Just back and still feeling the warm glow of cycle touring...
Corvine and I have just ridden the Sustrans NCN7 route from Inverness to Glasgow, known as the Lochs and Glens North route. And we had a great time.
I know Sustrans have their problems, but I’ve followed a few of their routes on holidays now and I really appreciate being able to follow the little signs and find quiet lanes and paths. Some of the paths, I’ll agree, could be better – but I’d never find them otherwise and it makes for a mellow tour when you’re not always worrying how to stay off narrow, fast A roads.
So! We set off last Monday. We spent the morning fighting to get new tyres on Corvine’s bike, then got the train to Inverness and stayed there overnight. It was a standard Scotrail train and so, although we had bike reservations, there seemed to be room for bikes in every carriage and we certainly didn’t have any problem.
The only problem we did have was that we’d decided to buy coffee and a snack on the train, only to find there was no cart and no buffet car. The group in front of us didn’t help, as they unloaded the largest picnic I’ve seen on a train. Five different cheeses, olives, peppers, avocadoes... it was enormous. I’m sure they’d have shared if we’d asked
Our B&B was lovely, the bikes were locked in the garage, and we had a passable dinner in the Castle Tavern – it sold several real ales, but the staff appeared to have never been behind a bar before. They’d never heard of any of the beers that were right in front of them, and served whoever they fancied rather than in any logical order. But never mind! It was the start of the holiday and we were feeling good. The sun had been shining for days, too, though we knew that was likely to change.
The next morning was dry but freezing cold as we left Inverness to head to Aviemore. There was a fog over the countryside so we couldn’t see far – just as far as the hills in front of us really! It’s not a hard ride, but there are a few tough, sharp climbs in the first half, good for warming up the legs...
We made it to Tomatin in time for lunch, and just as the sun came out. We bought food in the wee village shop, and sat at a table outside to eat, in the sunshine. Then a quick pint in the pub – and a chat to a man and his daughter doing LEJOG - before getting back on the bikes.
We got to Aviemore in good time, found the B&B, and before long we were eating the most ridiculously large curry. We ordered far too much, of course, and spent a fortune, but it was good food.
Wednesday – onwards to Blair Atholl, and the longest ride of the trip at 54 miles. And a glorious day, just lovely. The tailwind helped – we were pushed along by a friendly wind for the whole week.
Lunch was a picnic at some picnic tables outside the Dalwhinnie distillery:
followed by cake in a very retro-70s hotel in the village. And then up and over the Drumochter Pass – which really wasn’t that hard, just a nice gentle climb on a path alongside the road. A bit of an irritating, gravelly path, but it did the job.
The last few miles were sheer joy, flying downhill towards Blair Atholl. A fawn running ahead of us for ages made it all the more special (though I don’t think the fawn was having much fun, running from these monsters behind it).
Road to Blair Atholl:
Dinner was in the Atholl Arms hotel, a cosy wee place with, unfortunately, its own real ale (or at least, from its sister Moulin brewery in Pitlochry) that we didn’t like much. And the B&B was lovely, a gorgeous old hunting lodge with quaint old rooms. And a lovely Giant road bike in the conservatory: I’ve been looking at them myself, so we had a good nosy at it.
Me at the pub, squinting - it was sunny!:
The next day’s ride was really short, just 22 miles down to Aberfeldy. We got to Pitlochry midmorning and stopped there for a cup of tea, and to buy some warmer clothes – it was freezing! But all the ‘outdoor’ shops there just sell cheap, nasty, strangely coloured fleeces – clothes for coach parties. So I ended up with a second hand ‘bodywarmer’ from Oxfam: warmth for £2.99! I think we stopped for too long, because by the time we got back on the bikes to ride the last 14 miles, we just didn’t have any energy! There were lots of little steep hills and it seemed to take forever. But we eventually arrived in Weem, a village just outside Aberfeldy, and wheeled happily into the Ailean Chraggan hotel for a beer, before finding our B&B in town.
Best B&B of the trip, and the cheapest. The room wasn’t the most fashionable, but it was big and comfy, the food was great, and the owners just born to be hosts: it was a joy to stay there. And Aberfeldy itself was great – we stayed two nights, and took a ‘day off’, just lazing about reading and looking round town. Dinner from the chip shop on the first night, and then a posh meal back at the Ailean Chraggan on the second.
Which meant waking with a bit of a foggy head...
But we survived. We rode down to Kenmore and along the southern banks of Loch Tay. Though when I say ‘banks’, I should really say ‘hills’ – it was a tough, rolling route that had us quite worn out by Killin. But lunch perked us up and we zipped up the hill to Glen Ogle, and then rolled happily down the old railway line, high above the road. There are some annoying gates on this path, presumably to keep cars and motorbikes out, and I tore my jacket on some wire going through one – but otherwise it’s a wonderful route.
Glen Ogle:
A quick tea stop in Balquhidder, near Rob Roy’s grave – in the best tea room ever: go there if you possibly can!
And on into Strathyre, to a bit of a disappointment. The Inn at Strathyre sounds fantastic on their website, but the reality’s a bit grubby and run down. Our room was very basic, and expensive, too. But it was fine – and the food was good, though ‘posh’ enough that we were still hungry afterwards and had to buy crisps
Sunday, and time to head to Balmaha. Over two big lumps, the profile told us. The first – over the Duke’s Pass to Aberfoyle, was a bit of a torment: I HATE riding off-road. I can do it for a wee while, but this was mile after mile of steep forest road, bumping about on stones and dust. When I did this route before, coming the other way, Crystal Tips wisely found a way to use the road rather than the path – but I couldn’t work out how to do it in reverse. So there was a fair bit of sulking and grumbling from me, I have to admit...
But some mint choc chip ice cream in Aberfoyle shut me up, and we set off for the second bump. Which was quite a big one! The road climbs from almost sea level at Aberfoyle to about 215 metres, within a few miles – it seemed vertical at one point! But the joy of riding on tarmac rather than rubble outweighed everything and we made it, no problem – and flew down into Drymen.
Balmaha is tiny, just a few B&Bs and a hotel, but a lovely place to be. We ate in the hotel/pub both nights, and had another ‘day off’ cruising round the loch on the mail boat. Oh, and I walked a wee bit of the West Highland Way.
Here's a photo - fun, but I'll stick to bikes, i think:
And that’s almost it. Tuesday morning, up bright and early, and we rode home. It was less flat in reality than it looked on the profile! And the signs let us down coming into Glasgow, so we did a bit of meandering about – but we made it, and ate a happy lunch in George Square before getting the train home to Edinburgh.
We were sooo lucky with the weather. Whenever we watched the forecast, the rain was just moving nicely out of our way – apart from a brief shower one day, we had it dry and mostly sunny. I even have tanned legs!
