Whisky landscape

The whisky famous River Spey at Newtonmore. This is well upstream from the clutch of world famous Speyside distilleries. The sole distillery upstream of here is Dalwhinnie, Scotland’s highest distillery but it is not on the Spey rather it is on the River Trium, a tributary of the Spey that joins the mother river just to the south of Newtonmore.

Dalwhinnie Distillery (above and below) is one of Diageo’s classic malts. This gentle spirit belies the wild landscape that surrounds the distillery.

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Looking down on Dalwhinnie from above Loch Ericht (see photo below)
The white building in the distance is the distillery

The Cairngorms viewed from Aviemore

Further downstream between Aviemore and Granton-on-Spey with the Cairngorm mountains in the background. The majority of the distilleries are closer to the sea…… dram deferred!

A Scottish summer day – full of variety!

Today we drove down the A9 from Newtonmore to Pitlochry. Here are a series of photos taken over a short distance, on an iFone around Dalwhinnie showing how quickly the weather in the Highlands can change. 

 Mist on the hills 

 Looking through the windscreen!

 Now past Dalwhinnie – signs of clearing up 

 Dramatic sky and landscape

 Heading to the Drumochter Pass

(above and below)

A glorious Highland morning!

We caught the Caledonian Sleeper from Euston last night leaving London's bustle behind and waking up to a peerless Highland morning:   

Heading up to the Drumochter Pass 

Nearing Drumochter...  

Near Dalnaspidal Lodge with Loch Garry in distance

Trees @ top of Drumochter Pass 

 

River Truim 

 

Loch Ericht, Dalwhinnie

Newtonmore

Great ride in Highlands today in summer weather!

Loch Ericht – from Dalwhinnie south west towards Rannoch

(above and below) 

 

After several early autumnal days we got a real glimpse of a Scottish summer today. We took full advantage with a circular trip from Newtonmore. Starting from Newtonmore we headed to Dalwhinnie. Then down the lovely Loch Ericht as far as the Ben Alder Lodge before heading up through woods to Loch Pattack. Then followed the River Pattack northwards initially through a decidedly boggy section where the track was poor before picking up the forestry track that took us past the Pattack Falls before joining the Spean Bridge to Newtonmore road just to the north of Loch Laggan. Then it was back on the main road to Newtonmore – a slight contrast to the quiet on the hills between Loch Ericht and this main road.  

Four and a half hours of great cycling.

 

Loch Ericht (CRM) 

Tracking on  

(above and below)

 (photo: CRM)

 Trees and the River Pattack

 Blue, blue waters of the River Pattack (CRM)

More Highland scenes

Yesterday @Dalwhinnie looking towards Loch Ericht

 By the Spey

Walked most of the Wildcat Trail around Newtonmore today.
 

 Light on the Spey

Light on the River Calder

 Towards Creag Dubh

 Calder Valley

 Towards the Cairngorms

(above and below)

Loire ride for Esme: training ride along Loch Ericht and over the hills

 The beauty of Loch Ericht looking south westwards 

Today I got in a good, reasonably long training ride (a little over four hours) through the Scottish Highlands in preparation for riding the length of the Loire (starting 17th September) to raise money for two cancer charities. 

I headed out from Newtonmore to Dalwhinnie intending to explore The Old Drovers Road that starts just south of Dalwhinnie at the top of a steep hill and goes through to the Laggan Road. Although for the first mile there is a clear track it soon peters out and becomes barely a footpath, so not ideal even for a mountain bike. 

Heading to Dalwhinnie

 The hills above the A9 to the east on the way to Dalwhinnie

So it was onto Plan B (nothing to do with the Scottish Independence debate..) into Dalwhinnie and out along Loch Ericht to Ben Alder where I took the track up into the moorland and across to Loch Pattack. From there northwards following the River Pattack for much of the way until I met the A86 Spean Bridge road well to the west of Laggan. Then back to Newtonmore. 

Great ride through some really beautiful scenery. Although the Loire will be lovely it will be hard to better parts of this ride.

My Loire ride will be to raise money for two cancer charities – one in France and one in the UK. My donation page on Fondation Gustave Roussy is: https://igr.friendraising.eu/jim.budd. For Teenage Cancer Trust it is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JimBudd 

      

 Loch Ericht (above and below)

 The track away from Loch Ericht towards the hills including Beinn a Chlachair and approaching Loch Pattack

 Hills including Carn Dearg (?)

 Loch Pattack