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‘Wake naturally. Ride bikes. Wild camp.” I’m in Perthshire on a three-day bikepacking trip – cycling with all my gear – and this is my itinerary for the day. For an endlessly calendar-checking parent of three, the simplicity of this schedule is almost dizzying. I feel like a child with my summer holiday stretching out ahead of me.
Comrie Croft Journeys is a new initiative from eco-camping and mountain-biking destination Comrie Croft, started by experienced mountain bike instructor Emily Greaves. The off-grid cycling adventures aim to immerse visitors in Scotland’s wild landscapes while providing everything they need, from food to equipment. Guests can choose to be self-guided or led – and I’m heading out with Emily to explore on a mountain bike for the first time in my adult life.
The croft is set across quiet woodland and bucolic meadows and I arrive early to explore the onsite organic market garden Tomnah’a and enjoy a hearty mixed grain bowl with roast root vegetables and local Wee Comrie cheese at Gorse cafe. I’ve driven here, but for the ultimate emission-avoiding trip, it’s possible to get the train to Gleneagles from Edinburgh or London, then be picked up in the Croft’s electric car.
Before we hit the trails, Emily puts me through my paces with a mountain-biking lesson on the gravel pump track. We’re cycling for three days and everything we need – clothes, food, camping stove, tent, sleeping bags and mat – has to be strapped to our bikes. Beside me a French family is getting set up for a self-guided adventure. Emily has planned their route, pre-loaded on a GPX device with detailed trip notes, and prepped their bikes and equipment. I thought I’d packed light, but most of my clothes are soon in a discard pile. “You need clothes to cycle in, warm layers to sleep in, and waterproofs – that’s it,” Emily says.
Fully laden we head off, uphill through ancient woodland and the pretty village of Comrie, then on to rough farm tracks heading into the hills. Tonight’s destination is a youth hostel, a last-minute change due to thundery weather. Bikepacking doesn’t always have to mean camping – many long-distance cyclists combine camping with stays at hostels and even hotels. It’s about enjoyment, not endurance, or “smiles not miles”, as Emily puts it.
Today’s ride is 20 miles (32km), taking in 520 metres of ascent. It’s an intentionally gentle start, but for me still pretty challenging, as I get to grips with my cycling position, descending on loose gravel, and learning to trust the bike. We pass through fields of sheep, splash through little streams, slowly gaining height over the lower slopes of Carn Labhruinn and Meall Odhar. By the time we descend towards Callander, the clouds darken, obscuring the mountain tops, and heavy rain soaks in the seams of my jacket: I’m delighted not to be putting up a tent. At Callander Hostel, run by a local social enterprise, we stay in a cosy pod in the garden (from £81), dry our soggy clothes, and sleep deeply.
Day two is our longest in the saddle, with 44 miles to cover. Emily, sensibly, doesn’t tell me the ascent until later (it’s 1,020 metres). We set out in high spirits, fuelled by egg and haggis rolls from Mhor Bread in Callander.
We’re riding through Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park, an area I’ve often driven through but never stopped to fully appreciate – I’ve been missing out. With mountains aplenty, peaceful lochs and glens, and a well-connected network of paths and trails, there’s so much to explore. Emily’s well-designed route takes us along some quiet single-track roads, but is mostly off-road, on gravel tracks through heathery glens, forestry plantations and native woodland, and on winding lochside paths through the bracken.
We pedal along the quiet side of Loch Venachar before joining the Three Lochs Forest Drive, a rough track that links Loch Drunkie, Lochan Reòidhte, and Loch Achray. It’s hilly, but I’m getting to love the calf-burning push of a long uphill, and the thrill of the downhill too. At Aberfoyle, we stop at Liz MacGregors coffee shop for lemon drizzle cake. “You have to keep your energy up,” Emily says. She has completed many long-distance cycles, including the epic Highland Trail 550, often named one of Scotland’s toughest off-road cycling races. If she says it’s time to eat cake, I’m only too happy to agree.
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After a rugged stretch along forestry tracks past pretty Loch Chon, we reach the head of Loch Katrine, where we have the option to catch the Steamship Sir Walter Scott, which takes daytrippers the length of the loch (from £19 one way, £27 return). It’s tempting, but given steamships have been running on Loch Katrine for over 180 years, it seems safe to leave it for another day. Today is all about the bikes, and I don’t want to miss a moment. Later we pitch tents by the shores of Loch Achray, with just a slight dance with the midges until the breeze returns. We collect water, heat up instant meals on our camp stoves, and drink in the views of Ben A’an and Ben Venue.
In the morning, the loch shimmers silver in the pale sunlight and Emily and I wade in for a beautifully refreshing swim, then warm up with bowls of porridge. The last day of cycling has come round all too soon, and it’s 37 miles back to Comrie, with a lunch stop at Mhor 84 in Balquhidder. The last stretch takes in Glen Finglas estate singletrack, a popular local cycling route along an undulating ridge. I’m loving feeling the power in my legs.
Back at Comrie Croft we’ve reserved seats at Nowhere Sauna (from £16), one of the 12 micro-businesses that operate at the croft. Tucked into a quiet corner of woodland, it’s the perfect place to stretch and relax, interspersed with refreshing dunks in the icy tin bath. From here, it’s a short walk uphill for a decidedly more luxurious evening, at the croft’s newly opened cabin. Joining the site’s camping pitches, Nordic katas (conical, tipi-like tents) and its eco-lodge hostel, the handbuilt wooden cabin is a beautiful hideaway for two adults (plus a child or two on a convertible sofa, if you must). With a wood-burning stove, full kitchen, mezzanine bedroom and big private deck, it’s likely to be popular with onsite weddings and honeymooners. Tonight it’s all mine, and even better, local deli Hansen’s Kitchen has dropped me off supper, including local beers and a lasagne made with vegetables from the market garden. I sit out on the deck until the first stars appear, resting my tired legs and soaking in the scenery, reflecting on an incredible few days.
The cycling trip and accommodation were provided by Comrie Croft and Comrie Croft Journeys. Bikepacking trips are bespoke; a three-day, two-night trip, including route planning and all gear costs from £295pp, excluding bike rental . Rooms at the eco-lodge from £5opp pn; the cabin sleeps two from £250 a night (two-night minimum)
