The following is a brief summary of the key details for Cycle Routes in Scotland : Loch Tummel & Kinloch Rannoch.
DISTANCE : 41 mls., circular & linear
TERRAIN : Hilly
TOTAL ASCENT : 3,386 ft.
START & FINISH : Car park in Pitlochry
This route is one of the cycle routes in Scotland that I have cycled over the years. Some of the other routes I have cycled over the years are listed in the page “Cycle Routes in Scotland”. (Click here to go to this page.)
Route Map
Route map for Pitlochry - Loch Tummel - Kinloch Rannoch by E-Bike Cyclist.scot on plotaroute.com
The map above is an interactive map so if you press “Play” (click on the white triangle in the middle of the screen) you can zoom in or out by pressing the buttons that appear in the top left of the screen, and you can move the map by dragging it. Once you press Play the hills profile of the route will appear at the bottom of the map. You can get further comprehensive detailed analysis of the hill profile by clicking on “More Detailed Profile” at the top left of the hills profile section. You can also select full screen mode by clicking on the icon in the top right corner of the map.
Route Details -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Loch Tummel & Kinloch Rannoch
Pitlochry
The route starts in the picturesque village of Pitlochry in Perthshire.
Pitlochry is a bustling tourist town with a busy main street. It has lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels catering for the busy tourist trade. The main street is very picturesque, with lots of flowers and hanging baskets.
In Pitlochry park in the Rie Achan Road Car Park, which is just off the main road and just along from the train station.
Pitlochry - Queen's View
Leave the car park and cycle up to the main street and turn left. Cycle along this road, which becomes the A924, for a short distance. Then, where the A924 turns right to join the A9, turn left onto the B8019 road.
Further along follow this road as it turns sharply left onto the bridge over the River Garry. The road then winds it’s way gradually up towards Loch Tummel. There then follows a steep climb up to the Queens View Visitors Centre.
The Visitors Centre is located just down from an observation platform where there are fantastic views all the way up and down Loch Tummel, with the hill called Schiehallion in the background.
At the visitors centre there is a cafe with an outdoor eating area, a shop and toilets.
There are also information boards describing the history of Queen’s View.
Queen's View - Strathtummel
Leave Queen’s View and cycle on and you will soon came to the small village of Strathtummel.
The main building here is the Strathtummel Hotel.
Strathtummel - Tummel Bridge
Cycle on until you reach the small village of Tummel Bridge. Although the village is small there is a large caravan park there called The Tummel Valley Holiday Park.
At the holiday park there is a convenience store and a bar / restaurant. Round the back of the reception and restaurant building there are picnic tables.
Cycle along to the end of the village. Here there is the old bridge over the River Tummel. This bridge is now closed to traffic and has been replaced by a single track metal bridge. Round the corner from the bridge there is a small car park.
Tummel Bridge - Kinloch Rannoch
At the old bridge at the end of the village turn right.
After leaving Tummel Bridge the road climbs steadily up and then there is a bit of a descent. Thereafter the road is undulating until it reaches Kinloch Rannoch.
At Kinloch Rannoch there are benches in the pretty village square, where you can stop for a well earned rest
In Kinloch Rannoch there is also a hotel, a cafe and, to the left across the river, a village store.
Kinloch Rannoch - Tummel Bridge
The return journey to Tummel Bridge is dominated by fine views of the hill called Schiehallion. It’s a hill that is very popular with hill walkers. It is one of Scotland’s mountains that are over 3,000 feet high and which are called Munros.
On returning to Tummel Bridge turn right onto the single track metal bridge over the River Tummel. This leads onto Loch Tummel’s minor southern road, the B846.
Tummel Bridge - Clunie Arch
Cycle inland along the B846 road until a junction signposted Foss is reached. Here turn left. The road then heads back towards the loch and then hugs the shoreline of the loch.
There are a few bays along the shore with grassy verges, where you can stop for a rest. At these spots there are great views up and down the loch.
Continue cycling alongside the shore of the loch and then the road climbs up to the Clunie Dam. It continues climbing after reaching the dam and then there is a welcome descent.
Part way down the descent there is a monument called the Clunie Arch. This arch honours the men who died while building a tunnel to feed the Clunie power station in the late 1940’s.
There are a couple of information boards at the Arch giving details of the men who worked on the tunnel and those who died. There are also details of the hydro scheme, etc.
Route Alternatives -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Loch Tummel & Kinloch Rannoch
One alternative would be to omit the linear section from Tummel Bridge to Kinloch Rannoch. This would leave a circular route around Loch Tummel of about 26 miles.
If you want to avoid parking in the busy tourist village of Pitlochry you could start and end the route in Tummel Bridge. There is a small car park there, just past the bridge.
Cafe / Toilet Stops -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Loch Tummel & Kinloch Rannoch
Pitlochry is a bustling tourist town with a busy main street. It has lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels catering for the busy tourist trade. There are public toilets just along from the Rie Achan Road car park.
There is a visitors centre at Queen’s View on the B8019 road to Loch Tummel. At the visitors centre there is a cafe with an outdoor eating area, a shop and toilets.
In the small village of Strathtummel, on the road alongside the loch, there is the Strathtummel Hotel.
At the small village of Tummel Bridge there is a large caravan park called the Tummel Valley Holiday Park. At the holiday park there is a convenience store and a bar / restaurant.
In the village of Kinloch Rannoch, at the end of the route, there is a hotel, a cafe and, to the left across the river, a village store.
There are no facilities on the southern road back to Pitlochry from Tummel Bridge.
Train Options -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Loch Tummel & Kinloch Rannoch
There is a train station in the centre of Pitlochry at Station Road, PH16 5AN.
If you want to access the start of the route by train your options to do so will of course depend on where you live and what train lines are nearby and where they run to, which each person will need to investigate for themselves. For a website that can help with this click on the following website address : https://www.thetrainline.com.