Coast and Castles North Cycle ride from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.

 This cycle ride, which is part of the NCR 1 going along the east side of UK, is  about 171 miles in length but we lengthened it to include the coast south of St Andrews staying at Anstruther before returning to the NCR 1 at Ceres making the whole trip of about 220 miles. This is the first time we've both had e-bikes or power assisted cycles to help us with the hills and wind!

 We started the trip on 3rd September travelling to Aberdeen by train, spending a day in Aberdeen and then going onto Stonehaven for the night. The route then goes onto Montrose where we stayed and then Dundee. We had a day in Dundee and then crossed the Tay to Tayport (where Helen lived as a child). From there we continued to St Andrews for lunch and diverting off course to a bed and breakfast in Anstruther. The following day we went on to re-join the NCR 1 at Ceres and onto Markinch (again slightly off route but a convenient stop). After that we re-joined the route to Kinross where we had a free day to explore Lock Leven. The final cycle day was into Edinburgh over the Forth road bridge to Leith. Here we met some of Helen's family and saw some of the sights of the city before returning to Dartington on 16 th September by train. 

Aberdeen.

The journey was long (starting at 9.53h Totnes arriving in Aberdeen at 21.13h, changing at Edinburgh). Originally the journey was on one train but unfortunately this became two as we had to change in Edinburgh. We were nervous about taking our cycles on the trains because we suspected "Cross Country" had hangers so you have to hang your bike from the ceiling of the carriage in a very limited space. Anyway we did it OK and Edinburgh station had good directions and lifts that were big enough to wheel our cycles into. 

We stayed at Jewel Guest House which is on the NCR 1 route and convenient for the city centre by foot. Our bikes stayed in the locked garden at the rear and the next day we found breakfast in nearby Union Square, After that we looked around Aberdeen city centre going to the Maritime Museum, shopping centre, harbour and beach area to the north of the centre.

 Gordon Highlanders War Memorial on Castle Street at the top of Union Street.

Aberdeen's sandy beach looking over to the cliffs and our route out in the morning.

Mural near the harbour.

Try and find this mural, shush

Another find and always a surprise.

The Maritime Museum (free entry) was modern and gave a comprehensive history of the whaling, naval and oil industry centred on the city. There was a lot of information about the lives of the people in different ages but too much to take in on one visit. I'd read there was a beach, so after a stroll up Union Street (there is a large "Evans Cycles" store on Union Street) we walked down to the sea front to find a café and view of the long sandy beach towards the harbour area. The harbour area and docks are near the centre and it makes a good walk to follow the shoreline to the docks and back into the main shopping area, crossing what looked like the original cobbled side streets. 

Stonehaven.

No rain so far but cloudy with little wind and a relatively short ride of 26 miles to Stonehaven on the coast to the south. To start with we went through an industrial area on roads dominated by vehicles connected with work in the docks. However, the road soon rose to a cycle path along the cliffs to a lighthouse and a cooler wind from the west. This route joined a larger carriageway and then smaller  roads to Portleven where we anticipated a coffee stop, After asking, we found one,  "Sally's Cafe", about 10 minutes ride off-route near the intersection with the A90. After this we followed a stony track and then minor roads wending their way up, down and around to the B979 downhill into Stonehaven. This made a pleasant ride that was mostly traffic, free apart from the busy road into the town.

Stonehaven beach looking towards the harbour and the cliffs that we ascend in the morning. 

Our first stop was to get a late lunch at  "Pinky Promise" near the square and find our apartment, "Bay View", near the beach front. Here we stored and charged our cycles and later, made our way to the "Toll Booth" restaurant to celebrate our 54 years wedding anniversary, a great meal overlooking the harbour.

One of the "Stonehaven Banksy" scrap-metal sculptures set along the beach path from the harbour seen on our evening stroll.

We walked back along the walkway on the beach front and saw the various sculptures that started to appear in 2016 that fascinated locals and tourists to the town. It was a pleasant evening with a radiant sunset over the bay.

Montrose.

Our next day was a ride to Montrose (27 miles) via Inverbervia which is about half-way. The sun was out and a milder day so I didn't miss the chance of shorts for the ride. We knew we had a steep climb out of Stonehaven to the cliffs but this was made easy on a graded cycle/footway to the road that passed Dunnottar Castle.

Dunnottar Castle on the coast just after leaving Stonehaven. Spectacular location a few minutes walk from the coastal road with a secure spot for cycles.

We stopped here and walked down to this scenic spot joining many tourist on the way. I can't imagine how difficult this was to build given its remote and challenging location near steep cliffs. The next part of the ride to Inverbervie was mostly on minor roads through farmland with the sweet smell of manure and corn harvesting in progress. There wasn't much traffic and the NCR 1 was clearly marked at the various junctions and turns. Nearing Inverbervie the road joined the A92 into town where we found a great coffee stop called "Phoenix" on the main street. After this we had a section on the busier A92 that I expect one day will have a cycle path alongside. The road was wide, undulating but not busy for us and so we were soon near St Cyrus and a National Nature Reserve on the coast. This involved a steep drop on a narrow winding road from the A92 but it was worthwhile as we sat on the beach eating our sausage rolls.

Lunch on St Cyrus beach in the sunshine.

St Cyrus beach looking towards Montrose our destination for the day.

Luckily, the route onwards went south parallel to the beach and avoided the steep incline. It joined an ash track and old aerodrome runways to reach cycle paths into Montrose. Our bed and breakfast accommodation ("The Lime Guest House") was before the bridge over South Esk river. The lady at the guest house recommended "The George" for our evening meal, about a 10 minute walk into the town and let us charge our batteries in their garden shed (this only took a couple of hours with the relatively low daily mileage).

Dundee.

The next day turned out to be a change in the weather with a cooler wind and mist and took us about 3 hours and 20 minutes to cover the 34 miles. We started by finding the bridge through to Ferryden which was quite industrial then proceeded to some hills and changes in direction with only a few glimpses of the coast. This was on narrow roads with few cars and a tractor or two but some climbs and well marked. This led us into Abroath and a coffee stop at "Cafe Seven" in the town centre. We cycled along the harbour and diverted into the centre but found many closed shops and many that seemed to be struggling. 

A proper cycle path from Abroath.

The next stage was on cycle paths all the way to Dundee centre passing through Carnoustie and lunch stop at the sports centre, and then Broughty Ferry and an ice cream stop on the quay. Broughty Ferry was lively in the afternoon sunshine as we watched some boats come in and people walking on the promenade aside the Tay estuary. 

The misty view near Broughty Ferry over the Tay towards Tayport.

The cycle path led us into Dundee and the harbour where NCR 1 goes over the Tay bridge. We continued around the V&A museum to the Premier Inn where they stored our bikes for a couple of days whilst we visited the city.

On an after dinner stroll we found the centre full of life with the University Freshers week in progress and I couldn't resist a photo of the "Desperate Dan" statue in the High Street.

Desperate Dan, Dawg, Minnie and Minx.

We also visited the V&A and Discovery museums near the harbour front.  We have seen the Discovery before many years ago and now with the ongoing restoration, the ship didn't look at it's best. I have to say I didn't understand many of the exhibits in the V&A and what was going on, but that's me. 

Scott's Discovery ship in restoration.

On of the exhibitions showing the craftsmen at work on the hull.

We also took some time to find the route onto the Tay bridge for walkers and cyclists as we were both apprehensive about the crossing. This proved simple as there was a large walk-through lift from the harbour-front cycle path up to the cycleway on the bridge, and although the temperatures had suddenly dropped to a few degrees, the wind was still moderate and shouldn't be a concern when we cross.

Tayport, St Andrews to Anstruther.

The next day we planned to cross the Tay and spend some time in Tayport where Helen lived as a child. The morning was cold, so shorts away, but the sun did shine through to give us a blue sky and a brilliant day to cycle and visit the area around Tayport, The cycleway over the bridge was fine, a little narrow but did produce a peculiar sound with our tyres on the metal grid. 

Crossing the Tay.

There was a nice cycleway into Tayport going alongside the estuary. We stopped several times as Helen recalled her childhood rolling down the brae slopes (now trees and shrubs) and picking berries (the berries are still there). The path goes besides the discontinued Tayport High Lighthouse with panoramic views over the Tay to Broughty Ferry on the other side. From here we cycled into Tayport harbour and a coffee at the "Harbour Cafe", a nicely situated community cafe overlooking the harbour. 

Tayport Braes

One of Tayports lighthouses

The harbour at Tayport near the cafe.

Tayport looking north-west towards the town and harbour.

Looking east to Tentsmuir and in the distance Tentsmuir point, our next destination through the forest. The antitank boulders are still in place.

We then did a cycle tour of the town as Helen showed me where her family had lived whilst in Tayport and also where her father had a bakers shop. Great to see it all with a blue sky and such calm conditions.

The next ride was on gravel/forest tracks through moorland and forest (Tentsmuir) to reach Tentsmuir point where we heard and saw some curlew but we didn't see any seals. This is one location where the dunes and mudflats grow seaward, one of the fastest developments in Scotland partly caused by deposition of sediment from the Tay as it reaches the sea.

Looking out to Tentsmuir point in the Tentsmuir National Reserve.

Turning south, we continued on forest tracks to meet a minor road leading to Leuchars, a well known RAF base (in the past) and now army base. Unfortunately we met high winds on the route and a fair number of cars making to the reserve. We found the NCR 1 directions in the town confusing or absent but managed to navigate with the GPS Ride App. to get s to Guardbridge and a cycleway along side the main road into St Andrews.

St Andrews was very busy with tour buses and many American voices around. We had some difficulty finding bike stands at first but then they appeared out of the blue, so no complaints. We had a quick lunch and then decided to leave the bustle, and cycle past the harbour to find the A917 out of the town and then after a mile, a "B" road leading directly south-east to Anstruther on the coast. The NCR 1 heads inland from St Andrews to the south-west to Ceres which we intended to meet the following day. We felt a brief diversion,  to what we recall as a small fishing village that we'd visited before in our camper, would make a change to following the National Cycle Route. The "B" road was busier than I'd imagined and also we had a head-wind all of the way so although it was only about 9 miles, we were glad to get to our Bed and Breakfast accommodation , "Spindrift", on the edge of town. We walked around the harbour and reserved dinner at the "Waterfront" restaurant adjacent to the harbour. We were advised that the restaurants get full and sure enough during our meal they were turning people away; the meal and service was very good and recommended. 

Anstruther harbour on a chilly night.

Markinch.

We awoke to gale warnings with winds from the north-west gusting at 45-50 mph, just the direction we were travelling.  We started by going through Pittenweem but didn't stop as we thought the day would be long and challenging enough. I had mapped a route on GPS Ride to get to Ceres and rejoin the national cycleway. This was mainly on minor roads to Arncroach and then we did meet a minor road signed "Private" at Lathallan farm  that was a short-cut avoiding the main A915  but we decided to take the longer route meeting up with my original route at the entrance to Gilston House. This proved a good idea as the gravel/dirt track went through a long coppice that sheltered us from the wind and then joined a minor road to New Gilston. This is one of the few times I had to used my Ordance Survey map to check the route as the GPS RideA pp. isn't brilliant at names such as Gilston House.

Typical of the undulating countryside to Markinch with some wheat still to be harvested.

A view of Markinch from our evening walk.

The cycle into Ceres was very picturesque along the narrow lanes. Here we diverted to "The Village Cafe", another community café for refreshments, lunch and a break from the wind blasting. After this we were on the NCR 1 for a while but again diverted south towards Glenrothers and our accommodation at Markinch. This was a self-catering flat "Wellpark Corner" and very pleasant and not far from "Laurel Bank Hotel" for our evening meal,

Kinross.

This was a relatively short cycle ride of 24 miles but with hills totalling 1224 ft in ascent but the last bit near Loch Leven pretty flat. The route skirts the Lomond Hills National Park going along the northern side to the west of the hills to Kinross and Loch Leven.

Approaching Falkland with views of the Lomond Hills National Park, East Lomond hill (424 m)

Falkland centre with the 

We stopped at the "Campbell's Cafe" and had a walk around. Falkland is known for its Palace but we had already been in when we lived in Galashiels. 

The route continued to the west of the hills but on tracks and small minor roads above the A91.

Undulating road travelling south-west on higher ground but bordering the National Park.

First view of Loch Leven from the above road.

The route took us onto a gravel path around Loch Leven (3 to 4 ft wide) to reach a café/restaurant "Loch Leven's Larder" perfectly situated for a late lunch break. From there it was a short ride on tracks around the loch to "Kirkland Hotel" for our stop for two nights. They allowed us to charge our cycles in their garage and was situated in a good position to explore the loch and go over to the island that gained fame from the visits and incarceration of Mary, Queen of the Scots. 

We awoke to a cold wind and temperatures near 3 C so much in contrast to the start of our trip, The castle is reached by a short boat ride from the quay and makes an interesting visit although most of the castle has been demolished but you do get a sense of the history from the situation and the stories of the boatmen as you cross.  We had lunch in yet another community cafe and a walk alongside the loch.

Loch Leven Castle

Edinburgh.

This was to be our last day cycling (about 34 miles, 1994 ft ascent) and neither of us had looked forward to it because it involved a lot of urban cycling through Dunfermline and Edinburgh. However, once we cycled over the M90 near Kinross, the minor roads were not busy and well signed for NCR 1. The first part was over hills up to about 300 m to the "Heights of  Craigencrew" but on good winded roads giving great views in all directions. The power assist cycles helped a lot on what must be the steepest gradient of the whole trip. On descending, we saw signs for Townhill and I'd noted a cafe and sports complex nearby on the small "Town Loch".  We found this (it is close to the cycle path but not signed because of vandals destroying the signs) and enjoyed a morning break before moving onto the urbanisation of  Dunfermline and Inverkeithing. There are designated cycle paths but sometimes difficult to follow with the road intersections and changing sides of the road. This is where the GPS Ride App came in useful. In Inverkeithing we gave up on the cycle lanes and went onto the road to reach the Forth Road Bridge with its designated cycle lane. There are three bridges, the railway, the Forth Road Bridge and Queensferry Bridge with the M90. The Queensferry and Forth Road Bridges split at the last moment and so we stopped and asked someone if we were in the correct place as it looked like we were about to take the motorway along side the cycle path. The wind had dropped and the cycleway, of about 2 km, was fine and took us towards Cramond.

View of the Rail Bridge from the Forth Road Bridge cycleway.

We then followed NCR 1  to Cramond bridge and then our own route through Edinburgh by minor roads and cycleways stopping at Cramond for refreshments.

Our refreshment stop looking over the Forth at Cramond.

The route through Edinburgh to Leith, where we were staying, was easy and straight forward on what looked like old rail tracks and was well signed. We stayed at the Premier Inn and although they did store our cycles, we couldn't recommend their food or service. We met up with Helen's family and enjoyed chatting and catching up on our lives. We did visit the Botanical Gardens and Holyrood Palace so it was a good break from cycling. 

Edinburgh was very busy so cycling to Waverley Station to catch the train back to Totnes was quite daunting but in the event quite easy as the cycleways get close to St Andrew Square (coffee stop!) and within walking distance of the station. We had the usual hassle getting our cycles on the train and hanging them from near impossible spaces but we arrived early and the station person kindly allowed us to get our cycles in place before the passengers were allowed on the train. This made a big difference as wrestling with cycles in places were passengers are passing, is impossible. I guess the rail companies don't want cycles on trains but if you do get them on, watch they are not damaged by the poor support and clanging. I used bungie cords but saw one wheel in a different carriage broken because of the mounting.

Looking out of the window as I write this with the rain pouring down in Totnes, made me think how lucky we were to do the whole journey without rain and with blue skies most of the time. I won't mention the wind again, but if you are going to do this route, check the wind direction!