I'm just back from a nice three day trip starting in Lower Speyside, heading down the Speyside way, along the Moray Coastal Trail, a return to upper Speyside via the river Findhorn, then back to Speyside via the cairngorms loop to Tomintoul and a bit of the Speyside way Tomintoul link.
I'd spent the weekend with friends who live in Speyside indulging in the local tourist practice of doing distillery tours. By bike of course! Sunday was spent bagging a few of their local trails so I started this trip on a sunny Monday Morning. My friends place is about 6 miles up stream of Aberlour. Its whisky central around here with distilleries all over the place. The Speyside Way follows an old railway line so makes for easy riding given how dry it is everywhere.
This is a new one. The building is modern but the process is largely as it has been for years. The copper stills are made by hand locally and are a work of art in themselves. The trail follows the railway line to Criagellachie and then heads into the woods of Ben Aigen.
Looking down the last section of the Spey to the Sea. The Speyside way makes for some easy pedalling (apart from one bit between Nethy Bridge and Grantown) with a few nice sections of trail as well as the usual gravel paths, forest roads and the odd back road.
After a brief stop in Fochabers for coffee and cake I followed more trails to the end of the Spey at Spey Bay. Views across the Moray Firth were fab with many of the north / northwest Highland hills visible.
The end of the Spey, looking back to Ben Rinnes, near my start point.
This rather fine old railway bridge takes you across the Spey and onto NCN 1. I departed NCN 1 at Garmouth to pick up the Moray Coastal Trail. This is a (generally) well signposted and defined route following a mix of tracks, paths behind the dunes, gravel paths and some bits where your on the beach. Its a fat bike job really as some sections in the dunes were unrideable on the Jones but fortunately the plus tyres allowed me to ride on the sand below the tideline. The highlight was having a large otter appear out of the gorse in front of me and then scurry across my path back into the under growth.
Wear long socks if you attempt this in summer!
Looking north, the views were ace with the hills behind Golspie and Brorar visible, Ben Wyviss and even the Fannichs and the hills of Stratch Connon visible, despite being at sea level.
Its quite a trek to Findhorn and hard going in places. The sun was shining however so it was hard work of the best kind. Findhorn was as far as I expected to get but it was too early to stop so I lingered over fish and chips and Bitter and Twisted courtesy of the pub. Thereafter it was round the bay and over another funky bridge on NCN 1 and then into Culbin Forest, a large black cloud looming to the South and east.
Culbin forest has a network of tracks and sandy single track, I followed a random selection and then picked up a well made path which led me to a huge viewing tower right in the middle of the forest. Its not marked on the map and I'd never heard of it so ran up the top for a look at the view:-
Aerial shot of the Jones...
Looking North across the Moray Firth to the hills behind Brora and Golspie. The other direction it was a wall of black cloud with a full rainbow across it.
I was keen to get the tarp pitched before the rain came on so headed north and west in the hope of missing the cloud (it was slowly moving north and east!)
Bivvy a Month July, part 2! My claimed BAM for this month was in a bothy so I was glad to bag a proper one. I was right on the boundary of the huge cloud but apart from a few drops I missed it totally.
The next morning the sun shone and I headed for the River Findhorn following a hot tip on a fab riverside path. There followed a fair bit of route faffing trying to get on it - several false starts blocked by estate house gardens, disappearing trails and large cliffs eventually got me onto it and what a joy it was. Several miles of single track varying from easy going to proper noodly to seriously nadgery.
The Findhorn runs in a huge gorge with some bits more like what you'd find in North America. In places the trail was hairy - you were right up by the drop with a misplaced wheel likely to end up with you and your bike mashed into the river... As well as this amazing-ness of riding, there is also a fab café at a touristy place about halfway along (Logie Craft Centre). 2 Bacon rolls and a gallon of tea set me up a treat. Back to the river side you can continue for a fair distance on more single track. I had a look at Randolfs Leap and noted the stone commemorating the 'muckle spate' (i.e Great flood) of 1829. The stone was some 50 feet above the river level and marked the height of the water during the storm. The spate destroyed numerous bridges and properties as well as taking many lives across the Northern and Eastern Cairngorms area. By comparison Storm Frank and Desmond which did so much damage in Dee and Don-side in 2016 produced water levels much lower than this 19th century monster...
My bike at the muckle spate water level.
I departed the Findhorn at Relugas and headed up onto the Dava Way - this is an easy route from Forres to Grantown, mostly on a disused railway line.
This hut is halfway along - its an old linesman hut that has been done up as an interpretation centre. It would make a nice cheeky bivvy spot.
I've amassed a fair bit of headwind Karma this year and the next section substantially added to this - over a big moor with no shelter right into the teeth of a gale. I could have followed the Dava way down to Grantown and then an hour of easy pedalling would take me back to the start. However I opted for a longer ride and another night out. There are various ways south from Lochindorb but given the wind I took the easy(!) option of a road ride to Carbridge. It was brutal - no hiding from it and no other way forward.... Soup, tea and cake in Carbridge helped me recover and contemplate my next bit of route.
In the hope of grabbing a bothy I headed up the Dulnain as there were a couple of dots on the map which were potentials. Once again the clouds were building so a roof seemed like a good plan, despite it being quite early. In the event one was a house and the other a shooting hut firmly locked. The next hut up was of course the bothy but I didn't learn this until speaking to my mate the next day.... It looked brighter over in Speyside so I girded my loins and headed over the Burma road.
No false summits or long moor crossings thank heavens but its still a brute - a solid climb straight up to nigh on 700m and quite a challenge at the end of a long day. Aviemore was mobbed so I stopped for chips and water then headed into Abernethy on the Cairngorms Loop route in search of a bivvy spot.
When I did my first successful ride of the CL in 2014 I stopped by loch pityoulish - I was a bit desperate due to it being dark and me being knackered and it seemed an ideal spot. Looking at it in daylight I noticed the house overlooking it which I'd missed in 2014. Hmm, the trees sheltering the spot had been felled and the wind (now behind me) blowing straight into it. I figured Abernethy would provide a better option so carried on into the evening sunshine.
BAM July Take 3. If I'd waited until after midnight to pitch up I could have claimed it for August! A nigh on perfect spot - sheltered from the worst of the wind but with enough to keep the midges away. A few sprinkles of rain came through over night but it was dry the next morning.
I kept on the CL route to Tomintoul (as dry as I'd ever known it despite the heavy rain here two days previously) and then headed up to the Glenlivet Trail centre for food. Annoyingly the café was shut on Wednesdays so it was a case of tighten the belt and keep on. I followed the blue / red route up to the high point and then re-joined the Speyside Way which takes you down a great descent to Glenlivet.
Halfway down I heard a whistle and saw a group of figures on a hillside just across from me. A figure was running to something white lying in the heather. This turned out to be a newly dead hare, still in its winter coat, having been killed by their dog. Yes its the start of the Hare coursing season, another barbaric 'tradition' that is proof that whilst Scotland as a whole is part of the modern world, a very small part of it still seems stuck in the dark ages. The justification for this 'sport' is lame - stopping hares spreading ticks and eating young heather that the grouse need to feed on. Ticks are in abundance and Grouse get fed from birth to being shot so this cuts no ice with me whatsoever. Saddened I finished the descent and then pedalled back to my pals place via the road.
Total distance 280k and almost no rain!
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