Last week I cycled from Dunbar to Aberdeen along the Coast and Castles route, part of route 1 on the NCN, which was 200 miles over four days. I got the train to Edinburgh on Monday and another train to Dunbar, having decided to stay the night with friends there. It felt like I was cycling into a headwind all day which was hard work. I seemed to lose all confidence on my bike on the first day for some reason. Stopping, turning right, turning left were all an ordeal and I got off and walked at several junctions – what was that about?! I kept reminding myself that I cycle regularly in London with no problem. I think the wind didn’t help. I ended up walking across the Forth Road Bridge because the wind was so gusty I just didn’t feel safe – that’s a mile and a half of pushing a bike! I stayed the night in Kinross which is next to Loch Leven – very beautiful.
Day two was much easier – the wind had died down and the route was beautiful. A fair amount was off road cycle routes or minor country roads. I had lunch in St Andrews and loved cycling through Tentsmuir Forest. The cycle lane on the Tay Bridge goes between the lanes of traffic and it’s downhill all the way from the south to the north – really joyful! Coming out of Dundee, you cycle through the docks which was interesting. I stayed the night in the Fisherman’s Tavern in Broughty Ferry – highly recommended.
Day three was Broughty Ferry to Inverbervie, cycling through Arbroath, home of the smokies. I stopped for lunch in Montrose thinking there would be plenty of places to eat, but there weren’t. I ended up in Jane’s Tea Rooms where Jane cooked me an omelette and lamented the lack of vision and investment in the town. There were only 46 miles to go and I arrived at my hotel mid afternoon but shortly afterwards it was raining and blowing a gale so I felt quite smug that I was inside.
The final day was just under 40 miles into Aberdeen. I stopped for tea and chocolate buttons at Dunnottar Castle in the sunshine (photo above). Although it’s called Coast and Castles, I didn’t notice that many castles and there’s a lot less coast than on the southern half of the route that I did last year. Most of today’s route was through farmland and not that interesting, but the last section through the docks into Aberdeen was great. I dropped my luggage off and spent the afternoon at the art gallery before getting the sleeper train home.
Doing the trip on my own was a real treat, challenging in places, but lots of headspace to think and reflect. I was grateful for a hare who ran ahead of me on the first day, and my friend Julia who happened to contact me at a low moment. I tried to travel light, but ended up with a full pannier and a top box which made the bike quite heavy overall, and I did walk up a few hills. I used most of what I took, apart from my cycling jacket for wet weather, winter gloves and base layer which I would have been very glad of if it had rained. I didn’t use the midge spray; I did use my trusty flask for tea each day. I bought the map for this ride in 2011. I’m glad I’ve finally done it.
The cycle lane on the Tay Bridge
Run for your life 