Monday, June 3: Whiskey galore...
Lossiemouth - Dufftown, 51 km
We thought we were being smart by getting down to the breakfast room by 7:30am, but a whole bus load of French tourists had been instructed to do the same so it was a tad frantic... Sacre Bleu... at the buffet!
However, still managed to get ourselves fed and the steeds loaded up to be on the road by 8:40 heading out of the pleasant town of Lossiemouth. Zig zagged our way south via woodland and farmland, lots of potato growing area again. Bypassed the town of Kingston and then turned west to be heading up river at the mouth of the Spey River. A stop for a cuppa at an old cemetery in the location of Dibble (no vicar to be seen, no wait... that's Dibley) on a very quiet country lane.
Soon thereafter however we had a few km's on a quite busy B road, before turning off onto a much quieter road and immediately crossing over the river Spey. This is vividly reminding us of the fact that all the Invercargill CBD streets are named after Scottish rivers... we have already seen the Ness, now the Spey and in a few days we will be following the Tay!! Just one of many reminders we are seeing that our home province is so heavily Scottish influenced by the early European immigrants.
Again farmland, crop, cattle and a bit of hay/silage making occurring... plus starting to pass Whiskey distilleries on a regular basis. No point in stopping... no room for "souvenir bottles" nor would it make a pretty sight if 2 Kiwis were to imbibe in sampling and cycling! We did discuss buying a bottle but became concerned it would break and be wasted if we fell off... so then discussed drinking it instead first but decided we would still probably fall off and be wasted, so the same negative result either way....
Arrived at our next intersection turning point and there was a road closed/diversion sign... oh no, after what has been a hilly and windy day we didn't fancy an extra 5 km diversion! So Noel went into the nearby garage and the friendly mechanic advised he felt the landslip that closed the road should be passable on foot. Good advice as we easily passed through once we got to said slip, it mainly seemed to just be road barriers and most of the repairs had been done, great result!
Hence we got to Dufftown about 2 pm and after some "lost in translation", due to the clash of accents, we got into our hotel room ahead of check-in, bonus. Our first priority was a late lunch of baked potato at nearby cafe... although the option of haggis topping was avoided :)
After a shower and a bit of laundry catch up it was time for a walk around and exploring Dufftown and the area. Located at the entrance to the town the large Glenfiddach distillery certainly makes an impression. Founded in 1886 by William Grant and still owned and operated by the fifth generation of the Grant family, at 5pm in the evening it still had a steady stream of people dropping in to view the extensive shop and showroom although tours had finished for the day. Interestingly tastings had also finished but we noticed one of the assistants was more than happy to do a tasting for a group of 4, obviously quite well heeled, guys who called in... the scent of a major sale we think!
We wandered up the hill behind the township and viewed the ruins of Balvenie castle from a distance. Built in the 1200's as the seat of the powerful Earls of Buchan. Had a chat to a group of Highland cattle as we passed by. Kept extending the walk so that we then followed a woodland path which dropped us down into the other side of Dufftown.
A lot of houses in Dufftown but there doesn't appear to be many businesses of any sort, we surmise the distilleries employ a large number of the residents.
Dinner at the hotel restaurant... our hotel is "Whisky Capital Inn" which is apt... and the bar at the restaurant was very impressive with all the brands of whisky lined up. The town however may not have capitalised on it's obvious tourist status. It was very busy with tourists wandering around early afternoon but there were very few cafes, gift shops etc there. In the evening the whole town was very quiet, most people must stay elsewhere and visit Dufftown during the day.
Tuesday, June 4: Gavin says do this...
Dufftown - Grantown-on-Spey, 53 km
Threatening rain today... will it or won't it?
8:30 am departure and biked down past the Glenfiddach distillery to the old Dufftown railway station. This is now the start/end point for a scenic tourist train to/from the nearby town of Keith. The River trail started conveniently at the end of the railway platform and it was a lovely path on the ex railway line meandering its way beside the River Fiddach (Glenfiddach means the valley of the Fiddach).
This trail then rejoined the Speyside Way route, at the town of Craigellachie, and continued onwards also on ex railway line and following the River Spey. A very enjoyable ride with a few walkers, serious bikers and also some recreational bikers similar to us.
Although we had detoured off the Speyside Way for our enjoyable visit to Dufftown, we were following a GPS route kindly personalised and put together for us by our friend Gavin. However... after some 20km of enjoyable riding on the trail the suggested route was to go back on the nearby B road. Whilst almost doing so a couple of other bikers passed us, talking about coffee just up the well paved trail so we thought nah... lets go that way too...
Whilst not a fatal mistake, a mistake was made... always listen to Gavin is the lesson herewith!! Although it seemed at that point a lovely bike trail it started to become a little less used looking. No worries, still good riding on the grass surface with some small muddy patches. However the path then split with the low path seeming to be blocked with hazard tape so it was upward we went.
Hmmm... seems this is the bit Gavin was talking about and the reason he had programmed us to go otherwise. Silly Kiwi's with their "she'll be right" attitude just carried on, or should that read "carry the bikes". A very steep mud track zig zagged upward until it did flatten off but still quite muddy and wet in places (read deep water holes beside narrow boarded sections on marshy ground). But, the end came into sight after a final push up a narrow gorse lined lane... to find the end was at the side of a very busy road. But hey, that's what adventure tourism is all about!
So now what... after the critical note that from now on we listen to Gavin's advice... after consulting good old Google Maps we worked out the busy road wouldn't be as long a ride as we thought was necessary and a quick, downhill, 2 km section got us to a minor road that would get us back to, and across, the Spey River and back "on track". A bonus that there seemed to be a break in the traffic/heavy trucks on the busy road as we did that.
From there an undulating ride on a quieter B road, with a few rain showers and a drop in temperature due to a cold wind. Just before reaching our destination of Grantown on Spey we dropped down to the river, closely and religiously following Gavin's advised route... we weren't going to fall for diverting again... only to find the path was closed due to forestry operations. Oh no... we had to bike back up hill!... taking note to not listen to Gavin's advice! No, it wasn't that bad, and we were soon in Grantown after peddling past the golf course.
It has been interesting riding beside the river as there are sections of pristinely maintained riverbank, with some small shelters etc. Whilst originally thinking "it's nice the council does that" it became a little clearer when we worked out there is no public access for fishing... rather it is the adjoining owners renting out a section to visitors (likely with deep pockets).
Pleased to get to our lodgings, The Ben Mhor hotel actually... but a bit different than the Benmore Hotel! Once again our bikes were wheeled in through the front door and are being kept cosy in the conference room!
Grantown was founded in 1765 as a planned settlement and has several large hotels and grand buildings to attract labour and industry to the area. James Grant helped fund the expansion of the town, and lived in Castle Grant Estate... we are guessing related to the Grant distillery family.
We biked past several distilleries today, they are near the river to use the water for the cooling part of the process. As you bike along the whisky aroma hangs in the air which is quite encouraging... we feel like donkey's following a carrot!
Wildlife note: spotted 4 pheasants at different places today.
Wednesday, June 5: Train Kept a Rollin'
Grantown - Kingussie, 55 km
We left our hotel about 8:30 am, it is actually really cold with a bit of squiffy rain at times. Wound our way out of town and found the industrial area and an artisan bakery that Gavin recommended (remember... always listen to Gavin...) as breakfast had not been part of the package last night. Actually owned by a New Zealander and a very popular spot with lots of people calling in for coffee and snacks. Not technically breakfast food but certainly found enough to top up! We had to leave the delicious looking cakes in their cabinet (underneath a print of the Cardrona pub!) sadly!!
We then wound our way on very quiet roads towards Nethy Bridge with our first stop to walk around Castle Roy, which is a simple late 12th/early 13th century fortress. It is one of the oldest castles of its type in Scotland with a thick double outside wall and it would have had small structures built inside it for housing, stabling etc... if you have seen the movie "Shrek" then such a castle style may seem familiar, although no ogre's in this one that we saw anyway. Unbelievably old structure!
Whilst we were there we also had a good chat with Murdo who is actually having a function on site next week for his 10th birthday. A very calm chap who was very happy for us to give him a scratch.... oh, forgot to mention, Murdo is a Highland cattle beast.
Once at Nethy Bridge we stopped for tea and cakes (another great recommendation). Nethy Bridge is a town very handy to Cairngorms National Park so has some very old and very grand hotels etc.
Rode through to Loch Garten which is a nature reserve renowned for the re-establishment of Osprey to the UK. The forest surrounding the lake is Scots Pine, some of which are ancient trees. A very lovely ride and quite a bit of downhill ... always received with gratitude! Not a lot of people there as it is a week day, the visitors that were about seemed to largely be binocular carrying hikers looking for birdlife and we guess also the elusive Red Squirrel.
After a short lakeside walk for us it was back on the bikes to make our way to the town of Boat of Garten. Stopped briefly but it was actually mainly to put our waterproof pants on as there is a bit of rain brewing. There is a lovely railway station there which serves a tourist steam train that runs through to Aviemore and Broomhill, luckily we were there when it pulled into the station... bonus!
From there a lovely ride via dedicated cycle/walk trail to Aviemore, a lot of the way passing through reserve land of stunted pine and broom?
Aviemore for a lunch break. A busy one street tourist town with lots of outdoor sports shops, adventure shops, accommodation and tourist businesses. Great lunch spot. Then followed a B road and then bike track to Kincraig, a lovely track but in places a bit steep for our heavy bikes so a couple of pushing sections. Caro does admit she is a tad nervous now about road/track surfaces and potential punctures given her early experience on the sharp stones on the Great Glen trail from Inverness to Oban.
From there the route was on road to Kingussie, in head and cross winds and actually very cold. Arrived about 6 pm after a quick photo stop of Ruthven Barracks which overlooks Kingussie. The barracks were built around 1719 on the site of a previous castle and they are a huge and impressive structure.
We have 2 nights here which will be great, staying in a traditional B&B on the hill with a lovely hostess. Wandered downtown for a great meal at the hotel she recommended but didn't dilly dally wandering the streets. It is very cold with fresh snow visible on the mountains in the area today. It is a really cold spell as even all the locals are commenting on how un-seasonal it is.. but it is bearable as it is not too wet and any showers seem short lived. The town main area is quite imposing buildings, once again a deliberately planned town from the 1800's.
As we are largely following National Cycle Network (NCN) route 7 we are seeing a few bike packing types on the roads, but not huge numbers. NCN 7 runs from Inverness through Scotland to Cumbria on the west coast of the UK then over to the east coast at Newcastle upon Tyne... many cyclists do a section, or may be connecting sections on a longer ride.
We have been noticing the road sides, and indeed paddocks/fields, are covered in a white flowered plant which we thought was hemlock... not ideal for grazing. However a bit of investigation suggests it is more likely cow parsley, or wild carrot, or hayweed? Whatever... it looks quite pretty at this time of the year.
Thursday, June 6: Right children, get out your history books please
A slow start and a quiet day. It is still freezing temperatures and skiffy rain passing through. We went downtown and grabbed some breakfast, the B&B offered breakfast as an option and we decided to have one morning elsewhere and one at the establishment. Not many options in the town however but did find sustenance in one cafe. We are being very wary of what establishments to visit here in Kingussie as Gavin (who lived here for his first 20 years) suggested "not get into any drinking games when there"!!... and we are sticking to his advice still after our whoopsie the other day (which almost drove us to drinking games).
Went back and collected our bikes and headed out to the nearby Highland Folk Museum... really fast as the bikes are minus all our gear! Also a lovely smooth roadside path helped.
The museum is spread over quite a large area and has buildings/exhibits from the 1700's through to the 1950's. Some "in character" staff wandering about although with 3 bus loads of school kids there they were being kept busy enough!
The building exhibits have mostly been relocated from elsewhere in the Highlands and also the Isle of Lewis.
We headed to the 1700's village made up of thatched roof cottages... some extremely smokey with peat fires in the middle of the room and not much of a chimney... ie a hole in the roof only. Very authentic however.
The 1800's buildings included a school with a resident teacher, very similar to the Arrowtown museum program... ie no left handed writing allowed, ink wells in the desks etc. Also a church, carpentry/joiners workshop, a clock/bike workshop.
1900's section of the site had a store/post office, stocked with period lollies for example. The couple of 1950's houses had furnishings that sadly looked very familiar from our childhoods! Also farm buildings full of equipment from the past, a cow to milk (Caro doesn't think it was real, Noel is still arguing otherwise.. whilst the cow remains startled), a couple of runty looking pet lambs and some pet sheep of varying breeds.
The area was a great way to spend 2 or 3 hours and a nice interlude on our "rest" day.
Lunch from the supermarket, far easier biking up the hill to the B&B with no luggage on board. Our afternoon was spent not doing very much, Noel gave the bikes the once over (wash, oil chains, tyre pressures etc) It is truly too cold to be going out voluntarily if we don't have too, so good timing to have scheduled in the lay day... although tomorrows forecast is still dodgy!
Dinner at the same place as last night, McInnes House Hotel, their macaroni cheese was too much for Caro to resist.
Friday, June 7: Up Spey, down Tay
Kingussie - Pitlochry, 76 km
7:30 am lovely breakfast at our lodgings, these B and B's are a big job and time commitment for the owners. We headed away, in a light rain shower, on the same path as yesterday's visit to the folk museum. Turned into a lovely ride with not too much wind and improving temperatures. A gentle incline for the first 30 km on quiet roads, purpose built walking/cycling paved track or old, now unused, main road.
Stopped at a very busy cafe in Dalwhinnie at around the 20 km mark. The nearby hills are heather covered and a few sheep to gaze at. From Dalwhinnie we were on a purpose built path just beside the busy A9 highway on one side and the railway line on the other. In places shielded by broom and scrub but a reasonably noisy section as we continued the slow incline up to Drumuachdar Pass... the highest point on the UK rail network for those wanting some factual odd points.
A small bit of flat then downhill for 40+ km, some sections of discussed rail bed, old roads or very quiet roads plus some purpose built paved trail. Really lovely riding and the day continues to warm which is wonderful.
Rather surprised to come around a corner on the quiet road to be confronted by a huge shopping complex packed with cars and people... turned out to be a highway stop beside the A9 just where the trail parallels briefly. Full of Highland clothes shops, souvenir shops, food court and numerous restaurants! Behind it a path leads to the Bruer Falls so we did walk the section to the lower bridge. A very scenic ravine.
From there a ride into Blair Atholl village, although sadly the recommended cake shop which still mills it's own flour was closed, and for a visit to Blair Castle. Noel thinks we have been here before some 36 years ago... we need to consult our diaries/photos!
The castle is 700 - 750 years old and has had lots of additions over the years. It is the ancestral home of Clan Murray and has been the seat of the Duke of Atholl. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed here in 1844 and it is now owned and run by a charitable trust.
We had a brief walk around the grounds including up to the quite large Hercules gardens opposite the castle.
From there a quick ride to Pitlochry to arrive around 5 pm. A very busy tourist town where we are staying in a backpackers. Very cold to wander far but did find a nearby pub for dinner.
