst significantly improved, retain their own slightly homemade character, which is quite informal feeling.

The trails are very family friendly, with a main flowing 5km blue route, with an excellent 2.6km red option. Included in the trails is a great jumpline, perfect for progressing skills. At the centre their is also a dirt pumptrack which is ideal for getting more riding in without tired legs needing to pedal back up hill!

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Credit Visit Inverness Loch Ness


Learnie Redrocks

Learnie Redrock trails, on the Black Isle are great for a range of riders, including families. The trails allow progression up from beginners to more advanced riders, and there is a nice friendly atmosphere. The gentle climbs through the pines makes the way up enjoyable, and the descents are generally flowing and fun. The onsite picnic area is conveniently situated next to a set of jumps, so even if you need to take a break you can still have fun watching the rest of your group sessioning the jumps.

Explore a little further off the formal trails and you will find a great wee network of trails built by the Black Isle Trail Association which compliment the main trails well, giving opportunities for riders to progress onto more natural terrain.

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Community Trails

The Loch Ness area has an active mountain biking community, and some great local trails near to communities, with some excellent trails that have produced World class mountain bikers. From steep and technical, to flowing and mellow their is something to satisfy most mountain bikers!

Many of these trails are built and maintained by volunteer trail associations, so there are opportunities to contribute by helping out at dig days or supporting with funding.

Check out section below - 'Who is looking after your trails?'

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To minimise our environmental impact we are promoting riders to visit our key destinations and stay for as long as possible.

We hope that riders will consider their impact - travel as sustainably as they can, eat and drink local, give back to the trails they ride, and ride responsibly - considering their impact on other users, mountain rescue teams, landowners/managers, and the environment.

Inverness is a fantastic base for all sorts of activities including mountain biking, for more inspiration check out Visit Inverness Loch Ness and start planning.

The city of Inverness has good transport options for travelling to and around the destination, with information through Visit Inverness Loch Ness.

If you want to incorporate some adventure into your travel, their are some great sustainable transport routes:

The Caledonia Way - Sustrans.org.uk

Route 7 - Sustrans.org.uk

For shuttle and baggage transfer, ebike hire and great information on travel around the the Loch Ness area, check out the community run Loch Ness Travel Hub

For more riding inspiration across the North of Scotland

Ride Guide

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