Print page
Cycling at Loch Gruinart
10 June 2009
)
With wildlife abundant, cycling the small roads of Islay can be very satisfying.
A particular favourite for some is the cycle from Uiskentuie on the A847 along the B8017 to the RSPB Loch Gruinart visitor centre and then on to Ardnave (a total of 7.5 miles, or 12 km, one way).
Just two miles into the ride you are surrounded by birds as you cross the Gruinart Flats, in the spring: lapwings, redshanks, curlews and snipe, in the summer: the sound of corncrakes reverberates and in the winter, thousands of Greenland barnacle geese fill the fields.
Stop at the RSPB visitor centre for a coffee and visit the hide. Then head north, from the visitor centre, through more areas of the nature reserve and eventually to Ardnave Loch.
You pass the beautiful Celtic chapel ruins and cross at Kilnave on the journey. At Ardnave you can walk to the many beaches and enjoy the sight and sound of choughs in stunning scenery.
This ride can be linked with many circular routes, done as a return journey or as part of a huge Islay tour.