Venue: Torridon

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drkmn gave this trail 5 stars about 2 years ago

Great trail. The descent to Annat is great. Will have to get back soon and do the descent through Coire Lair. sdw85 gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

dee gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Did this a couple of years ago and rode up from Coulags over to Torridon and then back over (Torridon has about an 8-mile road section - pleasant enough). From emmory, the climb up to the 'top' didn't... read whole comment... dickbarton gave this trail 4 stars about 5 years ago

Don't know where Easan Dorcha was but we reckoned going East at Bealach na Lice would have made a truly epic descent from Coire Lair to Achnashellach. Would mean missing the Annat descent though. neilneep commented about 5 years ago

Torridon Circuit

Starting at the car park, head east along the single track roadway ( A896 ) for about 3 miles, to point 1 on the map, then turn right onto the Coulin Lodge track.

Once past Loch Clair keep on the left as the road turns right towards Coulin Lodge. At point 2 on the map, stay left on the forest track as it turns uphill away from the Loch. Follow this track uphill to point 3 above Loch Coulin, and turn right for a downhill past the houses at Torran Cuilinn and Coulin.

At Coulin ( 4 ) turn left onto the estate track and head south to the bridge at 5. Continue south here along the land rover track to the summit of Coulin Pass at 6, before a fast descent on a forestry road down to Achnashellach.

At bottom of the hill, turn right onto the A890 and head for Coulags, some 4 miles along the road.

At Coulags ( 8 ) turn right onto the track leading to the cottages. It's signposted here as a Right of Way to Torridon. Just before the road climbs to the cottages, take the singletrack off to the left ( 9 ) which takes you past the cottages and onto the rough singletrack heading into Coire Fionnaraich. It starts with a climb which can be quite tough in places, due to the rocks on the path. Make sure the tyres are well pumped up from here onwards, this is real pinch-flat territory !

At 10, you can either cross the burn on the narrow bridge, or just ride through the burn like a proper MTB'er. There are a few large drainage ditches cut across the path from here to just beyond the bothy. Follow the singletrack past the bothy as it steadily climbs to Loch Coire Fionnaraich.

Once round the loch, at point 11, the real tough climb begins. You won't cycle much of this, so be prepared to pick the bike up and carry it up to the juction of the paths at point 12. It's a long slog, but worth every one of the 140m or so of vertical climb ( sorry - had to put that in there ! ).

Once you get your breath back, cycling the last little bit of ascent to the top of Bealach na Lice at point 13 is easy enough.

This is where your rewards begin, as a whole new view opens up before you as you start a gentle descent around Loch an Eion, where things just get better and better.

You're about 350m above sea level at this loch, and from here to Annat it's all downhill to sea level. This is one amazing bit of natural singletrack. It has a good grippy hard packed base which gives you lots of confidence. There are rocks to avoid, rocks to jump off if you want, a large bedrock section, all of it fast and all of it fun. Don't forget to stop now and then to take in the stunning views though.

Once you get down to Annat ( 14 ) turn right and follow the road back to the starting point. Alternatively, at point 14 turn left and head along the road for 200m and take the second right to the pub for a refreshment. You deserve it after all.

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Fabulous epic day out on a bike. Tough climbs with quite a bit of hike a bike to the top of both the Annat & Achnashellach descents. Both descents are top notch. Annat being very rough and rock strew... read whole comment... cramaj gave this trail 5 stars about 9 months ago

Top Top trail, will test all your technical abilty up and down. Epic! mig gave this trail 5 stars about 3 years ago

What can I say? This route has everything - the climbs are fairly brutal, but as with all the routes in Torridon, you get back what you put in. The descent to Achnashellach just leaves you breathles... read whole comment... rthomas17 gave this trail 5 stars about 3 years ago

Excellent ride, everything about it is so good, we we're a little lazy cause we shuttled the long road stretch from annat to coulin forest as we met friends there and had two vehicles, good way to do ... read whole comment... dee gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Mega!! As others have said, the descent to Achnashellach on this route is perhaps better than the Annat one, if you like them steep (ish) and technical. The beauty of this route is you get both. Almo... read whole comment... portydave gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Alternative Torridon

Similar to the first trail but starts at Coulags and adds a fantastic section via Drochaid Coire Lair - possibly one of favourite descents in Scotland.

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There are better ways to spend your time in Torridon than on this loop. It start fine with a nice gentle pootle down the road, sharp-ish road climb then a nice off-road climb for a few miles. Unfortu... read whole comment... markp gave this trail 1 stars about 3 years ago

This was a great day out. Unfortunately there's a tough carry in the middle, but the finish you get through Coire Dubh Mor more than makes up for it. Amazing scenery into the bargain, if you remember ... read whole comment... wildhighlander gave this trail 5 stars about 5 years ago

Coire MhicNobaill

Although it's not an overly long route, I've graded this one as a hard fitness level as there is a 2km section in the middle where you will be off the bike, pushing or carrying due to the rough condition of the path. Unfortunately there is no avoiding this, you just have to get the head down and get through it.
I feel it's worth the effort though, as the finish is superb, with a technical descent that seems to have a bit of everything thrown in, which is why I've graded the route as a hard tech grade.

Starting from the car park on the A896, head west along the single track road towards Torridon village. This is all generally downhill, so it's a good easy start to get the legs warmed up for the rest of the route.

At the road junction at tag 1, turn off to the right and carry on along the shore through Torridon village, where the road eventually starts to climb away from the shore via a switchback. Continue to climb on the road, before a small descent where you arrive at tag 2. Turn right off the road onto the path that leads north east into the trees and on to Coire MhicNobaill. There's another car park here on your left, and there's a signpost and information board on the right where the path starts so you should see it easily enough.

Climb on the path along a fairly easy angled slope through some trees. The path is well compacted and quite smooth, so the going is not too difficult. You break out of the tree cover fairly quickly, and get the reward of some impressive views of Beinn Alligin to your left, and Beinn Dearg ahead of you as the path continues to climb, but the gradient gets less and less as you progress up the glen. The path is still well constructed here and offers no real difficulties other than the odd water bar which can easily be rolled at this point.

As you start to approach the bridge at tag 3 the gradient has lessened to an extent that you almost fail to notice that you are continually climbing. Once over the bridge, look out for the fork in the path at tag 4, and bear right to carry on into the coire.

From tag 4 to 5, the path starts to gradually deteriorate bit by bit. This is offset somewhat by the views you now have of the summit ridge of Liathach off to your right, and Beinn Eighe starting to loom large ahead of you at the head of the coire.

Round about tag 5 things get to a stage where you are pretty much reduced to pushing and carrying more than cycling. There is always a path to follow, but it's just so broken up by the occasional wet boggy section, or rocks and loose rubble here and there that it is basically unrideable. If you go through here after a wet spell, some of the boggy bits might be extensive enough to mean wet feet, but I did manage to get through here in February and keep dry, so it's obviously not always that bad.
The one good thing about this section is the the views surrounding you, as you have some incredible mountains practically on all sides to hopefully lift your spirits when you're thinking that it'll never end.
The good news is that it does end at tag 6, where very suddenly the path changes and you're back on your bike riding a good hard packed path with the odd bit of bedrock sticking out here and there.

The best bit of the route is just ahead of you now. At tag 7 you'll meet the path coming up out of Coire Dubh Mor, where the downhill to the finish really gets going as you squeeze between the huge walls on either side of you that are Liathach and Beinn Eighe. For the first km or so it's flowing and easy angled, and fairly smooth, with the odd rock here and there providing the opportunity to get the bike off the ground if you want.

About halfway down it starts to get steeper, and more technical, with rock steps, drainage ditches to be jumped, the odd tight corner, and a whole host of natural opportunities to get some air if you wish. It just gets better and better, and makes the carrying you did earlier seem like a dim and distant memory. This descent lasts for about 4km in total, and takes you right back to the car par park where you started.

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Parked in annet to get rid off road section first, 1st section of double track along the loch was easy and scenic, single track along loch was over grown with braken, and a mud bath, climb from end o... read whole comment... wol gave this trail 1 stars about 1 year ago

Fantastic views, tough climb to the Col walked most of it, but it was 30 degrees... Rough Rocky descent to start but last wee pitch after crossing the river down to the road was sweet as... niallwallace gave this trail 4 stars about 3 years ago

Fantastic wee route- true mountain bike route- has scenery, its remote and has an interesting and sometimes awkward climb! The descent is fantastic- one of the best! gav501 gave this trail 5 stars about 3 years ago

Singletrack alongside Loch Damph is always very wet, but not too boggy. Climb is good initially, but path deteriorates as you go. Great descent, quite loose and rocky in places. cat89 gave this trail 4 stars about 3 years ago

Beinn Damh Circuit

A great trail for a short day. Some great technical riding along with faster sections.

Start at the viewpoint 2 km west of the Torridon Hotel. Head west along the road for around 800 m to the start of a track signposted Loch Damph (Point1).

Head along this track and along the side of the Loch, past the fish farm buildings until it ends at a cottage (Point 2).

Continue on singletrack along the side of the loch until you reach a junction at a small wood just past the head of the loch and before crossing a burn (Point 3).

Take the track that heads left to follow the burn at a distance. This path climbs up around the South side of Beinn Damh, with some technical ascent and short sections of pushing/carrying (for mere mortals) until a bealach is reached between Beinn Damh and Beinn na h-Eaglaise (Point 4).

The track now descends with varying trail surfaces; some hard and fast, some loose and technical until a burn is reached (point 5) at which point you must go up the burn a short distance to find a suitable place to cross before descending through a small forest until the road is reached just West of the Torridon Hotel (Point 6).

Head West along the road and back to the car.

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Scenery through the Coire Lair and Coire Grannda is spectacular and this route provides a nice alternative to riding along the road from Achnashellach to Coulags. Some sections of both climb and desce... read whole comment... cat89 gave this trail 4 stars about 3 years ago

Great day out, the climb here is easier than the one in Coire Fionnaraich, even though you are higher up and have to drop down to meet this path near the top of Bealach na Lice. Finishes with the desc... read whole comment... wildhighlander gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Coire Lair & Grannda

Same as Torridon Alternative route described here except at the shoulder of Drochaid Coire Lair turn right on the path that follows the valley floor up past Loch Coire Lair, make sure you get the right one. The valley floor is very rideable and the absence of water bars is a delight after Drochaid. Once the contours tighten you will have to get off and push, in some places the going is very steep and loose so take care, its worth it though as the views at the top are excellent. You can see what awaits you as you look down and a ribbon of singletrack winds it's way over the landscape, however the first 25 metres of descent is scramble and exposed so be careful. After this though it is very nearly all rideable all the way to Bealach. At the first junction of paths you come to turn LEFT, the path to the right peters out very quickly and is not the way down to Annat. After losing a lot more height you come to another junction of paths go straight on and after a short climb start the wonderful descent to Annat.
We parked at the lay-by at Annat so got the road spin out of the way first.

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Great route, fist time venturing into that area and absolutely loved it. Headed up a few monroes whist I was at it. Had to push the bike quite a lot as there was a fair bit of snow. akamacleod commented about 1 year ago

Coire Grannda

This Torridon route misses out the long road section of the other loops but unfortunately also the Annat descent. It does have a very long descent from Coire Grannda to Achnashellach though.

The map shows the route starting at Coulags but it would be better to start at Achnashellach station to get the road section out of the way first. The path starts fairly rough but is all rideable. Cross the bridge at Tag 1 and follow the path until it splits at Tag 2. Take the obvious path that climbs steeply to your left. Very little of the path is rideable until the top at Tag 3. The path becomes indistinct but you should see a more obvious track about 50 ft lower down.

The path starts fairly steep and loose but quickly levels out. Follow it round to Loch an Eion. To be honest, this trail is a bit disappointing considering how hard the climb is. At Tag 4 take the sharp right fork that climbs back to Bealach na Lice. At Tag 5 go left to traverse across the end of the Glen you rode up earlier. The next section is a mix of riding and hike-a-bike. At Tag 6 take the right fork which climbs steeply. After a while the trail opens out to give a great view down to Torridon. The next section is fairly flat until just before Tag 7 when it gets very steep and is a carry. Once at the top, rejoice as your climbing is over.

The descent from Tag 7 to 8 is relatively straight forward with just a few loose sections to test you. At Tag 8 there are two junctions take the straight on route both times. From here down to Achnashellach is the best part of the ride with switchbacks, slickrock, and numerous technical sections to keep you entertained. The trail levels out once you get down to the trees. We missed the right turn after Tag 9 hence the fairly long detour to get across the railway line.

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toridon loop minimal tarm

planned rout

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Torridon Monster

Very Hard.