HT550 northern loops part 1

HT550 northern loops

Here’s the first part of our recent adventure on the HT550. We decided to ride the top two northern loops, partly as we had two weeks and wanted to go to Torridon too, but also because I’d ridden most of the southern loop before and North is better right?? 😂

In our normal style we weren’t trying to do it fast, just enjoying the landscapes we were moving through, stopping to look at things and wanted to have the occasional mini adventure away from riding. We were aiming for about 40 miles a day.

We actually went to Torridon first and had a brilliant wildcamp on the summit of Beinn Alligin. Decided to start the ride from Cannich which turned out to be a great plan as the campsite there was fantastic. Great staff, great cafe and we could leave the van there for a small charge.

The first few days were following the An Turas Mor route which I’ve ridden before, although it was Richard’s first time. Really nice to ride through familiar territory.

We camped at Loch Garve the first night and just past Oykel bridge the second and Glen Golly on the third. Both camps were by the water which is a luxury we don’t have in the summer. The weather was pretty mixed the first half of our trip. Much colder than I was expecting with regular snow, hail and rain storms. Most nights it was below freezing too. So, overall pretty glad we brought winter gear!

The turn off to Glen Golly marked new ground for me. I’ve heard that it is a tough section and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a rough and steep track in places but also very beautiful. Unfortunately it absolutely hammered down with rain for the last few hours of the day and by the time we got to our campsite we were both cold and wet. It was a bit of a bleak few hours for me and I have to admit to feeling pretty down at that point. We set up in the pissing rain and retired to our tents to warm up. It took me a couple of hours and several cups of tea to recover!!

I hope that you enjoy sharing the journey with us. 😁