Typical Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival
Our driver will be at your nominated collection point at the agreed time to collect you, your team and all your kit. We greet you at Campbelltown, our home for the night, with a hearty meal cooked on an open fire. We will go over your Caledonia Way adventure and then leave you to sample a wee dram of local produce and rest for your big first day.
Day 2 – Campbeltown to Cairnbaan
- Approx. 5hrs
- 92km/57mi
- 1020m
Seal, dolphin and porpoise-spotting is your main job today as you cruise the coastal B842 along the Kintyre Peninsula, the majority of which is a quiet single track with many a passing place, taking you to through Rockfield. Here you turn in land and are met with fantastic views of West Loch and the hills beyond. After Redhouse you join the slightly busier A83/A816, which takes you all the way to camp near Cairnbaan.
Day 3 – Cairnbaan to Barcaldine
- Approx. 4hrs
- 80km/50mi
- 840m
Day 3 takes you past the circa 2000 year old Dunadd Fort, the Temple Wood Stone Rings and the historic Carnasserie Castle before you leave A roads behind you for another day of glorious, tree lined single track, this time with the awesome Loch Awe as your guide! Each treacherous ascent rewards you with a stunning vista on this 15 mile lochside stretch. Turning inland you cross Connel Bridge on The Falls of Lora, a popular spot with experienced kayakers. Beyond the falls you can look forward to the white sandy beaches of Loch Creran and a good rest near Barcaldine.
Day 4 – Barcaldine to Stronaba
- Approx. 4.5hrs
- 77km/48mi
- 750m
Day 4 starts with passing through the picturesque villages of Creagan and Portnacroish, before skirting the beautiful Kentallen Bay and following the banks of Loch Linde all the way to Fort William. Tonight we camp a stone’s throw away from Ben Nevis – the outdoor capital of the UK. Let us know if you fancy a break day here to climb Ben Nevis, test yourself on world class mountain bike trails, or fully embrace the foam on a white water rafting trip you won’t forget! Beyond Fort William You follow the A82 along the southern bank of Loch Lochy and the Northern bank of Loch Oich, towards Fort Augustus for the night. The A82 can be pretty busy during peak tourist season so if you’re intending on tackling the Caledonia Way in mid summer we can discuss options to route you on some quieter B roads.
Day 5 – Stronaba to Inverness
- Approx. 4hrs
- 87km/54mi
- 800m
The home not-so-straight! The final day in the saddle starts out with an epic climb on to General Wade’s Military Road, the steepest ascent of the tour which takes you to the peak of the Caledonia Way – Suidhe Viewpoint – with fantastic views of Loch Ness and beyond. The majority of the day will be spent free wheeling towards Inverness but there are still a few climbs to test your legs (this is Scotland after all), before you get to the final camp for a well deserved rest.
Day 6 – Home
Congratulatory breakfasts of Arbroath Smokies, eggs, and fresh bread all round for our Caledonian Challengists this final morning! When you are recuperated we deliver you and your kit home or to your nominated point for the rest of your jubilant recovery.
If you’d like to extend your Caledonia Way adventure there’s a myriad of options for break days, from mountain bike parks, to whitewater rafting to climbing Ben Nevis. This route is road based but there is a gravel option too, following National Cycle Route 78, which is coming soon. Get in touch and we can talk through the options to extend your stay and personalise this basic itinerary.
What’s included?
- Transport for you, your luggage and kit from/to your front door
- 2 person support team, on call incase of incident or emergency at any point during your tour
- 3 meals per day. Chosen by you from an extensive menu of locally sourced, ethical ingredients and cooked fresh each evening over an open fire
- Freshly ground coffee and/or a choice of tea with meals
- Water bottles filled each morning
- Energy boosting snacks for the day
- Beautiful 5m canvas bell tents. Pre-pitched. Furnished with real beds and winter tog duvets and linen bedding
- Routes loaded into a GPS device for the nominated team navigator and added to a backup OS Landranger map too
- Routes available in GPX/KML format, viewable on Google Maps, Strava etc. for the rest of the team
- Devices charged overnight so you are juiced up
- A Nine Yards T-shirt for the lead booker and Nine Yards tote bags for the rest of the team
What’s not included
- Alcoholic/soft drinks other than water
- Personal equipment (bike, helmet, waterproof clothes etc) – We can arrange the hire of kit, if required
- Personal travel insurance
- Personal expenses for souvenirs, pub trips etc.
If you would like a guided tour, need to hire equipment or would like to otherwise personalise the tour with add-on excursions, diversions, or any other changes, we can do that. Just get in touch via our Personalised Adventure page.
Nine Yard Tours is a boutique holiday experience provider and as such we are strictly limited in our tour capacity. This means you receive a fully flexible personalised service from our dedicated crew from start to finish. It also means once a date is booked, it’s booked and our small but mighty team is unavailable for anyone else’s luxury adventure. We sell on a first come, first served basis, so get in touch today so we can plan your most adventurous glamping experience to date
*All Preplanned Adventure routes are approximate and may vary slightly depending on campsite availability at the time of booking. We will confirm the final route when bookings are made. If there isn’t a campsite available at the end of any tour section, we will arrange transfers from the closest available site.
**Please note that all Preplanned Adventures are self-guided and participants are required to be proficient in their chosen tour method, be it cycling, hiking or paddling.
