Boreraig, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Distance 22.3km (13.9 miles) Climbing 540m (1,772ft) Time 2hrs to 3hrs 30mins

Route summary: A lovely ride out to a quiet and remote coastline with some fun technical trails, on an often-overlooked route. Start/finish: Roadside parking on the B8083 (postcode IV49 9AB, grid ref NG 636/228)

1

Go over the road and through a single gate, off-road on a gravel path. Follow this right and then keep ahead/left for nearly 3km, passing through a gate and bearing left, uphill on a wider track.

2

Continue on this easy-to-follow track, over the top of the hill and then down to the coast, passing the ruins of Boreraig. The trail is grassy and faint, but just keep ahead.

3

By the coastline, turn right, riding parallel to it, picking your way around and over the wet sections. The trail becomes clearer as you go, as well as rocky and technical. There are some short hike-a-bike sections in places and tricky landslides to cross, but also some nice, technical singletrack.

4

Keep following the coast until the trail eventually climbs up away from the sea, to a building beyond some walls. Bear right here and follow a rutted path, dropping down to and continuing along some doubletrack.

5

Follow this undulating trail northwards along the coast once more. Join a tarmac road that leads to the B8083. Turn right on this and follow it for 3km. Opposite a ‘passing place’ sign, go right.

6

Continue through a gate on a signposted track. Keep left at a fork, where you were earlier, and retrace your tracks back along the now slightly downhill track to the car park.

LOCATION DETAILS:

Jagged mountain peaks, glistening sea and remote, rocky trails make the Isle of Skye a stunning location for mountain bikers. Early spring or late summer are the best times to do this ride, because the weather has a good (OK, better) chance of being decent and there should be fewer midges (and tourists) around.

GETTING THERE:

The Isle of Skye is way up the west coast of Scotland, and best reached via the A87, which starts near Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, north of Fort William. Go over the Skye bridge and follow the A87 to Broadford. You can start here, as we did, or turn left on the B8083 to some layby parking on the right, opposite the gate to the off-road path. Alternatively, you can park at the far end of the route, by the beach (for a shorter route and to ride the road section first).

MAPS & BOOKS:

Ordnance Survey Landranger 32: South Skye and Cullin Hills. Scotland Mountain Biking: The Wild Trails by Phil McKane (Vertebrate Publishing).

FACILITIES:

Stay at the Broadford Hotel (01471 822204, www.broadfordhotel.co.uk). There are no refreshments on the route, but Broadford near the start has shops, a chippy, etc, including the very good Cafe Sia, offering coffee, cakes and superb pizzas (01471 822616, www.cafesia.co.uk). No bike shops are nearby.