Cycle: 36.67km / 2hr52min / 12.72km/hr
Saturday October 5
The Speyside Way was a brilliant abandoned railway path through old stone tunnels, in the trees, along the flowing rivers between Aberlour and Dufftown. It seemed logical to take it all the way to Keith. Except that it was no longer the railway path, and instead went over a mountain (well, a steep hill). By the time we got to the worst of it, we were already so committed, we had to ride it out. 200+ pounds of metal, gear and 30 something year old bodies climbing long extended hills then bombing down rooty rocky single track... on touring bikes.
Later than expected given it was only 25km, we arrived in Keith around 1PM, and were told train tickets to Edinburgh would cost 107 pounds if we wanted to go today, but only 39 pounds if we went tomorrow!! We decided to wait, and returned to explore Keith.
In typical cycle tourist fashion, this meant squatting at a local coffee shop with good wi-fi. Madalene, always seeking of knowledge, consulted local brochures and lead us along a scenic walking path around the town to find the perfect camping spot. Bingo. A wooden gate opened up on a long tree lined pathway leading to a much bigger, more ornate iron gate, leading to a cemetery. It was along this pathway that we found a bench and a piece of flat grass, perfect for camping.
The cemetery had a stone wall surrounding it and a classic creaky iron gate. We walked around it with a glass of wine each as the sun was setting.
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| From Aberlour to Keith, the Speyside Wey takes a mean upturn. You'd be better off with a suspension bike! |
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| This path was not so good for the fully loaded touring bike, as my expression suggests. |
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| Tunnel walls along the Speyside Way. Abandoned railways can make for nice cycle tracks. |
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| Views from the top of the mountain (ok, hill) going to Keith. |
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| Welcome to our humble tree lined abode. Pick a spot, any spot. |
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| Happiness is a warm piece of sandalwood. |
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| Midges flee from sandalwood. Flee! Flee! |
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| The iron gate leading to the Keith cemetery. |
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| An unusually happy Madalene. |
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| More beautiful sunsets!!! Oh, yah, a beautiful Jenn. |
