Bike trails around Glencoe

ELECTRIC MOUNTAIN BIKING AROUND SOUTH LOCHABER

Iain Ferguson We are told electric vehicles (EVs) are the way forward and I must admit having one myself it is a whole new way of driving and going places. Owner of Craft & Things in Glencoe and Lochaber resident for more than 50 years, David Cooper, too, has found his own ‘electric dream’ leading him to a new way of getting around, except his two wheels are on an electric mountain bike.

During Covid, with the business shut down and limited opportunities to go places, he wrote a handy pocket-sized book based on his travels entitled Bike Trails (and walks) in and around Glencoe - a guide to getting out and about by mountain (e)bike (or on foot).

Despite the long title, it is a compact, easy-to-read ‘pocket-sized’ publication. He lists many of the trails, mostly easily accessible, and illustrates them with his own photographs to show not only the lay of the land, but also some of the spectacular scenery which is a great reward for the trip.

Mainly starting in Glencoe, his routes can be a full day’s travel to as little as an hour. Knowing when to go is the biggest help as he points out potential pitfalls.

Immediately his own experience of the place where things can go wrong makes the book a must, pointing out where turns and deviations may not be as crystal clear as the traveller would like.

These do help keep you, quite literally, on the right track, whether the journey be short or long.

Covering approximately 90 pages, the book is split into three main sections: section one, routes directly accessible from Sustrans Cycle Route 78, roughly around Glenachulish, Glens Duror, Salachan and Onich; section two, other routes in South Lochaber accessible without a car - Loch Leven, Pap of Glencoe, Kinlochleven, Callert and section three, routes accessible with a car - to get you to the start point - which covers Glens Crenan and Glenure, Black Corries Estate, Loch Arkaig and Lismore. These are only a few of the many destinations covered in the book and David makes it clear which are better for more experienced and capable riders and those which are less challenging, even for an electric mountain bike.

A good read and very interesting journeys revealing parts of the country that even the longest established Lochaber dweller may not be aware of. The book is priced £7.99 and is available in Crafts and Things.

90 pages, the book is split into three main sections: section one, routes directly accessible from Sustrans Cycle Route 78, roughly around Glenachulish, Glens Duror, Salachan and Onich; section two, other routes in South Lochaber accessible without a car - Loch Leven, Pap of Glencoe, Kinlochleven, Callert and section three, routes accessible with a car - to get you to the start point - which covers Glens Crenan and Glenure, Black Corries Estate, Loch Arkaig and Lismore. many destinations covered in the book and David makes