Lejog day 30 Dalwhinnie to Carrbridge

Our shoppy bought breakfast  wasn't great. Orange juice (ok), banana (ok), one round of egg butty (not great), cup of tea (ok). Hardly a full English, or Scottish even! 

Another great day's cycling with a tailwind as an added bonus. Quiet cycleways and roads until we hit Aviemore - horrible place! Mustn't dwell on that though as the rest of the day was brilliant.

As well as the tailwind there was an abundance of downhill today. We started at 1200 feet above sea level and we're still at about 800 feet in Carrbridge but there were many downhill sections where you could just cruise along, relax and enjoy the view. The weather also stayed fine - cool but fine. We're so thankful.

After less than a mile of cycling we passed the Dalwhinnie distillery, a malt whisky highly recommended by my fellow Eden Runner, Gary Milnes. I would have brought you some back Gary, and maybe a bottle for me as well, but a) it was closed and b) I didn't have room for it anyway. 

After about ten miles of mostly downhill we reached Newtonmore. We called in at the    Co-op - a regular treat on this holiday - to stock up on essential food items such as jelly babies.

Soon after that we visited the Highland Folk Museum where there are reconstructed buildings to show what life was like back in the day. There was a 1930s school with mock lessons on some days at 12 noon. We were there at that time and hoped to experience one but sadly today wasn't the right day. There was also a shop that sold sweets like they used to - pear drops in jars and many other types of sweet. £1.80 a quarter - a bit more expensive than the three pence pre-decimal price I used to pay! We didn't buy anything because we'd already stocked up on jelly babies, a great shop though.

It was plain to see we  were well and truly in the Highlands as we edged round the mighty Cairngorms. Between Newtonmore and Aviemore they were constantly in view apart from when we were on roads gong through the ancient woodland which typified the area. It was well past lunchtime by this point but an interesting statistic (for me at least) is that there is not ONE picnic table or bench on the roads we followed between Newtonmore and Aviemore - about 19 miles in total - even though there are many footpaths and trails going off in all directions. We ended up eating lunch at 3pm sitting on a bench by the public conveniences in Aviemore! 

The busy A95 took us out of Aviemore towards Carrbridge with some drivers as impatient as back in the days of the Lancashire urban sprawl. We were glad to turn left onto the relatively sedate B road on which our accommodation is situated.  

That's week five completed. A rest day tomorrow and no idea yet what we'll do with it apart from rest. 

Five cycling days to go - 154 miles and 7400 feet of ascent. All being well we can do that!