I've decided to forego Shank's Pony for this trip, leaving the boots behind and adopting two wheeled transport for this adventure. John at Wheels Bike Hire of Callander could not have been more helpful and after allowing me to try it for size yesterday, dropped off the most magnificent Trek Crossrip, drop handlebar bobby dazzler at my B&B for me to commence my latest expedition this morning.
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| The mean machine! |
'The Lochs and Glens' route will see me putting my thighs and butt through 99 miles of torture as I make my way from Callander to Pitlochry via Killin and Aberfoyle.
4am fire alarms in the B&B (false thankfully, given I was on the third floor of of a very narrow building) do not constitute the best prep for a 36 mile cycle. However, a blockbuster breakfast soon had me raring to go.
Whilst the the scenery promisesd many delights, the weather forecast most certainly did not. Today bore that out in spades! The chosen route for the first day of my trip was a return loop of Loch Katrine, bringing me back to my B&B in Callander for a second night (please God, no fire alarms this time).
Heavy rain and wind however, did not detract from the magnificence of the landscape, and the steamer SS Sir Walter Scott which took me half way up the loch is truly a thing of beauty. After skirting Lochs Venachar and Achray for 10 miles or so, the distinctive Victorian buildings of the Loch Katrine were a welcome site, and 50 minutes in the warm bar of the 100+ year old vessel (albeit recently refurbished) was the sensible option once on board.
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| SS Sir Walter Scott |
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| The flag and the weather go hand in hand (more often than not). |
After disembarking, I was quickly back in the saddle with 13 miles of perfectly surfaced, traffic free undulating road guiding me round the top to the loch and back to the pier.
Wonderful stuff!
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| Hungry native eying up my Snickers. |
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| Wondering if I'll see the sun at all on this trip..... |
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| Brightened up a bit for a wee while. |
Callander itself is a bustling wee town, bulging at the seams with adrenalin junkie tourists. Great cycling, walking and sailing are available in abundance and there are plenty of choices for evening sustenance. I'm pretty sure however, I made the best choice possible for tonight's meal. The Lewis family are building up an impressive brand for themselves with the Mohr variants, Mohr Fish being my destination for tonight (just along the road from Mohr Bread). With all fish being locally sourced, the freshness is guaranteed and if I have a better meal on this trip than tonight's seafood pasta (smoked haddock, cod and plaice) I'll be both surprised and delighted.
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| Very Morh-ish! |
A nightcap in the Crags Hotel bar, rounded off the day quite nicely.
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| Couldn't agree more. Make mine a double! |
Tomorrow sees me making my way to Killin via Strathyre, Balquidder and Lochearnhead. Forecast is more of the same - in other words, achey thighs and butt!
Today's route (from after the ferry onwards) can be found here.
Day 2 - Callander to Killin
No fire alarms last night, and a blue sky to wake up to. Things were looking up. Some ominous looking clouds to the North were to prove worthy adversaries throughout the day, but I set off in fine fettle for the day ahead.
The going was good and even the squally showers didn't dampen my spirits as I picked up the disused railway line and cranked up the pace along the section that hugged the shore of Loch Lubnaig.
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| First sight of Loch Lubnaig - looking promising! |
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| Looking even better near Balquhidder.... |
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| Getting there..... |
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| Handy marker.... |
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| Normal service resumed at Loch Voil, by Balquhidder. |
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| Freeeeeeeedom!!....oh, sorry - wrong movie! |
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| Nice work if you can get it. |
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| Loch Earn |
After a long rest at the top 'taking photos', I rocketed off along Glen Ogle, traversing the viaduct long the way, before stopping for lunch then hurtling down the steep descent to my final destination, Killin.
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| Glen Ogle Viaduct |
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| A rare moment of contemplation between the showers. |
Nice sleepy wee village Killin, Crazy waterfall system slap bang in the middle though....
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| Twilight at the Falls of Dochart |
Tomorrow sees me skirting the shore of Loch Tay, ultimately heading for Aberfeldy via Kenmore, The forecast is excellent, but I'm not breaking out the Factor 30 just yet.
Today's route can be found here if you're interested.
Day 3 - Killin to Aberfeldy
Loch Tay! .....Wow!
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| Looking back down the loch to Killin |
Granted the glorious weather helped, but the scenery was simply stunning. The National Cycle Route 7 takes the minor road along the South side of the loch, and I reckon was passed by only fours cars along it's entire length. Plenty of steep hills to test the mettle, always compensated for by a long descent where I could crank the speed up as fast as my nerve would allow. Could possibly be the best day's cycling I've ever had.
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| Ben Lawers |
I couldn't believe how quickly I came upon Kenmore, 16 miles into the day and I consciously eased off the pace a little, taking in good views of the town itself across the water and the Crannog attraction where an replica Iron Age loch dwelling has been recreated for the tourists - it makes for some stunning photos.
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| Kenmore |
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| The Crannog |
So cocky was I, that I deciced to add on an extra 9 miles by including a long detour to visit the Fortingall Yew, reputed to be the oldest living thing in Europe if not on earth (yes, yes...the jokes are too easy!). At 5000 years old (est) and rumoured to be the birthplace of Pontius Pilate, it's latest job was to provide the shade for my lunch after which I had a quick look round Fortingall itself, which consists - unusually for Scotland - a series of thatched cottages. Very pretty it was too!
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| Ancient, wizened, weather-beaten....and standing next to the Fortingall Yew! |
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| Only joking - it's a nice route! |
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| A night at the Picture Hoose in store! |
Still feeling I was too early to disturb my hosts for the night at Balnearn House, I ventured up the to The Birks of Aberfeldy, an impressive waterfall complex that so impressed Rabbie Burns it moved him to poetry. It didn't take much to get him going from what I hear - in any walk of life!
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| The Birks |
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| The Bard |
Today's route can be found here, and tomorrow sees me tackling the relatively short skip (16 miles) to Pitlochry.
Day 4 - Aberfeldy to Pitlochry
After a long day in the saddle and a relaxing jaunt to the cinema (I can highly recommend Good Vibrations by the way), sleep came easily when I got back to Balnearn House. After a sumptuous breakfast, I sheepishly trudled off to tackle the realtively short 16 miles to Pitlochry. Grey skies above did not bode well, and proved to be (for the most part) my constant companions throughout the trip. Rare photo ops when the clouds broke were pounced upon with a screeching of brakes and a scrabbling through numeorous pockets trying to remember where I last put the camera for safekeeping from the rain.
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| Black Watch Memorial |
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| General Wade's Bridge |
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| Almost there already! |
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| Cameras to "repello muggletum" |
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| Not looking it's best |
It didn't take long before I was on the bustling main street, dodging the tour buses and the hordes of (mostly 80s +) tourists hoovering up the tat from the souvenirs shops. Having said that, it's a lovely place and being so early I had time to have a wander around before heading up to Dunmurray Lodge, my base for the next three nights.
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| Pitlochry dam and the power station, with the fish ladder in the foreground |
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| Loch Faskally, behind the dam |
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| One of the few to escape Dr Beeching's clutches. |
Tomorrow sees me tacking the Loch Tummel Circuit which should present a sterner test than today did. Unfortunately, the forecast is for the same mixed bag I had today. Time will tell.
If you're interested in the stats, today's route can be checked out here.
After last night's high-brow community arts venue, I think I might settle for spit 'n' sawdust and the football on the pub telly tonight. Must be at least one venue like that in douce and sedate Pitlochry surely!
Day 5 - Loch Tummel Circuit
A mild, almost balmy evening in Pitlochry had me hoping for improved weather for Day 5, and Loch Tummel. I wandered down the High Street looking for sustenance, and wasn't short of options.
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| Red sky at night, cyclist's delight! (Ha!) |
Being an ex forces man, landlord Tony served breakfast this morning with miltiary precision, timing everything to perfection. Far too many delights were brought to my table and I manfully tried to polish it all off lest I be confined to quarters for the rest of the day. A handful of beans was all that I left, which seemed to engender a grudging respect from the breakfast-inspector. To be fair, Tony is great company and a keen cyclist to boot, and was only to happy to discuss my chosen route for the day and pass on some tips (having completed it many times himself).
Off I set, ready for the challenge ahead. However, I wasn't even at the end of the hill down to the town centre when the heavens opened, and I had to battle my way through a constant downpour for the first hour or so. Even as I made my way up the final approaches to the Queen's View overlooking Loch Tummel, the rain kept coming, easing off only slighlty to allow me to take a couple of snaps at the viewpoint.
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| Stunning in any weather. |
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| ....until something comes along to spoil the view of course! |
Bernhard and Elsa from Hamburg who were kind enough take the photo above discussed the weather with me at length, claiming that it wasn't a problem and was all part of the experience. They then jumped into their hired Mercedes with heated leather seats and glided off into the mist leaving me shivering on the promontory as the strains of Mantovani or whatever it was they were blasting out on their car stereo faded into the distance.
Undeterred - even as the rain started falling again - I set off for the end of the loch and the turning point at Tummel Bridge, to pick up the South road back to Pitlochry.
Only after I was well past the half way point did the rain stop.
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| At last, the rain stops. |
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| The road less travelled....... |
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| Clunie Arch - same dimensions as the tunnel from the dam to the power station. |
By the time I was nearing Pitlochry, the weather had improved dramatically and I was alomst at the stage I could think about drying out. The last couple of miles were pleasant descents with good views of the town over Loch Faskally. Time to find a warm cafe, and a hot brew!
By the way, there are some dodgy sounding businesses in and around Pitlochry! No doubt they're all above board, but not sure I'd find it in me to trust either of these....
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| This Estate Agent's name has got to be a wind up! |
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| .....and yes, he is right next door to a butcher's shop!
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Today's route is as usual, available here but please note I didn't fly the last wee bit. I must have accidently knocked the GPS onto pause while I was dicking about with the camera at Clunie Arch, and never noticed for another 4km.
Tomorrow's route is the last of the trip and up to Blair Atholl via Killiecrankie - with the option of a distillery tour on the way back looking tempting!
Day 6 - Pitlochry to Blair Atholl (Return)
The forecast did not bode well....
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| Oh oh.... |
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| Well, that was pointless..... |
Thankfully, being the final route of the holiday it was deliberately short, with lots of sightseeing options - Blair Castle being the main one.
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| Hoots mon! |
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| I've seen this guy before somewhere.... |
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| Under wraps for roof repairs |
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| Must come back in the summer..... |
Feeling pleased that I tackled the big hill at Killiecrankie without so much as a whimper, I stopped off at the visitor centre and enjoyed a wee history lesson about the famous battle of the same name and the story of the ill fated Jacobite Rebellion. A wee walk down into the Pass of Killiecrankie (scene of the battle) was more for the sake of it than anything else as the rain was now lashing down.
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| The Pass of Killiecrankie, showing the river, the railway and the busy A9 above (just below the clouds!) |
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| I've seen that expression before somewhere........ |
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| Ah yes, there it is..... |
And so, another blog comes to an end. Hope it's been of some interest or amusement and that it encourages you to get out there and explore our beautiful country. Despite my moans and groans, the weather was not that bad and a wee bit of common sense when it comes to kit goes a long way to making life more comfortable. It also makes you appreciate the good days even more (and there is always at least one, although I'm not giving any guarantees with that statement)!
Might be wee while before I'm blogging again as I'm running out of holidays - however, nothing stopping any of you lot picking up the mantle!
Bon voyage!
