The ‘Cougie Loop’ makes an interesting (if boggy) mountain biking route, above one of the most spectacular glens in Scotland.

Mountain biking in Scotland often involves remote and spectacular scenery and the Cougie Loop is no exception. The weather conditions when I rode it weren’t exactly stellar, so I started at the upper carpark, near Affric Lodge. This meant riding clockwise, with the wilder descent to finish. The Cougie Loop lies within the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland.

Impressive forest and famous dogs

The beautiful mountain and forest scenery includes sections of extensive replanting, with lots of work being done to restore native trees. In contrast, the old estate near Plodda Falls holds stands of massive Douglas Fir – a North American species. Forestry and Land Scotland are evidently keen to preserve these in memory of their 19th Century planter, Lord Tweedmouth. Apparently, when Lord Tweedmouth wasn’t planting trees or being an admiral, he was developing the Golden Retriever dog breed.

Following the fall line

When I rode the Cougie Loop, there was a fair bit of forestry work on the section above Guisachan ruin, with lengthy diversions in place. I had a sniff along an interesting loop between Garve bridge and Plodda falls. This section presented both a boggy mess blocked with trees and a wicked, technical steep path with astounding waterfall views.

I’m not a fan of chewing up boggy paths, so it was only the last bit that really interested me. Despite this being Scotland, with our famous ‘right of responsible access’, it’s worth keeping in mind that this is firstly a Forestry and Land Scotland path built for walkers. So riding in control and respecting other path users is the order of the day. After this came a scenic slog up quiet tracks, heading for the remotest part of the ride.

Wet and wild terrain

The highest section on the route is an undulating mountain track with great views. The Cougie Loop doesn’t feature much technical terrain from an MTB point of view. However, a mechanical or injury on the higher section would leave you pretty exposed to the weather. And just to make the point, the nearby Loch na Caillich is named after the Gaelic witch of storms…

you’d be well advised to take a camera and a sense of humour on this one

The descent down to Glen Affric looked awesome on paper. But today it turned out to be a bit soggy and lacking in flow, unfortunately.

Kenny Wilson includes the Cougie Loop in his ‘Mountainbike Scotland – The Highlands’.

The variety provided by this day is sufficient reason
for it to be savoured on its own

Kenny Wilson, ‘Mountainbike Scotland-The Highlands’

Judging from some online reviews, it seems like I’m not the first person to find some parts of his routes more ‘hikey than ‘bikey’. Although, to be fair, he does recommend picking dry conditions!

I met a spicy mix of steep, wet techy sections, interspersed with bike eating bogs and a wrecked, rusty (but still pretty sturdy-looking) fence right alongside the trail. The tangles of steel wire hidden throughout the heather were a nice touch too. Still, the pineforest all around was gorgeous.

The off piste bog descent finished happily at the vehicle track alongside Loch Beinn a’Mheadhoin (Loch of the middle hill). I breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed a fast and scenic blast back to the car, through one of the most beautiful glens in the Highlands.

The Cougie Loop: classic Highlands riding

To summarise, you’d be well advised to take a camera and a sense of humour on this one. If you hit it in dryish weather you will hopefully get the best of the mega views and the descent will also be more fun and sustainable. If it’s dreich (wet), you might be better off riding the route in reverse, meaning a push/carry up the boggy bit and a fast, reliable descent on the forest roads. Three different start points also provide a few more options in the face of unpredictable weather and trail conditions.

I mentioned before that this is the home of the golden retriever. Seems to me that riders here would benefit from having the mindset of a retriever: enjoy the water and don’t take it all too seriously.

Read more: Mountain biking in Scotland .