Cycle the breadth of Scotland through the heart of the Highlands on this Bike the Great Glen Cruise. 

This 4-day cruise gives you the opportunity to cycle from one coast of Scotland to the other with our experienced guide on hand to enhance your experience with local knowledge and information. Your varied biking route follows sections of the Great Glen Way, towpaths alongside the Caledonian Canal, woodland trails, and quiet country roads high above Loch Ness and the other lochs along our journey.

With the barge as your base for the week, your accommodation moves with you, meeting you at the end of each day’s cycle so you can relax and rest in comfort before the start of the next day’s adventures.

Want a rest day or don’t want to cycle? No problem! With the barge keeping pace with the cyclists, there is every opportunity to take a day off and relax on board. Watch the beautiful scenery drift by from the comfort of the barge and see the crew working the barge through the canal locks. Take a short walk or bike ride and explore the local area at your own pace.

The total biking distance is 70 miles, broken down into rides of up to 27 miles per day. The route is on a mix of tarmac, smooth towpaths and wide but uneven forest trails. Expect some reasonably large climbs (this is the Highlands after all!), with the highest point of the cycle being approximately 300m above the lochs.

• 3 nights’ accommodation in ensuite twin cabins - single occupancy is available

• All freshly prepared meals included 

• Option to bike the Great Glen with our guide

• Bikes provided (let us know if you prefer to bring your own)

Our two converted Belgian barges are called Fingal of Caledonia and Ros Crana. Both can carry up to 12 guests in comfortable, ensuite cabins, with a shared dining and living area.

Access to the barges is via a short ladder or stairway on Fingal and via a step on Ros Crana with a further stairway leading down to the accommodation. These have good handrails and we are very used to helping people up and down, but the boats are in no way wheelchair accessible. Occasionally when we are at anchor, access to and from the shore is by our smaller RIB support boat. Access to this boat is by a short ladder from the deck.

For more information on our barges: click here to learn about Ros Crana, and click here to learn about Fingal of Caledonia.

With just twelve guests on board, we make a four day-long journey along the Great Glen. Following the Caledonian Canal, Loch Ness, Loch Lochy and Loch Oich, we traverse the North of Scotland from coast to coast between Fort William and Inverness.

The unhurried pace allows plenty of time to relax and enjoy the area as the barge remains stationary for part of each day and every evening. During your stay you have the opportunity to step off the barge to explore our beautiful surroundings. There are woodland and riverside walks, castles and places of interest to visit, mountains galore, towpaths and off-road tracks for cycling. 

Depending on the cruise you have chosen, there might also be the opportunity for some watersports. Quiet canal reaches, rivers, shallow bays or more challenging stretches of open water give us a variety of options each day. The activity options depend on where we are, what you would like to do, your chosen cruise and of course the weather conditions.

In the evening, we all get back together over a fantastic freshly made meal, share stories of our adventures and make plans for the following day. At mealtimes all guests and crew sit together around a large table.

For more information about life on board, click here.

On making your reservation we will confirm the booking upon receipt of a 25% non-refundable deposit, with the balance payable 63 days (9 weeks) before the cruise start date.

For further information on our Terms and Conditions please click here.

This cruise starts in Banavie

This cruise is aboard Ros Crana.