[Closed] Ben Alder and Culra route

Definitely do it anti-clockwise. I've done Ben Alder Cottage to Culra three times and always that way. Not done the lochside trail though, I think it's always been mostly rideable apart from that one section above the slabs. Lots of drainage channels on the initial part of the climb up from BA Cottage.

More info on this blog - http://philsbikepacking.blogspot.com/2019/09/ben-alder-bike-rides.html

Bookmarking as I hope to do this beginning of August ( anyone fancy joining me?)

I would like to do it - Dalwhinnie, Ben Alder Lodge, then Lochside all the way to Ben Alder Cottage, Bealach Cumhain and Bealach Dubh, Culra Bothy, Ben Alder Lodge and back lochside.

Gah!, sorry, I meant do it clockwise, doh! Brain's gone in this heat! Ben Alder Cottage to Loch Pattack is part of the HT550 route, that's definitely going clockwise.

The lochside section NE from Ben Alder Cottage heading towards the big Ben Alder Lodge (castle) is basically horrid and I'd suggest not worth it. A thorough waste of a good day out in my view. Best use of eth trails here, in my humble opinion, is to go in to Culra from BA Lodge, along the singletrack option rather than via the bridge alongside Loch Pattack. Head west up to the Bealach Dubh, over, then SE to ben Alder Cottage (the bothy). From there, it's a hour and a quarter carry northwards up to the high pass, down past the loch and then the lovely flowing singletrack back to Culra. Apart from the carry, this route option flows really well; most of the climb from Culra westwards is rideable, barring the last 400m.

While you could ride this by going SW from BA Lodge to BA Cottage, then NW up to the Bealach Dubh, over eastwards to Culra, that section along the side of Loch Ericht for me is a deal breaker. It's grassy, slow and dull and then for the last km to the bothy, it's steeply angled slabs and overgrown clambers among young birch, with options for falling into the loch.

Done it anti-clockwise like highlandman describes - that is the classic way from Dalwhinnie AFAIK. Even if the lochside track wasn't bad you'd be losing major epic-ness by skipping the Bealach Breabag.

You do need to steel yourself for the Breabag hike up, or at least I had to. It's 500 m vert ascent so a decent pull.

Did it today. Suoer smooth, like hard packed Alp Dhuez or Les Deux Alpes trail, from the dam along to the castle/lodge. On the way back I realised it had 3 'bonus climbs'.

Nice singletrack down from the estate road - just past the wooden bridge on the climb up from the Castle.

Lochside Singletrack North heading South West
This was 8.32 miles and 212ft ht difference so a mainly middle chainring ride. All 6-12 inches, built but mainly light grass on top. A couple of 10m pushes up. As the loch was low, I skipped most of the slabs section just before the bothy by going along the shore. Deer fence had swing gates.

Ben Alder Cottage up to the Bealach Dubh
This was hard and I slammed my back tyre trying to do a large water bar (which I should have walked over) which burst about 2 inches of my rear tyre just in from the clincher. Annoyingly this was 5 water bars up from the Bothy. It was then push/ride/push ride all the way to the top of the Belacah Clamhain. Then a beast of a final push to the top of Bealach Dubh, from the bothy up to here had no wind and it was a furnace, I suffered and my heart rate topped out (was wearing a wahoo tickr), but pushed on to the Bealach and a desreved handful of jelly beans and water. Plenty water though at burns for drinking.

Bealach Dubh to Culra
This was up and down and I slowed for every water bar to avoid bursting my tyre. Once at the 'fords' marked on the OS map it smoothed out with no ups and downs. From the bothy all the way to just short of Culra was perfect narrow stony singletrack, the guy who maintans it and the lochside trail, is a trailrunner. An estate worker told me.

Culra to Dalwhinnie
I tool the doubletrack to the loch, contoured round on the good estate track, wee suspension bridge. Was nice to see two ponies standing on the water just cooling themselves. Then a gradual climb up then srop down to the Castle/lodge.

Strava - Distance 33.16miles, Time 8:12:12, Ascent 3,063ft, Relative effort 1271
Food - Grangemouth McD 2 Hash browns, 1 egg mcmuffin, On Ride - 48 jelly beans, two flapjacks, 2 bottles flat lucozade orange, 3ltrs + water.

Would I do it again ? Well the up/down nature of the singletrack and waterbars probably makes me say no, but the 8 miles of lochside singletrack, solitude and views ....................

Strava – Distance 33.16miles, Time 8:12:12, Ascent 3,063ft, Relative effort 1271
Food – Grangemouth McD 2 Hash browns, 1 egg mcmuffin, On Ride – 48 jelly beans, two flapjacks, 2 bottles flat lucozade orange, 3ltrs + water.

I call bullshit 😃 there is no way on god's earth that anyone can cycle for eight hours on 48 jelly beans, flapjacks & liquid !
Are you some sort of cyborg?
I'd have needed all that just to drive from Grangemouth to Dalwhinnie.

But s'riously, sounds like an excellent ride. Just need to remember to annotate by VB book with all the key info before I go up in August.

Jelly babies, my arse.

I did the same ride in 2012 BS (before Strava) can't believe It's 'only' 3016 ft of ascent in 33 miles, felt a lot more & that climb/push from the cottage IS brutal. Top of the Bealach Dubh......

https://flic.kr/p/bsVoQy

We did the Ardverikie loop next day, which was nice.

6hrs moving time, 8hrs total ride.

Sounds like a route we did not long ago - anti-clockwise.
https://www.strava.com/activities/5384236997

The shoogly bridge was a highlight!

I did the same route but the other way round.

Strava route

Linky no worky

Try it now, just made it 'everyone' on the activity setting.

👍

Would like to give that direction a go, though the strong prevailing winds on the day we did it meant ACW was best option with a headwind outward and a tailwind back. Descents had distracting headwinds though which kinda spoiled them.