£15.00 third of night's fee at Findochty caravan park at Portessie (near Buckie)
£9.30 baked potato with tuna mayonnaise and banana milkshake, Chimes cafe, Forres
I got off to a nice early start after a good night's sleep in the campervan, despite waking up being bitten by midges and having to get up to put insect repellent on. I'd heard about the Scottish midges, and knew we were at the end of their season, but had been lucky enough to avoid them up to now. I packed the insect repellent in my handlebar bag that morning in case I started to be plagued by them whilst riding.
The Monday morning rush hour was non existent in the small villages I passed though on my way to picking up route 1 again. The roads were empty, despite being the main A roads along the coast, and the villages almost felt deserted as I passed through.
I was a bit disappointed with the terrain I was cycling through. Friends had told me how spectacular Scotland was for cycling, yet I found myself in rather dull landscapes that could have been anywhere in the UK. I passed field upon field with hay bales in various stages of getting organised for putting on a trailer (single where they fell off the combine harvester / paired up / in lines / all together at the edge of the field).
Elgin Cathedral, however, was wonderful. I took a short detour in the town to see it and artfully arrange the Roberts in front of the main facade. I wasn't staying long enough to pay for entrance, so just stood in front of the iron railings and attempted to get good angles of the ruined building.
Killross Abbey was also stunning. I got quite carried away there with the photographs, lying on the grass to get unusual shots and imagining the Roberts as a fashion model with moody backdrops. I was definitely developing a strange relationship with my bike.
I stopped for lunch in Forres after admiring the views across Findhorn Bay. There were a few cafes in town, so I plumped for the one that advertised gluten free cakes as I figured that would mean they might have other gluten free dishes on offer. As I sat down and joined two quiet, middle class couples of ladies having lunch, a group of four men came in. I think I'm safe in saying they ruined lunch for all of us as they were rude to the waitresses, kept boasting about how much they'd drank the night before, and loudly ordered amazing amounts of toast and Irn Bru to accompany their all day breakfasts.
As I left the cafe, attempting to keep as low a profile as I could so as not to attract the attention of the group of men, there was a film crew filming opposite the cafe. I think my Roberts, locked to a drainpipe on the corner, may appear in some low budget, straight to video film coming to Filmflix soon. The group of men emerged from the cafe as I was unlocking my bike, and proceeded to shout insults at the film crew and actors. I rode off quickly to avoid getting involved in any altercation as the film crew attempted to move the group on, or at least quieten them down so they could continue their filming.
When I'd looked at the Sustrans map that morning I saw that the route between Nairn and Inverness was a lot longer than the A69 route. As the roads seemed to be quiet up here, I'd decided to take the A69 on the final part of the day's ride and get in to Inverness in good time. Also, I'd begun to get tired of looking at hay bales and pulling to the side to let tractors pass so fancied the variety of regular cars, trucks, and busses. As planned, I got to Inverness before 6pm and actually managed to find the hotel quite easily, considering it was city centre and Vaughan had just given me the address and told me it was near the castle. I had booked this hotel, the Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel, for the three of us as my birthday treat before I'd impulsively decided to stay in the Maryculter country house hotel a couple of days before. It was right on the bank of the River Ness, great for getting into town, and had all the mod cons we did without whilst camping (like beds, doors, and complimentary toiletries).
I'd had enough of going out in search if dinner, so managed to persuade Vaughan and Liz to eat in the hotel restaurant. It didn't take much persuading, it's true. We splashed out and had cocktails as well as three courses. I stuck to non-alcoholic cocktails as I was still convinced that the whisky in Johnshaven had given me a headache.
Unfortunately, my room was ground floor and with a fire escape door instead of window, so my room was too hot and airless for me to get a good night's sleep, despite going to sleep sober and having ridden a fair few miles.
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