Lejog day 28 Perth to Pitlochry
It was an interesting start to the day. A section of Perth was closed due to a vintage car rally taking place. Bikes were allowed through so we were able to get a close look at the cars on display.
A little later as we were cycling through a riverside park it just so happened that our route coincided with that of the Perth Parkrun. They were running in the opposite direction to us so we had to ride carefully to avoid collisions. If only we'd known we could have taken part!
Today's ride was one of the best. Much of the route was along quiet car free cycleways that took us alongside the River Tay and to other out of the way places. The scenery was becoming more mountainous and, even though the sky was grey with mist on the hills, it was still beautiful.
We stopped briefly at Dunkeld and admired the river from the Telford Bridge.
We've now moved on from the Shropshire habit of sitting on benches in churchyards to sitting on benches in graveyards. We did it yesterday and again today about five miles short of Pitlochry.
Rain was forecast today but we hardly had any until just after we'd arrived at our accommodation when it chucked it down. We really feel blessed to have had such great weather throughout this journey and when it's not been so good we seem to have missed the worst of it.
At Logierait Bridge we meet a group of little ducklings waggling their way along with no sign of mother duck! We hoped they would soon be reunited with mum!
The Backpackers hostel is where we're staying tonight. It's a lively place. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Vanessa, who welcomed us, is Brazilian and has learnt to speak English simply by listening as a child would when learning to speak their own language. This evening the staff were all in the lounge enjoying a meal together. After they'd finished there were leftover strawberries and other delights which we were invited to help consume. So naturally we did help!
We got talking to Joanan this evening. We'd met him in the kitchen when we were microwaving our tasty ready meal and he was waiting to do his. Joanan is from the Netherlands and has spent a couple of days bashing off Munros in the Cairngorms. He experienced a wild windy night when he thought his tent might blow away. He then suffered from a painful knee which put paid to any further mountaineering. He's heading back home tomorrow but loves Scotland so he'll be back, he says, not only for the mountains but for the whisky as well. I told him I was doing a blog, in which he expressed great interest, so he now has one of our little cards with the blog details. It was great to meet you Joanan.
It's quite late writing this but as it's nearly bedtime I must mention the quilt covers with their liquorice allsorts design.
Good night!
