
I had wanted to do this route for years, looking across the channel at the hills of the Mull of Kintyre and knowing they linked all the way up to Loch Ness and beyond to the Highlands. I have a friend who lives up in the highlands, and knew of a small ferry that goes from Ballycastle to Campbeltown but I was always held up by two factors:
- It takes too long – I wanted a trip I could do in a long weekend
- How would I get back? It’s not an ideal circuit trip
I wanted to see if it was possible to get from Belfast to Rogart (up in the Highlands) in three days. So I booked a flight back from Inverness airport on the Tuesday morning and set out on the Dublin to Belfast train on Friday morning, giving me 3 days plus a rest day at the end.

The pier at Carnlough, Co. Antrim
The warm up day from Belfast to Ballycastle began in torrents of rain but eventually dried up to show the Glens of Antrim at their misty best. The A2 is a lovely road on a weekday without too much traffic and spectacular views. 105kms, and I arrived in Ballycastle in time to take the wee ferry to Campbeltown.

Belfast to Ballycastle: Strava Link Here
The ferry from Ballycastle to Campbeltown is tiny. It takes just 12 passengers, and crosses the very rough North Channel in 90 minutes. I lashed my boat to the deck and hoped for the best on the choppy crossing. The bike was undamaged, and got a good soaking from the big breakers that were crashing down on deck. Once we arrived in Campbeltown I headed straight for the nearest car wash where I gave it a jet wash to get rid of all the salt. I stayed in the excellent Campbeltown Backpackers.

So, Day 1. I had to cover 210kms of very rolly roads. The first leg from Campbeltown to Tarbert takes you along the Eastern side of the Kintyre peninsula. It’s a lovely quiet road with some steady climbs and descents that keep you on your toes. In those first 60km, you’ll climb around 800metres. A good warm up for what’s to come!

Tarbert for an early lunch
After Tarbert, I left Route 78 to take a shortcut along the Eastern side of the peninsula to Loughgilpead. My first disclaimer: I didn’t follow the Route 78 religiously, as I was tied to a time limit. Sometimes I headed along more direct routes to make up time. If I had the luxury of time, I would have followed the whole thing! After Loughgilpead, I rejoined the route along the stunning Crinan Canal towpath. The sun came out of the clouds and I sped along the smooth surface of the towpath into the afternoon.

Turning inland soon thereafter, the Route 78 begins climbing along the West shore of Lough Awe. This part was a highlight for me. You’re on a single lane mountain road with a very good surface, steady climbs and steep descents. One beautiful village stood out – Dalavich – with a village store / bakery / café / Post Office that served an excellent lunch.
Getting deeper into the afternoon, I took the main road from Taynuilt to Connel Bridge, unfortunately missing out on the Royal Road and Oban (another time!). After the Connel Bridge the Route 78 really plays its trump card, meandering on and off an old railway line, through native woodlands, along rocky beach, all off road. From the bridge pretty much all the way to Corran Ferry it was beautiful cycling slowly along the route – I lost a lot of time on this section, but it was worth it.
The last 10km from where Route 78 takes the ferry across at Corran until Fort William were along very busy road, but I was well lit and kept a steady pace to finish the day after 210km and 8 hours in the saddle.

Campbeltown to Fort William. Strava Link Here
Day 2 got off to a very wet start, but it was worth it, as the route followed the Great Glen Way up Neptune’s Staircase and along the canal to Loch Lochy. On my carbon road bike with 25mm tyres, I struggled at times today with forestry tracks and some single track forest trails. They were very pretty, but I’d recommend taking 28mm tyres at least, to help you with some of the gnarlier sections.

Along the Western Shore of Loch Lochy
Along Loch Lochy is bumpy forestry track with some steep climbs, but rewarded with beautiful views of the lake. Then, the next lake is Loch Oich, where the trail again follows a deadpan flat rail-trail section, which is a little muddy. The final section to Fort Augustus is along a canal towpath where you can put in good speed and enjoy the views at the same time. While getting covered in mud.

After lunch in Fort Augustus (with hordes of tourists), you’ll follow Route 78 up an 8km steady (sometimes steep) climb on the East shore of Loch Ness. I really enjoyed this section – you feel like you’re getting away from the crowds and get views of deserted valleys and forestry along the next 50km or so to Inverness.

The view up Loch Ness

Part of the 8km climb. Pretty?

Annnnddd… the downhill!
Finally, you’ll cruise into Inverness after 110km through lush fields and get rewarded at the end of the day with some great food and beer at the Black Isle Brewery, or wherever you wish to go! Enjoy.

Last view of Loch Ness

End of the Route 78

Fortwilliam to Inverness. I kept going into the Highlands! Strava Link Here
I got my bike boxed for me at Highland Bikes in Inverness for £30. Loganair charged £10 extra for taking the bike on the plane, so it wasn’t too expensive to take the bike on the plane. All round, well worth the trip, very happy I jumped at it!
I wrote this blog post because I couldn’t find ones with reliable information on how much time you could take on this route, if you weren’t traveling at a walking pace but aren’t Mark Beaumont either! Good luck


























































































