Me and 6 friends planned (I mean seriously planned) to ride the Badger Divide on the early May bank holiday weekend back in December. We chose May as it's one of the best times of the year to do this route - you avoid midgy season, it's cool and showers are less frequent than in Winter. Planning so far ahead theoretically gave us enough time to perfect our packlists and bike set ups - a key and mostly enjoyable part of any bike packing trip - but also to get some training in. We didn't want a situation that caught us out, some parts of the trip were quite remote within the central highlands. Whilst, ultimately, we knew we were never too far away from a road or a hotel, we didn't really want to be in a situation where we were forced to use one.
The route
The Badger Divide runs from Glasgow to Inverness (or reverse, as we did it) through some of the most remote and beautiful landscapes in Scotland. It traces right through the middle of the highlands past various glens and lochs, through small towns and villages. The route totals 348km off-road with 5330m of climbing.
The plan
The plan really was to enjoy it. We were doing this in a group of 7 with varying levels of ability. This would definitely be some of the hardest riding any of us had done. We would aim to complete it in 5 days: camping the 1st, 3rd, 4th night and staying in a Guesthouse BnB for the 2nd night.
Bike, bike bags and packlists
My full packlist, bike details and bag information is available on lighterpack.
We all travelled on gravel bikes with a range of tyre widths - from 35mm to 2.1in MTB tyres. All were adequate. As always, the wider the tyre the more comfy the ride, and that was true for some of the more bumpy bits. The bike I used was a Brother Mehteh in Size XS, running 2.1" 650b Vittoria Mezcals and SRAM Rival AXS XLPR. This set up has been super reliable for me over various trips and was more than adequate, even for the more technical sections of the Badger Divide which verged into MTB territory.
My packlist is your best bet for a full breakdown of pretty much everything I took. Getting all this stuff onto my bike is like the world's hardest jigsaw puzzle. It does all fit, promise. This is what I was telling myself the night before we went after packing and unpacking for the 15th time. All my stuff lay all over the floor, whilst I'm pondering the impossibility of it all. Everything does have its place, the more you pack and unpack this natural resting place becomes clear. Eating your way through your food tends to help too.
With an extra-small bike and the need to pack a tent big enough to fit 2 people, I've struggled at times to fit everything onto my bike. The key to all my bike bag woes has been my Tailfin, I've got the alloy pannier rack with the 18L bag. It's a cavern and perfect for these sorts of trips. I've tried a variety of racks and large saddle bags but nothing compares to the stability and spaciousness the Tailfin has provided for me.
Rough packing arrangements:
- Handlebar bag: Quilt, sleeping mat, sleeping clothes, inflatable pillow (a must-have — sleeping on a bundle of clothes is not comfy)
- Frame bag: Toiletries, electrics, spares, tent pegs, layers I need quick access to
- Top tube bag: Lube, bike lock, snacks
- Snack bag: More snacks
- Tailfin: Literally everything else (tent, spare clothes, warm layers)
Getting there
Getting to Glasgow from Manchester with your bikes is fairly straightforward. They're frequent and cheap. Going in a bigger group means you're likely to run into issues booking your bike reservation spots. We've had issues before where we've not been able to get on trains without these being booked. With that in mind, for this trip we opted not to risk chancing it and all piling on the same train. Instead, we booked 2 separate trains and all had our bike reservation tickets. We got a train from Manchester Airport direct to Glasgow, which ran through Manchester Piccadilly where we picked up our friends along the way.
Day by day
Day 1 - Glasgow to Loch Venachar
The first day starting in Glasgow, we had great weather pretty much all day. This was a pleasant surprise, we'd come decked out with full rain gear just in case. We arrived midday, with our meeting spot being the outdoor shop Tiso. It had everything we needed: outdoor gear and a coffee shop in one. What more could you need. We all grabbed a coffee and filled up on buttery tattie scones. Then we were off.
The route out of Glasgow was surprisingly pleasant, we were expecting a rough start along some roads out of the city. Instead, we found ourselves winding our way along the Kelvin walkway next to the River Kelvin pretty much straight away. eventually joining the West Highland Way with the Highlands in our sights. Our first stop was the Beech Tree which provided a much needed water refill, coke and some cake. After that, we didn't stop much at all. We meandered through Gartmore atop some top tier gravel, up and into the forest. Past a waterfall. Saw a dead snake. Then into Aberfoyle, a quick stop at the coop and there were already talks of what we were having for dinner. Callander had a fish and chip shop that was closing at 8pm, we had just enough time to get there and order our food before finding a camp spot for the night. Coming into Callander we went past our first loch, Loch Venachar. A huge loch that was popular with campervans, watersports and swimming. The moment we arrived in Callander, we scoffed our faces with 2 fish and a large chips each, accompanied by a soft drink of your choosing. Sat in the centre of Callander and reflected on the day.
Prior to the trip we'd booked a camping permit for the region around Callander, which at £4.50 was reasonable. It meant we were able to camp alongside Loch Venachar. After a bit of camp site hunting, we found a nice spot right next to the loch in some woods. We weren't alone however, there was a large group camping around 100 metres away from us. They were blasting some questionable music out their speaker till around 11pm but sleeping wasn't an issue since we were knackered from the long day spent travelling and cycling.
Day 2 - Loch Venachar to Loch Rannoch
We awoke to good weather once again. Had a slow morning, a few friends having a dip in the lake and breakfast. Today we were heading from Loch Venachar to Loch Rannoch, where I'd booked us a bed and breakfast at the Bridge of Gaur Guesthouse. By 10:30am we'd packed away and tidied up, ready to set off. We were all super excited to get there as this was taking us into the more remote parts of the highlands. The first leg was along a cycle path that wound around the river Garbh Uisge / River Leny until we turned off onto a steep 200m gravel climb. To which we were rewarded with a stunning view of Loch Lubnaig and the valley beyond. What followed was some of the toughest terrain of the whole trip - through the Glen Ample Forest Trail. It was relentless in its ups and downs, where the downs went into deep puddles that soaked you. There was a mutual sigh of relief once we got through the last hike-a-bike section of the trail. After a small switchback climb up to the Glen Ogle Viaduct, it was plain sailing to the coop in Killin which was our next stop.
We regrouped there, grabbed some food and headed to the public loo and decided to take the more direct route to our guesthouse B&B as we were given a 7PM arrival time in order to get food (which we very much wanted!). This was the last shop we were getting over the next day so we stocked up quite heavily on snacks and food. Instead of the longer gravel climb up Lairig Nan Lunn Pass we opted for the road route up past Ben Lawers Dam. The climb was epic and long, we all eagerly awaited who'd be the next person to crest the top of the climb.
The descent to join back up to the route on the other side was absolutely epic. We were hitting 70km/h round the long corners. We pressed on, hitting the next and final gravel climb of the day up to Kirk Pass. An absolute killer.
Everyone was silent pedalling away until we hit the top and ate some food. There was comfort in knowing it was "all downhill from here" to the guesthouse. The route continued to wind through the increasingly remote countryside, until we descended through a forest into an old village with some abandoned buildings. We then simply followed the road to the guesthouse alongside Loch Rannoch. The Bridge of Gaur guesthouse owners Heather and Eddie greeted us with welcome arms, we parked our bikes up and Eddie brought us 7 ice cold beers. The food was outstanding - standouts being the locally sourced venison and salmon. And the sticky toffee pudding of course.
Day 3 - Loch Rannoch to Luib Chonnal Bothy
Waking up in Loch Rannoch was great. Eddie and Heather had prepared a huge breakfast, which we all indulged. Our clothes were washed in the shower, cleaned and dried in our rooms. What a luxury. The forecast was looking a bit iffy, with some rain forecast towards the end of the day and into the night. We didn't really have a defined finish for today but hoped we'd stumble across a good campsite around 50-60km into the route from Loch Rannoch. Getting a shortish day in before we headed up Corrieyairack Pass and into Fort Augustus.
We set off late in the morning (again) and aimed to get into Corrour Station in time for lunch, we'd booked a table for 13:30. The first part of the route was a slow ascent all the way to Corrour on a hardpack gravel road, crossing mountain streams on old wooden bridges. It felt like we were getting increasingly remote.
The ride into Corrour Station, past Loch Ossian Youth Hostel was cool. Surrounded by snowcapped mountain peaks. It truly was in the middle of nowhere. But the station was busy. Its fence was lined with bikes, all people who were doing the route the "proper" way. Luckily we had a table booked and so were able to find our spot with ease. The food was great and we bought some knick-knacks. We then had to make a decision around what the plan was re the rain. The forecast was getting worse and it was looking like it was going to let off through the night. The idea of camping in the rain wasn't filling everyone with much joy.
We got chatting to one of the groups who was doing the route the proper way. They sold me the dream - describing a cosy bothy full of firewood, right before the Corrieyairack Pass. Perfect, the plan was now to make it there. We would push on an extra 30km to reach the Luib Chonnal Bothy. Setting off from Corrour things got increasingly remote, there was a huge gravel track and descent pretty much the whole way now. This was some of the best gravel riding I've ever done. Super wide roads, no cars, hardpacked dry gravel alongside amazing views through the Corrour Estate. A real highlight of the trip. Then the heavens opened, relentlessly. Admiring the views every 30 seconds, became more like every 10 minutes. Everyone had switched all their gear out, donned in full waterproof gear. They had their heads down battling the rain. There was hope of a nice night's sleep in the Bothy. We were all concerned that we weren't going to be the only ones with that idea and that there would be no space at the inn. The rain didn't relent, we were soaked to the core. Wrestled in and out of forest tracks. There were tonnes of deer around, in the middle of tracks or up on verges in herds. This part of the route I'm sure was incredibly scenic, it was hard to enjoy when you had sidewards rain coming at you and the night was drawing in. We stopped here and there to eat food and take shelter when the rain got really bad. But everyone was holding onto the hope this bothy was empty. After trundling down one of General Wade's military roads we arrived at the Bothy.
A huge sigh of relief from everyone when there was only a couple in there, sheltering from the rain with a small fire going.
They explained they'd stayed the night before, probably with our friends from Corrour, and that they were in the midst of completing Corbetts in the surrounding area using this bothy as a base.
We quickly unloaded our stuff and made our beds upstairs.
Then proceeded to strip off our wet clothes, hanging them up by the hearth.
The fire, albeit extremely small, we hoped should dry them out.
In the end we didn't have much firewood to keep us warm. But, being sheltered from the wind and rain was good enough for all of us. We stayed upstairs, us all in the same room. Everyone got a mediocre sleep in the end. Much better, I imagine, than what we would have otherwise had.
Day 4 - Luib Chonnal Bothy to Fort Augustus
After what can only be described as an awful night's sleep. Everyone was knackered, so we once again had a slow start to the day. Making breakfast in turns on our stoves and enjoying the morning.
We waved goodbye to our new friends, the couple, who set off early to give them a good chance of getting up the Corrieyairack Pass. Over breakfast we decided that we'd call it a day once we got to Fort Augustus and look for somewhere to stay. That way we could get a decent night's sleep, wash our clothes in a sink and enjoy the final day's push to Inverness. John, a close friend of a relative, was going to come and meet us at the bothy to climb over the pass with us - a long time dream of John's, he'd never managed to find an excuse to do it.
We finally readied ourselves for what was set to be one of the hardest bits of the route. The Corrieyairack Pass. Conditions were: misty, slight chill and very light rain. Ideal really. We would've had a lot worse, if we'd pushed on the day before. The climb up from Luib Chonnal Bothy to the base of the pass was steady and fairly technical. Lots of classic ups and downs, with descents into puddles — which featured a lot throughout this route. Despite the mist, it became evident that we'd reached the base of the pass as it basically went straight up. You could just see the first switchback.
That was right next to the heaps of snow that had started to appear. The pass's infamous switchbacks proved hard work to cycle up. Misjudge a corner and you end up veering into a huge rock and toppling off your bike. This happened a few times. Once the switchbacks finished, there was a final super steep climb that brought you to the top of the pass.
It was freezing up at the top, we were surrounded by snow. We bumped into a few riders at the top coming up the descent on the other side. I was taking refuge in the building at the top, we had a quick chat and they got a brew going using their stoves.
The descent was long and sketchy but great fun. By the end I was stopping every few minutes to relieve the cramp I was getting in my hands. It felt like it was never going to end. After a good bit of descending we came across John who had been kindly waiting for us with flapjacks to refuel.
The hard bit was now done. It was plain sailing all the way into Fort Augustus. One of our mates actually kissed the tarmac once we hit the first road for what felt like a very long time.
Fort Augustus was lovely. Sitting right at the head of Loch Ness, there's a boat lock right in the middle that allows passage of boats from Loch Oich to Loch Ness. We were spoilt for choice in terms of places to post up and get some food. In the end we opted for the pub and a few pints whilst we got stuck into finding a bike friendly hotel/airbnb for the evening. In the end, it didn't take very long. We found a self-service apartment rental block just up the road that was cheap. After our pub lunch, we headed there to shower and sort ourselves out.
We all reconvened for an evening walk around Fort Augustus, keeping one eye on the Loch at all times in case Nessie reared her head. After which we grabbed some take out pizza and sat by the Loch with a few pints. All in all a chilled day and just what we needed!
Day 5 - Fort Augustus to Inverness
The final day. Weather was great. Legs were feeling it. We'd all convinced ourselves based on the route profile that the last day was easy... but it was far from that. Genuinely one of the hilliest and not to be underestimated. However, that didn't phase us. Everyone was on a high and ready to get to Inverness no matter how much hike-a-bike up 20% climbs through a forest track there were (a lot). Whilst also being hard, it was an absolutely stunning route. It followed along the west side of Loch Ness going the full length, through all the forest trails and paths. Getting an almost panoramic view of the Loch and surrounding areas at points.
We eventually came to a stop in Drumnadrochit where we got some food and many full fat cokes at Loch Ness Beer and Craft. The last big climb of the day came straight out of Drumnadrochit. After which the rest of the route meandered high through some compact gravel tracks alongside Loch Ness before we descended into Inverness. Just as we were approaching Inverness the heavens opened. We plowed on, along the River Ness, through some housing estates and eventually hit the finish line at Inverness Castle.
