The starting point for this is the Visitors Centre car park next to the Spar in Nethy Bridge.
For this 14 mile mainly off-road
ride of mixed views you'll need OS Map 36 and recommended also is the Trailmaps - Abernethy Map.
This is a great ride
for a summers day when the heather is out. It's not too long a ride (14 miles) but a great bit of off-roading in the quiet forest
and a bit of uphill off-roading terrain too on the way to the loch. It's also very peaceful too.
It is also an RSPB area
so please be considerate of the bird life in the area and the work that the RSPB do.
Starting from the car park, turn right and carry
on up the road past the church on your right. The road curves to the right and drops down to the Dell Of Abernethy holiday cottages,
about 1 mile from the Spar shop.
Running parallel to this site is an off-road trail that takes you into the Abernethy Forest.
Eventually you'll go up a slight rise and meet the forest logging road. Turn left here and carry on until you come to the Forest
Lodge area by the entrance to the Ryvoan Pass.
Turn left now as if you're heading back north, passing a few buildings/kennels
on the left. Go downhill and at the bottom of the hill is a field. Turn right here and cross the bridge over the river
and head off into the forest. Not long after entering the woods there is a right turn. In front of you is a hill track but turn
right and now begins a longish climb on a great hardcore track. Take time to enjoy the views as mountains come into view, then
different mountains appear.
After 1.25 miles upbank you come to a 3 way junction. Continue to the left and uphill again. A bit
higher up is a stream crossing the road. It is crossable if you pick your spot carefully (left hand side). Make a mental note
of the single track on your left not far after the stream - this is the return route. Still more upbank and after passing through
a clearing with great views the loch will come into view. Continue along the trail until reaching the north east end of
the loch - a great place for lunch.
Return the same way until you reach the single track before the burn. Turn right on to this
track. It can be a bit muddy in places and please be sensitive to the habitat. It's great fun to ride through here.
You eventually reach a sort of vague junction where you can continue left downhill and back to the bridge near Forest Lodge or preferably
turn right on a not so obvious bit of single track. If you miss this turn you can pick it up again at the bottom of the hill
by turning right.
This brings you out of the forest and onto the moor where you will see a high wooden gate. Go through this
and cross the burn if it's passable. (If the burn is too deep, come back through the gate and head right down to the Forest
Lodge area bridge and see variation (1) below.) Push up the grass bank and then head straight on until reaching a junction of metal
gates. Turn right on the widest trail to the farm, across the little stream, through the gate and turn left. This will
take you back to Nethy Bridge to the main road by the golf course. Turn left for Nethy.
Variation {1}
Take the single track downhill
bit that brings you back to the bridge near Forest Lodge.
Turn right here for Lyngarrie, signposted Nethy 3 miles. This trail
runs parallel to the one you used from Dell to Forest Lodge before swinging left and steeply downhill (take care on the final rocky
bits) to rejoin the Dell-Forest Lodge trail. Turn right again to return to Nethy Bridge and the starting point.
Extending the
ride.
You can continue after the end of Loch a Chnuic for miles & miles on rougher terrain. You simply need to find suitable
river crossings!
