Location : 3 miles north east of Fort William on the A82 at Torlundy - Follow signs for Nevis Ranges/ Aonach Mhor Ski Centre. Approx 110 miles from Glasgow - follow the A82 all the way from Glasgow City Centre.
Facilities:
Car Park (OS grid ref NN176775 - SHEET 41 LANDRANGER SERIES)
Bike Hire (Off Beat Bikes open July & August at Ski Centre [ phone 01397 705825] - they also have a shop in Fort William [open all year] for sales hire and repairs -
phone 01397 704008)
Ski / Snow Board Hire
Caf'
Toilets
Cable Cars to Aonach Mhor Plateau and ski slopes/ observation area.
(Note: From May 2001 when the new National Downhill Race Track opens you will be able to take your bike on the cable car too. Bike season will be
May to September)
Off Beat Bikes publish a rough route map of all the trails in the area
WARNING: Get a weather forecast before setting out. Before going into the mountains make sure you have an OS Map (Land Ranger sheet 41 covers the area) and a compass. You should also make sure that you have warm and waterproof clothing if you are going up onto the plateau. The lower routes from the car park are well marked and graded for difficulty. Many of the routes are used by walkers as well as cyclists so be warned.
All the routes are 'Land Rover'/ Fire Road type tracks except for the Downhill Race Track which is single track and very steep. The routes are all clearly waymarked and graded for difficulty and there are warning signs at the more difficult parts, warning pedestrians that they will encounter high speed bikes!!!!
The Leanachan Forest is a working forest, so despite the number of people that you see
you are also likely to find places where timber extraction is being undertaken and the road surface is likely to be very churned up and 'gloppy'. In these areas the workers may ask you to dismount! In some areas you might also encounter haulage trucks taking out the timber (this is the same for all forests in Scotland)
The Lower Sections From the car park head northeast towards the track under the cable car and this will take you onto the first of the easier trails. A short distance down this track is the bottom end of the Downhill track - watch out for out of control cyclists!
On my visit in April 1999 there were warning signs for pedestrians/ hill walkers not to walk up the downhill track (needless to say I encountered an angry group of walkers when I came down the track a couple of hours later) This lower trail is graded 'easy' and is a good warm up route that can be extended to a 7-8 mile circuit back to the cable car. On a wet day many parts of this track suddenly become 'difficult' due to the slippery and muddy surface despite 90% of it being LandRover tracks. At the end of the long downhill there are options to branch off onto more difficult sections - one of which ends at a
Distillery. (But then you have to return to the trails along the very busy A82 for a couple of miles before rejoining the off road bit. The main route turns north and continues downhill. There are spectacular views across the Great Glen and the Caledonian Canal. There is now a 4 mile straight and almost flat section that runs parallel to the A82 - you can hear the traffic but
can't see it. About halfway along this section there is a steep and slippery climb up to the approach/ service road up to the ski centre. Cross the road and on the other side disappear back down an equally steep and slippery slope onto the trail.
At the time of my trip, the car park was quite full. I had also left home in the most horrendous rain storms and arrived 100 miles later in glorious warm sunshine - it continued to rain on Central Scotland for the whole day while Ben Nevis basked in sunshine.
At the end of the lower section the trail joins a short length of access road for the Forestry Commission timber wagons. For some 1.5 miles there is rough road which eventually peters out to become rough trail again.
The Downhill Race Track: As mentioned above the downhill section ends just a short distance from the car park. Being a novice at downhill off roading I decided to walk my bike back up the track. It was a dry day when I visited and I only had loose stones to deal with. If there
had been any rain the downhill would very quickly become a fast flowing stream! There is no way that you can ride up the slope. Access to the top is to turn left out of the car park and follow the fire road uphill staying as close to the line of the cable car pylons as you can. There are numerous hairpins on this trail and it is magic to come down at full belt as the surface is very loose (nearly as much fun as the downhill track itself!) You will find that there are places where the downhill track pops out from the trees and shrubs to cross the main trail - keep on the main trail and eventually you will get to the top of the downhill track. The track starts at the upper end of the access road but basically cuts off all the hairpins by going almost straight down the hill! Some
sections are laid single track which join up very steep loose stoney stretches. Take care going down (who wouldn't!) as I met a party of hill walkers walking up the track despite there being warning signs for walkers not to use the track. It is very disconcerting to hear voices over the edge of a drop off as you approach it at 20mph. Fortunately my bike was fitted with disc brakes so stopping was not a problem and I think that they got a bigger fright than me! There is a huge drop off at the bottom of the track and the landing is on a sheet of very hard rock so don't get too carried away with the speed near the bottom.
Other rides in the area: There are many other routes in the area and if like me you prefer 'circuits' then there is a beauty that is about 20 miles of gentle riding on a mixture of towpath along the Caledonian Canal , the lower section of the off road route detailed above and sections of quiet B roads. Start from the car park as above and follow the lower section ride until you get to the small forestry commission car park.
Follow the access road for this car park back to the A82 at Torlundy and then follow the way marks along the track to Tor Castle, turn left into the woods and follow the trail to Banavie and the Caledonian Canal at Neptune's Stair Case. Take the tow path all the way to Gairlochy then follow the signs for Spean Bridge. Along this part you will come to the National Memorial to the Commandos who trained in this area during World War
2. At Spean Bridge follow the A82 back towards Fort William for about 2 miles until you get back to the timber extraction road that makes up part of the lower forest trail.