I started at my friends place about 6 miles up stream of Aberlour. Its whisky central around here - the previous day we had done a bike / distillery tour which is a fine way to spend a few hours.
This is a new one. The building is modern but the process still largely as it has been for years. The copper stills are still made by hand locally and are a work of art in themselves.
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.
This rather fine old railway bridge takes you across the Spey at Speybay.
From Spey Bay to Findhorn Bay I followed the Moray Coastal trail. Its 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.
After a couple of beers (bitter and twisted
) and fish and chips in the pub in Findhorn, I headed into Culbin Forest, a large black cloud looming.
In Culbin Forest I stumbled across a huge viewing tower - its not marked on the map and I'd never heard of it so ran up the top for a look at the view:-
Looking North across the Moray Firth to the hills behind Brora and Golspie.
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 a 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. 2 Bacon rolls and a gallon of tea set me up a treat.
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 opted for a road ride to link up to Carbridge and 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.
This takes you up to nigh on 700m so quite a climb at the end of a long day. Aviemore was mobbed so I stopped for chips and water then headed into Abernethy on the CL route in search of a bivvy spot.
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 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!
. Always fascinating to read reports from over the border - almost feels like you're in another country up there 
. Generally one with a much more enlightened attitude to 'harmlessly sleeping out anywhere LNT because I've run out of daylight after a hard day on a multi-night journey'.... (and a generally more enlightened attitude to one or two other things as well...)...
