Sunshine, snow on the hills, no wind - perfect for a bike and run from Laggan to the top of the Corrieyairick Pass.
Old lodge on the road out of Laggan
Garva Bridge
A trip through wonderful open countryside with hardly another soul around. Except that is for the workers on the temporary access road for the new Beaully Denny power line - this runs all the way from the Spey Dam to about a mile short of the pass itself. Surprisingly it didn't detract too much from the trip itself. The new line with bigger pylons will replace the current lower voltage line. The tarred road, following Wade's road, runs all the way from Laggan to Melgarve giving easy access to the start of the climb to the pass. Some 'improvement' work had been done on the road out of Melgarve consisting of a soft sand topping and large stone water barriers every hundred yards - both making cycling a bit awkward.
Near Megarve
'Improved road ' from Melgarve
I persisted on the bike though until the road turns into the corrie proper then put on my fell shoes for the rest of the route to the top of the pass. There was still a fair amount of snow at the head of the corrie with the final series of hairpins completely snow covered.
The Corrieyairick hairpins
On the hairpins
Great views from the top and an easy descent directly down through the snowfield took me quickly back to the bike. The early evening return trip was enhanced by the setting sun which seemed to bring out the wildlife with red deer crowding the strath all the way from Melgarve to Garva Bridge and birdlife out around the Spey Dam.
30 miles there and back (4 running).
Corrieyairick summit
