Cycling and mountain biking
Cycle touring is a great way to explore Skye and Broadford’s facilities make it an excellent rest and recovery spot. It also has a great array of possibilities for the off-roader and there is much to be discovered.
It must be said that for a few years before coming to Skye, our household was cycling daft. The boys were transported about every day in a cycle trailer and Vanessa did a forty-seven kilometre bike commute to work; even in the winter, when studded tyres had to be deployed. We got into doing the local sportive cycle event around Perthshire and were cycling about fifteen thousand kilometres per year.
Cycling is a wee bit more challenging here on Skye than on the numerous, quiet lanes of Perthshire. The roads can get very busy in high season and large campervans will regularly squeeze you into the verge. There are also quite a few potholed, single track roads here that are major routes to popular destinations such as Elgol. However, I can say that there are still some roads that are fine for the road cyclist in the south of the island and our favourite is actually a main road that runs from Broadford down to Armadale. It’s nice and wide, with a paved verge, and tends only to get busy when the ferry has come in. So if you ever see two cyclist going down this road early in the afternoon during the summer it’s likely to be us – wave please!
Suggested local routes and trails
Mountain Biking
There are no trails that are exclusively for MTBs on Skye and in Lochalsh, so be prepared to share your chosen route with walkers. That said, there is a good range of difficulty from easy, wide forestry tracks to more challenging singletrack.
Kyleakin: There are some laid out MTB trails above Kyleakin at Cnoc a’ Mhadaidh-ruaidh. From Broadford, turn right at the Skye Bridge roundabout to find the start of the trail. Some parts are steep and rocky.
Kinloch Forest and Leitr Fura: A wide track runs for over 5km into the forest from the road, which can be made more challenging by looping around the path to the ruined township of Leitr Fura.
The Marble Line to Boreraig and Suisnish: A sixteen mile loop that takes in some of the best of the local scenery. The ‘Marble Line’ is an old railway that ran from Strath Suardal to Broadford and is excellent, easy biking (good for families). Beyond this there is a mixture of small sections of technical single track, and more straightforward riding. The main loop can be lengthened by including a detour to Old Corry, Camas na Sgianadin and on a made path through the forestry back to Broadford. For a map of the main route, click here.
Road Biking
The Sleat Loop: A lovely, rolling 27 miles route from Broadford to Duisdale, Kilbeg, Tarskavaig, Tokavaig and Ord. Then back to Broadford to for lunch!
Kylerhea and Mam Ratagan: A route of about 45 miles over two stunning mountain passes. Watch out for some not-so-nice traffic on the A87, though. You might want to try and time your ride to avoid the main road during peak traffic.
