Great Glen Cycle Way

Experiencing the Great Glen from the saddle of a bike is something that any mountain biker will enjoy. The long stretches of tow-path make for relaxed riding while the single track and fire road provide more of a challenge. With such stunning views and scenery, the challenge is always a worthwhile one.

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way in Scotland, the world renown Tour Du Mont Blanc and Germany's Moselle Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Mountain Biking | Mountain Biking

Solo Travellers

The minimum age for this tour is: 16 Years

This tour is graded moderate to strenuous due to the tough climbs involved and steep descents. The grade is determined on the basis of the entire trip. Individual days may vary in terms of difficulty, i.e. some rides may be slightly more difficult or easier than the overall grade. You'll ride on canal path, singletrack, forestry road and minor roads. The route is waymarked and there are some challenging sections where the route climbs high above the banks of Loch Ness. A mountain bike is required for this route.

This tour is for regular fit cyclists seeking an active holiday and who don't mind spending much of the day in the saddle. The cycleway does have some steep climbs and descents so you should have experience of this type of off road riding. The length of the daily rides varies between 31-49 km and the difference in daily elevation gain/loss lies between 284m/231m and 681m/732m.

One of the highlights of this tour is the high standard of the accommodation. You will stay in carefully selected 3 or 4 star B&B’s, guesthouses, country pubs and small hotels. A delicious breakfast is always included. You can see a list of some of the accommodations that we use for the trip by scrolling down the page.

Single Rooms

If you require single rooms within your party we will always try and accommodate you subject to availability. A single supplement is payable.

Meals

A hearty breakfast is included each morning. Lunch and dinner are not included. Most of your accommodation will be more than happy to provide a packed lunch on request. Dinner is available either at your accommodation or at nearby pubs or restaurants.

For navigation, you will use the Macs Adventure Smartphone App, simply follow the route on your phone with the assurance that navigation will be simple, and you can’t get lost. The Great Glen Cycleway is also very well waymarked, with pale blue posts marked with a thistle guiding your way. 

This trip is available to start on any day, from April through to October. 

This trip is available between April and October. The beginning and end of the season will be cooler, although the weather is changable and can be wet at any time in Scotland.

By Air: Inverness and Glasgow Airports are the most convenient. From Inverness Airport catch a Citylink bus (2 hours) to Fort William. From Glasgow Airport take the shuttle bus into Glasgow city centre and then the train (4 hours) or bus (3 hours) to Fort William.

By Train: Between 3 and 4 trains run daily from Glasgow to Fort William and the journey takes around 4 hours. Widely regarded as one of the world’s great rail journeys this is a great way to start your trip. Visit Scotrail's website for timetables and tickets. 

Should you wish to take your bike on the train, it is no problem, but tickets must be booked in advance and they MUST be informed that you are taking a bike. The bike is free, but they need to ensure that they have space for it. You can do this online when you book your ticket.

By Bus: Scottish Citylink operates up to 8 departures per day from Glasgow to Fortwilliam (3 hours) and up to 8 buses per day from Inverness (2 hours) to Fort William. Visit Scottish Citylink's website for timetables and tickets. Bikes are not usually permitted on the buses - if you do need to take it on the bus then you should look to having it in a box. Please see the specific bus website for further details. 

By Car: Fort William is 100 miles (approx. 3 hours) north of Glasgow on the A82. Parking (not secure) is available in Fort William. You can sometimes leave your car at the properties we use in Fort William, but please request this at the time of booking.

Journey Planning: If travelling by public transport the website www.travelinescotland.com has an excellent journey planner.

Inverness has excellent transport links by road, rail and air to destinations throughout Scotland and the UK. Use the websites listed above for timetables and tickets.

Daily door to door baggage transfer is included in the cost of your holiday. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 18kg per person.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.