Cycling on the Speyside Way

After a delicious dinner at Anderson's and a great night's sleep we went for a cycle today. We went first to Nethybridge via the beautiful forest paths that Alison and Hugh know so well. Then we joined the Speyside Way which at that point is a disused railway line. The train tracks are long gone but the stones that they lay on are still there, partly covered by grass. It was very picturesque; we passed small lochs and fields of barley, and we saw the steam train passing by on the other side of the fields. We arrived at the old Spey Bridge which was very lovely; there was confetti on the bridge so it must be a favourite location for wedding photos with river and hills behind.

By this time I was flagging somewhat, so Alison suggested that we have a coffee in the attractive restaurant at the nearby Revack Estate. This was a great idea; coffee and a slice of Ecclefechan tart gave me a new lease of life. Also I suspect that the seemingly level path must slope very gently downhill from Spey Bridge to Nethybridge, because it definitely seemed an easier cycle on the way back. By the time we got back to the cottage we had cycled 30 km - about 18.5 miles! 

In the afternoon we bade farewell to our kind and generous hosts and set off home. The roads were busy with motor cycles (the Thunder in the Glens meet up was this weekend) and horse boxes (the International Horse Trials at Blair Atholl were also this weekend). However it was a sunny and pleasant drive and the combine harvesters were out working the fields in Perthshire, which added to the early Autumnal atmosphere.