If you’re driving a long way to the Highlands, or coming from outside of the UK, we recommend arriving in Inverness the day before the tour start date to ensure that you’re ready to get going on day 1 and make the most of your ‘Espresso Adventure’ in Scotland.
Our team will be happy to help you with all your travel planning, and we have parking available at our HQ just outside Inverness.
The group will meet up at our base near Inverness, where your local guide will go through the all-important pre-trip briefing over a good cup of coffee and some cake.
You’ll get bikes built, then load up the van and head straight to the West Coast, where we’ll ride directly from our accommodation for a warm up ride around the flowing trails of the Lochalsh peninsula. We’ll enjoy spectacular views over the sea to Skye and Raasay, giving a taste of the days to come, before returning on wonderful singletrack to our accommodation. We’ll have time to freshen up, then head out to enjoy our welcome dinner together, at one of our favourite west coast pubs that specialises in local seafood.
After one of the best breakfasts in the Highlands, we leave our accommodation behind and head over to the Isle of Skye, then board a small ferry which takes us on to the Isle of Raasay. Diminutive in size, this island packs a punch when it comes to adventure riding and jaw-dropping scenery.
This small island is home to the famous “Calum’s Road.” After decades of unsuccessful campaigning by residents for a road on the north end of Raasay, and several failed grant applications, Calum decided to build the road himself. Purchasing Thomas Aitken’s manual “Road Making & Maintenance: A Practical Treatise for Engineers, Surveyors and Others,” he built the 2 mile stretch of road with his own back-breaking work.
This is an epic day on the bike with tough climbs, challenging descents and plenty of hike-a-bike but, like Calum’s efforts to build his road, it’s worth the hard work. The scenery and views you’ll experience as you turn the pedals and summit that hike-a-bike ascent are truly some of the most magnificent you’ll ever see.
After catching the ferry back to Skye, we’ll drive a short distance to our accommodation near the fishing village of Plockton, where we’ll relax with a delicious meal and some well-deserved beverages.
After another of the famous Highland breakfasts, we’ll head over the bridge to the Isle of Skye to get to know this beautiful island’s fantastic trails.
We’ll ride through the famous Glen Sligachan, in the shadow of the Cuillin mountains, all the way to a remote beach where we’ll stop for a snack, before strapping in for the ride back out. You’ll be familiar with our infamous ‘water bars’ by the end of this ride, but you’ll be rewarded with good food at the local hotel which stocks a mind-boggling array of whiskies.
Our return journey will be by way of the world’s last remaining manually-operated turntable ferry, from Skye to Glenelg. If time and energy allows we can ride a short loop in the forests and along the coast, before dinner and drinks at the Glenelg Inn and a drive back to our cosy accommodation.
For the final day of your ‘Espresso Adventure’ in Scotland, we’ll squeeze one last ride in before we head back to Inverness and your departure.
Depending on how the group is feeling, we can go big and stop in Torridon to ride Achnashellach, or we can keep things a bit more mellow with some action-packed, fun trails closer to Inverness.
Either way, you’ll leave us feeling like you’ve made the most of every moment of your time in the Highlands, island-hopping on Skye and Raasay, and enjoying the very best of Highland culture and cuisine.
Until next time!
Please note: Your MTB Tour Skye + Raasay is a living thing, being influenced by multiple factors such as changing weather conditions, group riding abilities, trail damage, to name a few. Your local guides are experts in guiding mountain bikers in the Scottish Highlands and will be continually assessing these factors and making tweaks to the itinerary where necessary to ensure that every member of the group makes the most of every moment of their ‘Espresso Adventure’ MTB Tour Skye + Raasay.