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Thinking about adding to a gravel route, with intention of dropping back into village via dam and aquaduct.
What's the pipeline path like? Squashy mess, overgrown, easily gravel bike-able?
Will hie over to Geograph in the meantime...
Is this the one that comes from Mamoré Lodge eastwards to the dam? To the north of Kinloch?
If so, don't, ever. It's shit. I ignored advice here and did it anyway. It was gash.
I think so, although it doesn't actually reach Mamore lodge, but the track uphill of it.
It looks pretty poor on Geograph too, would be riding with folks probably pretty intolerant to faffing and hike-a-bike!
Sorry . I'm a pluke. The track I describe above is the track that gets to the start of the pipeline track. The track in my first post is fine.
The track leading south of loch eilde mor past letir Bo fionn then east to blackwater is pants.
Sucks
Righto. Found my old post, which I think relates to the pipeline path. You have to hunt for the usefull bits on amongst the dross about skiing sluffy gullies 🙄
Not sure what trail you mean? There's one which I've heard called the old pipeline path, which comes off the Mamore Lodge road somewhere above the wee farmhouses, then runs across the west end of loch eilde mor and around the east side of meall an doire dairaich then curves around the west and south of what I think is meall na duibh? Eventually links into the very top of the ciaran path right by the dam, is it that one? If so, I've only ridden it in snow but it was fairly nice. Mostly a landrover track though there's some very sloppy higher and lower options at times.
The OS map has Leiter Bo Fionn marked beside it but I think that's something like "Fionn's wet hill" rather than a trail name? Which it definitely is. There's a walker's path that carves steeply down by the waterfall and meets the Ciaran path which frankly is hard enough on a big #enduro bike.
I think I must have been riding it as part of a race so maybe I didn't do that last stretch to the dam.
Thinking about adding to a gravel route, with intention of dropping back into village via dam and aquaduct.
There are now security measures on the south side of the Blackwater dam preventing access if you intend to cross the dam. I've not been to the north side but I assume it'll be the same. It's these revolving pallisade spike things. Getting round them on foot would be easy, carrying a bike not so much.
There are now security measures on the south side of the Blackwater dam preventing access if you intend to cross the dam. I’ve not been to the north side but I assume it’ll be the same. It’s these revolving pallisade spike things. Getting round them on foot would be easy, carrying a bike not so much.
Booooooooooo! That was always good fun, it was (quite far down) on my bucket list to try and cross when the dam was overtopping, saw pictures of someone doing that one year, looked terrifying but amazing.
The ratio of faffage to possible rideability has now tipped firmly into 'don't bother'. I'm still debating if my buddies would even put up with the Penny's Pass descent and crossing of the Abhainn Rath...
... actually just to finish the thought, is it possible to hike under the dam? No nasty big deep overspill channels or anything?
It takes a while but it was fine when we picked our way across below the dam the other year.
It's probably ridable, if you find a good route across- I found a nice clear path down and up and almost managed to ride clean across but ended up in a wee bit of a dead end where I had to lift the bike up a rock step. Mind you, I'm sure the water levels will vary