Minor apologies for the length of the following post, but it seemed a good idea to get it all out in one go. Here's the tale of the first half of the first week ...
Day 0 - Travel day(s) (6th and 7th of Sept).
Actually, for the support team the travel started on Friday (6th Sept). John and Tim were in a Landrover Defender, not the easiest of vehicles for long distance driving, so spread the northward journey over two days. Not the smoothest of starts; John found an oil leak that needed last minute repairs. After two attempts at the local garage, a repair was successful, but this meant that they left quite late in the day. They overnighted in a camp site just over the Scottish border, eventually setting up camp around 11 pm. They apparently had a good night whilst the rest of us were in our own beds.
As Saturday dawned, the cycling team all made their last preparations for travel: destination Inverness youth hostel. Roy had the furthest to go, but was flying, so would spend the least time travelling. He arrived 1:30 pm at Inverness airport, but had to wait for his bike to come out of baggage, reconstruct it and then cycle the 8 or 9 miles into town.
John and Tim, who took the opportunity as they progressed north to visit the cave where Robert the Bruce hid from the ‘dastardly English’ back in 1306 (complete with spider), reached the youth hostel just after 5 pm, finding Roy fairly quickly. In the mean time the Rushton contingent were safely on their final train to Inverness out of Edinburgh, a route that crossed paths with the planned cycle route at several points, so we kept our eyes peeled at the crossover points. John C though had run into a bit of trouble, with his train to Edinburgh delayed. By the time he was on it, it was already fairly certain that he would miss the last train to Inverness. Train staff were excellent at dealing with his needs, assuring him that he and bike would get to Inverness OK. John H managed a quick ride out along the river Ness, which was very picturesque. The Rushton, meanwhile, arrived safe in Inverness and met up with the rest of the team at the hostel. The ‘arrived’ team members then headed out for a local (slightly expensive) Indian whilst keeping up-to-date with John C by WhatsApp.
As expected, John missed his connection in Edinburgh, but had been told to get on the next train to Perth. He would be picked up by Taxi from there. This plan worked out very well, and John ended up arriving at half past midnight, only just over half an hour later than he had been due in; a reflection of the slow rail route between Perth and Inverness.
So all the travel plans had worked; a slight hiccup for John C, but we all ended up in Inverness in time for the start on Sunday.
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| Support team campsite for Friday night |
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| Not necessarily to scale - RtB's cave companion |
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| The Rushtons arrive in Inverness |
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| The team in Inverness YHA. But where is John C? We know he's short, but ... |
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| Ah, his train is running late ... |
Day 1 - Tain to Inverness
Sunday 8th September
46 miles (74 km)
3:59 hours
11.6 mph average (19 kph)
30.5 mph max (49 kph)
639 m of climb
2236 kcal
We were up early for the YHA breakfast. The riders had to get to the station for a 9:40 train to Tain; no pre-booking of bike spots was possible so we decided to get there a bit early to make sure we were at the head of any queue. Tain may seem like a strange choice for a start point, but it is the furthest north we could get to easily (the train makes a huge loop inland from there around the Dornoch Firth) and represented a nice distance for a ‘warm-up’ first day. It also hosts the Glenmorangie distillery! John and Tim would meet us there and John intended to cycle with us for the first part of the route.
We reached the station around 9 am and got our tickets. There were a couple of other cyclists hanging around, but no information yet on where the train would leave from, so we loitered in what we thought was the right area a little nervously. At around 9:30 (!) the platform was announced, but the gate onto the platform remained closed with no staff in sight. Five minutes passed and the very real proposition of the train leaving empty reared its head. A member of station staff finally appeared, but was clearly not heading to the gate so we intercepted her and pointed out the conundrum. It looked as if the relevant staff had got caught up doing something else! After hurrying off to find out what was happening she quickly and apologetically reappeared and opened the gate to let us on. Another cyclist was waiting for the same train and we realised that made us (5 cyclists) over the official bike capacity of the train (4), but we need not have worried as the guard did not bat in eye. The train trip up to Tain is picturesque, heading round the Beauty firth with views across to the highland mountains as well as Ben Wyvis to the north. It then heads along the shore of the Cromarty Firth with its many Oil rigs in for repair / servicing at Nigg, or just in sheltered storage. The weather was looking great too. We disembarked at Tain, meeting up with John and Tim. ‘Official’ start photos were taken outside Tain station’s ‘Platform 1864’ cafe. We headed the short distance up the coast to the distillery (shut on Sunday) where we were rewarded with great views up the coast in glorious sunshine. Rowan realised at this point that he had left his cycling gloves on the train
Cycling south after this brief sightseeing interlude, we picked up supplies for lunch in the Tain Coop before joining NCR1 for a loop passed (indeed through) the abandoned RAF Tain airfield, used during WW2 as a base for bombing attacks on the Tirpitz (
https://www.forgottenairfields.com/airfield-tain-894.html). John H left us here and headed back to meet up with Tim (they then headed back to Inverness and did a short ride of their own out to Loch Ness). We headed on to meet the small Cromarty ferry (we lunched whilst waiting for it) which carried us across the narrow mouth of Cromarty Firth with great views of the rigs against a backdrop of Ben Wyvis. We hit the first major climb of the day straight out of Cromarty; the ‘Eathie climb’ was anything but, peaking at 220 m straight from sea level. Bit of a wake-up call for the legs! A sharp down was followed by further climbing before a gentler rolling route behind. We met a large amount of farm traffic - everyone (including us) had seen the dire weather forecast for the next week and was madly dashing to bring in the crops. We had to be very careful as tractors these days completely fill single track roads and go very fast! We spent a mid-afternoon snack halt watching the adjacent fields being combined.
We continued a descent to Munlochy, then on towards the A9. NCR1 follows some minor roads parallel to this now very busy main road (I remembered back to 1986 when I had done this stretch with brother Andrew (before such things and NCR’s existed) where we had happily cycled on a very quiet A9!). The last bit of this route, however, drops you down into North Kessock, before returning you carriageway level via a very steep short section (according to my device it peaked at >20%). We then made the mistake of taking the bike route crossing point as an indication of the route we had to take. Not only was the crossing hazardous due to poor visibility, it turned out to be unnecessary as there is a cycle lane on each side of the Kessock bridge. Thus we ended up on the wrong side of the road to continue on NCR1, so had to find our own way back to the Inverness YHA - there was a positive outcome to this as we managed to find some cycling gloves for Rowan in a Halfords that we happened upon.
Re-united with the support team, we headed out into Inverness for food. Thwarted by too many other people with the same idea for a riverside feast, we eventually found a reasonable bite at the ‘Filling Station; near to the railway station.
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The team leaving Tain station
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The full team at our furthest north point
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A clear view north from Glenmorangie
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| Memorial to Tain airfield |
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Photobombed!
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On the Cromarty ferry
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View along the Cromarty Firth to Ben Wyvis
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Those tractors don't leave much space.
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We've just crossed the bridge into Inverness, which you can probably tell we have not enjoyed!
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| Team meal in Inverness |
Day 2 - Inverness to Aberlour
Monday 9th September.
59 miles (95 km)
4:47 hours
12.5 mph average (20 kph)
30 mph max (48 kph)
1039 m of climb
2847 kcal
Monday dawned wet, windy and cold, a complete turnaround from Sunday. The rainfall radar and forecast were miserable viewing for us 4 cyclists about to head out for over 50 miles of riding. The only positive at this stage was that we knew the next day was to be a rest day (a novelty for our trips!), so we would have a chance to recover. After another hearty YHA breakfast we helped John get the bags out to the Landrover before bracing ourselves for a wet departure. We initially headed out on NCR1 again, taking us out through the suburbs of Inverness in a NE direction through Westhill, Smithton and Culloden. We stopped for supplies in Balloch before heading south with a stiff climb out and through Culloden Forest, passing the site of the famous 1746 battle (which John and Tim visited later on after spending some time sorting and packing all of our gear in the Landy) that effectively marked the end of the 1745 Jacobite rising.
At Clava Lodge we parted with NCR1 (next to be met on the way into Edinburgh - see day 14) and started following NCR7. Immediately we went through a set of Bronze Age remains in the form of the Clava Chambered Cairns (
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/clava-cairns-p245611), a pleasant surprise that we stopped to admire briefly. The road actually passes through the stone circle associated with the last of the line of cairns. From this road you can also see a relatively modern wonder in stone, which we were about to have a better view of as we encountered another stiff climb; that of the Highland railway’s 29-span Culloden Moor viaduct (opened 1898, longest viaduct in Scotland). Rowan and I had been over it on the train (as the sun set) on Saturday. From the top of the climb, we followed the railway for quite some distance, and made sure to wave at the train that went the other way to cheer both us and the passengers up, on this bleak, wet day!
From just over the 200 m mark, we then had a brief sharp descent before turning south east at the start of our major climb of the day, the Slochd Mor pass (404 m). Initially we ran parallel to the railway on the B9154, climbing gently. Rowan spotted a memorial at the side of the road here, commemorating (strangely) the reconstruction in 1925 of the Inverness-Perth road that was originally one of General Wade’s military roads (started in 1725, apparently and doubtless used by the various armies heading towards Culloden). Moving on, we carried on the climb. It was becoming increasingly wet and the route increasingly bleak. Our route eventually joined with the A9; mostly on parallel minor roads, briefly running alongside on a road-side path of variable quality.
There was a brief respite to the climb at Tomatin, where we went under another railway viaduct then over the rather striking concrete bridge over the river Findhorn, before starting the final and steepest part of the climb. By the time we reached the summit marker (actually for the railway - the road has a slightly higher point) we were well and truly wet through. Never-the-less, we stopped for a dripping group photo. Then the long descent started. With little effort required you tend to cool down somewhat in the wet, so we when we stopped in Carrbridge a few miles later we immediately headed for the cafe that advertised Cycle storage as we reckoned they wouldn’t mind 4 semi-drowned cyclists turning up! ‘The Carrbridge Kitchen’ exceeded this expectation in putting us next to their lit wood-burning stove and we proceeded to sit an steam whilst gradually warming up helped by delicious soups, hot chocolates and the nicest Mocca I’ve had in a while.
By the time we left (about an hour later) the weather had started to dry up a bit. We were now in Speyside country. The route was gradually downhill, but consisted of multiple ups and downs. We spent some of the time identifying glacial features in the landscape, abundant here. We passed through Grantown early on, but still warmed by our Carrbridge refreshments, did not stop. Mostly passing through woodland this section was delightful, with the occasional steep climb to test our wearying legs. When we eventually reached the point where we thought we might be able to join the Speyside Way for a flat section to our destination, we were greeted with a narrow muddy track and sign forbidding cycles (so much for my detailed internet research!). At this point the sun came out and we stopped to admire the Spey; photos at the spot show us smiling! A quick conflab over maps showed that there was no choice but for a steep climb up to the main A95 trunk road. A shorter but hillier route, once we had topped the climb, we had a rapid downhill finish into Charlestown of Aberlour (which most people just call Aberlour) where our AirBnB ‘Bolthole’ awaited.
Support had arrived not long before us, so we were grateful for a friendly greeting and hot showers to aid our recovery. We cooked for ourselves and enjoyed food with some Glenmorangie that John had picked up, basking in the heat of the wood burning stove. Tired bodies though, so to bed early…
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| Rainfall radar of doom .... |
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| A full Landy! |
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| The team prepares for a wet departure from Inverness YHA |
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The climb out from Balloch
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One of the Clava chambered cairns, note the road runs through the associated stone circle
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The team enjoying a bit of shelter whilst admiring the cairns
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As we climb away from Clava, we see the Culloden Moor railway viaduct (longest in Scotland)
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| Memorial on the Inverness - Perth road |
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| The Slochd summit marker on the railway line that runs next to the cycle route. 400 m. |
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| The Carrbridge Kitchen cafe gives you somewhere to keep the bikes ... |
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... whilst you warm up inside!
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| We can smile - crossing the Spey in welcome sunshine. |
Day 3 - Aberlour
Tuesday 10th September
Rest day so no cycling, however we probably walked about 6-7 miles! The day also dawned sunny, which was a welcome change.
This rest day was intended to allow us to enjoy a bit of Speyside culture. How could we not not explore some of the many local distilleries? We had received a recommendation to visit the Macallan visitor centre from a chap on the Cromarty ferry on Sunday, as the distillery owners had recently spent millions on upgrading it. We looked at the maps and (successfully) attempted a walking route to it from the cottage, which involved going over a pedestrian suspension bridge* and then following a fisherman’s footpath along the banks of the (very full) Spey river. We came into the distillery site via the proverbial back door, but nobody seemed bothered. The visitor centre is indeed a grand piece of modern architecture, partially built into the hillside to conserve energy, it has an undulating grass roof and polished stone grand entrance way. We certainly felt under-dressed when we entered as the place was full of uniformed staff and posh-looking customers. However, we were greeted enthusiastically and thoroughly enjoyed the wood-and-steel internal architecture of the building. The first thing that grabs your attention is the ‘wall of whisky’ where they showcase many of their past produce, with under-lit bottles highlighting the deep ruby red colour of the contents. We hoped that it wasn’t just tea! We all enjoyed identifying bottles from our birth years, although John C seemed to think he was 50 again when he posed in-front of a 1969 bottle. No whisky drunk yet either! We pointed him towards the 1965 bottles … Astonishingly expensive whiskeys were both on show and for sale, with quite a few valued in the 10’s of thousands of pounds, one just under half-a-million! We felt a little bit out of place, but did enjoy a tasting of more affordable malts whilst sat next to some of the stills housed in the new building.
We returned to the cottage for lunch, then decided we needed a bit of context so headed out to visit the Aberlour Distillery just down the road. This was much more to my liking, presenting a small cosy visitor centre where a friendly and helpful lady quickly sorted out a free tasting of some of their most interesting, affordable whiskies. It was a great contrast to the somewhat sterile and overawing Macallan centre. We then went for a delightful short walk along the Burn of Aberlour, past the distillery, to visit a full flowing waterfall. Returning to the village, some of the team enjoyed ice cream from the local delicatessen / cafe, before returning to the cottage for another evening of self catering by the wood fire.
Day 4 - Aberlour to Oldmeldrum
51.58 miles
3:35 hours
14.3 mph average
37 mph max
2791 kcals
904 m climbed
After rising moderately early for breakfast we spent some time cleaning and tidying the cottage after packing our bags ready for the transfer to the support vehicle. We also did a bit of bike maintenance, with both Roy and Rowan putting new brake blocks on (Rowans were almost completely gone after only 5 months!). The wind had really got up during the night and it was overcast and cool, with some threat of rain. We had noticed that at nearby Craigellachie at the confluence of the rivers Spey and Fiddich, one of Telford’s bridges remained. Only just off our intended route, we decided to visit it first thing (after getting lunch supplies of course). We had a short bit on the A95, potentially unpleasant but fortunately not too bad in fact, before needing to take a sharp turn left to the old bridge. Three of us made it first time, but Rowan (who had been in front) didn’t spot it in time, so had to turn round and come back (John and Tim also missed the turn a few minutes later). The bridge is now only open for pedestrian (and bicycle) traffic and is a fine example of an early cast-iron bridge (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigellachie_Bridge). Built in 1814, it was a revolutionary design at the time and remained in use until 1963 when it was refurbished. Eventually replaced by the modern bridge in 1970, it stands testament to the greatness of this pioneering engineer. It is an elegant single span on a shallow curve with castellated turrets at each end. After a few minutes admiring and photographing it, we proudly cycled over it to rejoin our intended route up Glen Fiddich.
Initially heading into Dufftown, we bravely ignored the Glenfiddich distillery (John and Tim were not quite so resistant) and started heading east. Glory be, that rare thing for a cyclist - the strong wind was a tail wind! You may notice that our average speed is quite high for the day - this despite some considerable climbing. Over the rest of the day we were to largely enjoy the benefits of the wind, cruising along some mildly undulating sections at about 30 kph (just short of 20 mph). Early on, vistas behind us were dominated by Ben Rinnes. We entered Aberdeenshire, county of Rowan’s birth and passed into the more rolling rounded landscapes of the rural NE Scotland. In Huntly, we stopped for lunch on some cycleway benches, which seemed a good idea at the time, but we ended up finding it rather exposed to the heat-stripping wind. We were close to finishing lunch when an elderly gentleman on a bike stopped to talk. Over the next 20 minutes he told us his tale in such a strong accent that John and Roy reckoned afterwards that they only understood about 10% of what he said. Ro and I, effectively ‘locals’, faired only a little better. He told us about his retirement; his life as a voluntary cycling litter-picker along the verges of the A96. We all got his general disgust with the litterers, but he clearly had had run-ins with the local council as well as mocking locals. He was very proud of his work and his bike, but also told us how he had been knocked off a few times. The fact that he had ‘picked up’ and retrieved a lorry wheel and tyre was quite impressive. Unfortunately by this point we were all absolutely frozen, and he perhaps sensed this as he finally bade us goodbye and good luck.
Shivering, we packed up and headed on out of Huntly to the south, following Strath Bogie. On the first stretch out of town we had one of the scariest moments of the entire trip when a ‘young man’ car flashed by on a long straight at such a speed that we could only tell its colour before it disappeared - more than 100 mph John C reckoned (veteran of motorbike GP watching so I believe him). I was still shaking 10 mins later, thankful that he had seen us.
Finally calmed down, the next section was one of the most attractive of the day as we headed east again towards and through the small town of Insch. Lovely hilly scenery full of archaeological remains (Iron age hilltop forts, stone circles, the hill-top remains of Dunnideer Castle). One of the landscape highlights of the area also came into view; Bennachie. Over the remainder of the day and the beginning of day 5 we would effectively circum-navigate this local landmark.
Crossing the A96 and then the river Urie at Old Rayne, we finished the day on quiet country roads weaving through agricultural Aberdeenshire, before pulling up in front of Barra castle just short of Oldmeldrum. This was the site of our AirBnB, in one of the gatehouse cottages. John and Tim had just arrived before us as the tailwind had led to us making very good time. We made a very quick stop before heading out as six cyclists to see if we could get to the Glen Garioch distillery (the most Easterly Scottish distillery) whilst it was still open. Tim did well to keep up with us until we hit the hill at Oldmeldrum, and the rest of us couldn’t keep up with Rowan who basically did not slow down. We made it just in time and managed a brief tasting where we tried a rare ‘Virgin’ Whisky. This is one that has been matured in new oak casks; most are matured in pre-used oak casks which have a lower tannin content and also take on some flavour from the the previous contents (typically Bourbon, Sherry or Port, less often Rum or wine). Glen Garioch had just won an award for their ‘Virgin’ offering, which is matured for a shorter time to stop too much bitter tannin passing into the whisky. It was different and nice. The distillery overall had a very welcoming feeling to it and it would have been good to spend a little more time there.
We returned to base for a quick round of showers after which we headed over to the Farm shop and cafe next to our cottage, which is also associated with Barra castle. Here we discovered they make the most delicious (and gargantuan) ice creams by mixing in fresh fruit picked from their own poly-tunnels. We arranged to return for breakfast there (not for ice cream though). Again we self catered for the evening meal before another early bed.
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| Rowan's knackered brake blocks |
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| Telford's Craigellachie bridge |
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The team pose before crossing the bridge.
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| John C and Roy climbing away from Dufftown, heading east, with a Ben Rinnes backdrop |
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| Back in Aberdeenshire! Ben Rinnes still visible. |
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| The rolling landscape as we approached Insch |
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Dunnideer castle perched on a hilltop which also hosts a vitrified hill fort.
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| Bennachie |
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| Our cottage for the night on the right, castle with John's Landy to the left |
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Full team at the Glen Garioch distillery
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| JR enjoys a modest ice cream! |
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