Let's Go Outside: Enjoy top views without getting all out of puff

Sep 5 2008 by Our Correspondent, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

IT’S the up bit that puts many people off mountain biking. Being magically transported to the top of a mountain puts a new complexion on the sport.

That’s the joy of Highland Safaris new offering – Drop at the Top Cycle Safaris. It involves driving cyclists high into the hills, so they can ride back to the Safari Lodge. While cruising downhill, you can take the time to look at the view and enjoy the breeze in your face.

Earlier this month, Donald Riddell, owner of Highland Safaris, invited me to visit the Safari Lodge at Dull near Aberfeldy and try one of their routes. He would supply the transport and maps, all I needed to bring was my bike – and he could supply that as well if it was more convenient.

The sun was shining when I arrived and met my companions for the morning, 10-year-old William Hooper and his father Justin. They were from Hampshire and staying in Aberfeldy on holiday. He and his father were trying the range of activities available locally, from gorge walking to mountain biking.

Because there were only three of us, Donald put our bikes on a rack on the back of a land rover, instead of using their purpose built trailer, which carries up to 12 bikes. He explained, as we drove up a forest track, that cyclists are more likely than walkers to see deer and other wildlife, as they often don’t hear bikes coming.

“Just about anyone can grab a bike and have a nice time out on the mountain,” Donald added. “You don’t have to be really fit and slog all the way up there.”

When I walked the Loch Farleyer route earlier in the summer (PA, 20 June 2008), I met two separate mountain bikers, both of whom had slogged all the way up the hill to complete the circuit. I admired their efforts, but knew I would never enjoy the prolonged effort of pushing a bike uphill for a few miles to get there. (I think they had actually ridden up, but the gradient would have defeated me).

Donald drove us up the steep south face of Strath Tay until the track levelled off in high pasture somewhere above Aberfeldy. When he stopped and took the bikes off the rack we initially stood and revelled in the wonderful bird’s-eye panorama over the toy-town below us, where the most obvious features were the new school under construction and a tongue of woodland bisecting the houses – the Birks of Aberfeldy.

We were doing the Glassie Loch route and Donald gave us maps in waterproof sleeves with the tracks to ride marked in red. He suggested that we take the spur to Glassie Loch itself, for a view over the forest-encircled water. Another option was to ride out to Rawer, a ruined farm, for a particularly good view, but the penalty for that was a “slog back up the hill to the junction”.

The first part of the ride was actually gently uphill (this wasn’t what it said on the box!), but it proved a useful warm up. We weren’t whizzing along at speed so had a chance to tune into our surroundings and spot the buzzard flying overhead.

We stopped at Glassie Loch to drink in the view while enjoying some refreshments. By this time, I had discovered that 10-year-old boys have two speeds: flat out or stop. William found several large puddles and I learnt that it didn’t pay to be just behind him as he zoomed through them.

The next mile was easy riding on a broad track through spruce forest, with only limited views. William was out in front and picking up speed as the downhill gradient increased. The wind whistled in my ears as I freewheeled after the distant wee figure. We only stopped when we got another stunning view, not only over the River Tay to Aberfeldy, but all the way upriver to Loch Tay and the Lawers range of mountains. I noticed that we had stopped beside a ruin and gradually it dawned on us that we had missed our turning and arrived at Rawer.

Although unplanned, the half-mile ride back uphill wasn’t too bad. Travelling more slowly, we easily saw the small red arrow that Donald had used to mark the route. We turned on to the narrower, grassy track we should have been on and enjoyed a stretch of riding that required a bit more concentration. The track was rutted, with occasional roots and rocks, so we needed to watch where we steered our front wheels.

After bouncing down a steep, rough section, we turned into a cool shady ride and emerged beside a cottage with its own little wind turbine at the start of a long diagonal track that would take us all the way back downhill. Left to my own devices I would have taken this quite slowly, looking at what was around me. But boys being boys, William was off at top speed with Justin and me trailing in his wake.

In no time, we were sailing through pretty Camserney and turning on to the B846 for the last half-mile back to Dull. Once at the Safari Lodge, William kindly cleaned our bikes at the handy bike wash, while giving me his verdict on the ride: “It was good fun, I would do it again.”

The exertion level had been quite low, but we had ridden several miles and it felt like a decent outing – certainly enough to work up a keen appetite. Fortunately, the Food for Thought café was at hand at the Safari Lodge for a tasty and satisfying lunch. Over homemade soup and a venison burger, I asked Donald how he and his wife Julie came up with the idea for Drop at the Top.

“Julie goes out with a local group of mountain bikers,” he explained. “They go all over these tracks, so she knew the routes. But it wasn’t until the Etape came here again that we decided to cater more for cyclists.”

Core paths in the Upper Tay area, Highland Safaris are centrally placed as start/stopping off points. Road cyclists can arrive on National Cycle Route 7 or other quiet country roads while would-be mountain bikers can take the easy option of Drop at the Top.

Timings

Drummond/Glassie/Dull Each day except Sundays; departing 11:00

Glen Lyon Mondays/Saturdays; departing 10:00

Costs

Bike hire £25 per person per day

Glen Lyon route £15 per person (minimum of 4); £12 per person (5 to 8 people)

Shorter routes £10 per person (minimum of 2); £7.50 per person (3 to 8 people)

Bookings and enquiries

Highland Safaris, Aberfeldy, Perthshire, PH15 2JQ

Tel: 01887 820071

info@highlandadventuresafaris.co.uk

www.highlandadventuresafaris.co.uk