Roam Scotland Rally Day 1 : Edinburgh to Callander, Sunday May 10th

I awoke in the hostel and got up for breakfast at 6:05. I was the only one there for a while, but later I was joined by Inge, another Roamer who’d come over from Belgium, and a lady from the Black Isle who’d been on a walking holiday in the Peak District. I had a decent breakfast and then set off through Edinburgh to the start at the Soderberg cafe in The Meadows, where after coffee and a chat from one of the Society trustees we set off, riding through the Meadows to some good cycle paths to the Union canal. 

We rode on the towpath for a while, meeting a few early morning joggers and walkers, and shortly after leaving the canal we encountered our first navigational issue – a road had been completely closed with no way through at all. Fortunately some local knowledge was on hand in the group behind and they led us on a short diversion back to where we should have been. We climbed up onto the Roseburn cycle path, from where we could see Murrayfield Stadium, and followed paths and residential streets, past the impressive Dalmeny House to come to our first view of the Forth Bridges. I stopped for a couple of obligatory photos then navigated through South Queensferry to join the cycle path crossing the Forth Road Bridge, which gave superb views of the Forth Rail Bridge. 

The group had fragmented by this point, with the fitter riders ahead of me. Once over the bridge the cycle path took us past Rosyth shipyard, where I spotted a swallow (or swift), to then follow a narrow downhill track riddled with tree roots which brought us out at a lovely scenic spot with great views of the Firth of Forth. We followed the water’s edge for a while before turning inland at Charlestown to head north, the distant hills giving some warning of a more challenging terrain to come. Riding up Rocks Road in Charlestown I passed a jogger who kindly offered to take my photo. Not long after this we joined a path running alongside the busy A985 which came as a bit of a rude awakening, fortunately it wasn’t long until we came to a roundabout and returned back onto quieter roads. The fields here were full of rapeseed in full bloom, the bright yellow flowers contrasting nicely with the deep blue sky, and I stopped for a photo, and as I did so Jason and Mike from the train up rode past. At Oakley I noticed a Co-op store and stopped for a drink and something to eat. Riding on through Saline I turned onto a Walking and Cycling Friendly road, passing some Highland Cattle at Solsgirth Home Farm where I also had to do a double take as I noticed there were some rheas and emus in a field. 

After stopping for a photo I crossed the busy A977 and dropped down into Dollar, where my Garmin got into a twist over the route. Fortunately I met some other Roamers who had been into a cafe for a break and they led me to the correct way forward. This followed an old railway line, the Devon Way, which was a nice gentle ride through woods with lots of wild garlic, bluebells and some pink flowers I couldn’t identify. At Tillicoultry the route joined a path alongside the A91, with a short diversion away at Alva, before heading into the hills just after Menstrie. This started with a steep uphill onto a track that entailed much hike-a-bike, although with the rewards of some terrific views south over the River Forth and back towards Edinburgh. 

Along the trail a small sausage on short legs (stoat maybe?) ran across in front of me, and I heard several cuckoo calls and saw a buzzard. The track ran downhill and turned onto a road which eventually came to the very busy A9 at Greenloaning. I crossed and headed on to Braco where I turned off, passing Braco Clocktower and former Free Church and continuing up onto a stony track where a strong wind was blowing in my face. The track proved challenging in places, leading to more hike-a-bike and wide open views, and further on it got rougher still. At one point I came across a gate that was locked shut, so had to lift my bike over and then climb over myself. Eventually I came to the Braes of Doune Wind Farm and here the track joined the gravel service roads heading downhill. 

As I descended the open moor gave way to forest before the route took me through some farm fields to another locked gate at a road. The road was rolling, with the head wind sapping my already flagging strength, and it was with a little relief that I came upon my campsite at Keltie Bridge. I checked in, put the tent up and then headed to Callander Co-op for some supplies. Back at the campsite I ate, then showered and settled down to relax for the night. It had been a long and immensely enjoyable day, but now was time for rest and recovery for tomorrow’s instalment. 

Roam Scotland Rally Day 0 : Saturday May 9th

The Roam Scotland Rally is a ride organised by the Roam Scotland Bikepacking Society, and this year the route was going to be from Edinburgh to Inverness over seven days. I’d been looking forward to the Rally for a long while, and at last the day of departure dawned. I packed the panniers, handlebar bag, accessory pack and loaded up the bike. With rain possible by 12:45 I set off at noon hoping to keep dry. 

I made good progress, passing through Haslington where a fair was underway and hopped onto the cycle path at Crewe Green roundabout. This took me rapidly to the station where I found my way to platform 11 where the Edinburgh train was due. By chance the Midland Pullman arrived on an adjacent platform with the “Lord of the Isles”, passing through on its way to Inverness. 

My train came in on time and I loaded my bike on alongside one other, then settled into my seat for the journey. At Preston another cyclist boarded and introduced himself – he turned out to be another Roamer, Jason, who was also doing the Rally for the first time. We chatted until Penrith when his mate Mike boarded, also riding the Rally for the first time. After heading through a slightly damp Carlisle we headed into southern Scotland, passing many fields full of sheep and lambs before finally arriving in a chilly Edinburgh. I left Jason and Mike here after printing my tickets for the return from Inverness and headed out into the streets of Old Reekie. I found my way onto a very good cycle lane that ran alongside the road and soon arrived at the Central Youth Hostel where I was staying. I checked in and was shown down a couple of flights of stairs to the secure cycle storage and my room (coincidentally next door to each other). I left my bike in the store alongside several others, and as I knew there a couple more due I wondered where they’d fit them all. I settled into my room and then went to the cafe to get chicken strips and coffee for tea, with a double Glenmorangie to finish to get my tour underway. 

The train home - not what I'd planned!

I woke reasonably early after a decent nights sleep in a soft warm bed, and lay relaxed until it was almost time to get up. Deciding on a quick check of my emails, my eye was drawn to one from Avanti titled “Laurie, your train has been cancelled”. Seems there had been a fire near Glasgow Central and no trains were going in or out, including my train back to Crewe. Not what you want to see on your day of travel. Fortunately I’m fairly clued up on the rail network, so my thoughts were get to Edinburgh from Queen Street and from Edinburgh I knew I’d get an Avanti service to Crewe. I got changed and checked out of the hostel, picked up the bike from the cycle store and rode the short distance to Oban station. I loaded the bike onto the train, noticing that I’d hung it the wrong way up last time, and sat down in my seat to check timetables and make the necessary bookings. I booked Glasgow to Edinburgh via the Scotrail app quite quickly, then tried to get an Avanti service to Crewe using the Avanti app.

 Interestingly, there seemed to be no services whereby I could book a cycle reservation, at least not until April! Fortunately I got onto the Avanti website via National Rail and from there found that I could indeed book my bike on, and so booked the 14:52 to Crewe. For the rest of the journey to Glasgow I looked out at the scenery, still lovely even though it was again dreich! Closer to Glasgow the scene outside became more urban (and depressing at times) and we were soon rolling into Queen Street station where I disembarked and went to the concourse for the short wait for the Edinburgh service. This train took cycles, but it was first come first served with a maximum of two bikes, which leads to uncertainty and an anxious wait. I saw one other bike on the concourse so wasn’t too worried. The train was announced and I headed to the carriage for bikes, and found I was the first on board – phew. Another cyclist joined soon after me and stored his bike alongside mine. The journey took a little less than an hour, and was through mainly urban countryside with not a great deal of interest to see. Arriving at Edinburgh I got off and went to pick up my tickets from the machine, where again no cycle reservation ticket was printed, so a quick trip to the ticket office was required to resolve that. 

Looking at the screens of arrivals and departures it was clear that Avanti had a problem on the West Coast route, with trains from London Euston delayed significantly – turns out there was a problem with a trespasser at Preston which was causing long delays. My train was suggested as being 31 minutes late, so a long wait of two and a half hours ensued. I had some lunch and did a couple of laps walking the bike around Waverley station to pass the time. At last, my train rolled in, and I loaded the bike into the storage space, found my seat and settled in for the three hour journey. I’d decided to get the train back to Sandbach from Crewe rather than ride home in the dark, so booked onto the 18:16. After a scenic ride down to the borders the weather started deteriorating after Carlisle, and all you could see outside was dank, gloomy countryside. The onboard train progress screens were starting to show further delays to the service, caused by the earlier trespass issue, so I looked up the Northern timetable to see what my options were going to be – fortunately there were trains every half hour so if I missed the 18:16 there would be another at 18:46. 

At Preston it was clear that I’d miss the 18:16, and with further delays by Wigan and Warrington even the 18:46 had come and gone. Finally we rolled into Crewe just before 7, meaning I had a short wait for the 19:16. Luckily we came in on platform 5 and the Sandbach train left from platform 1, meaning no need to get the lift up and over the tracks. My train came in and I loaded up the bike into the designated carriage, and a quarter of an hour later we were off.

Seven minutes later we rolled into Sandbach where I dismounted, manhandled the bike up and over the footbridge (where is the lift when you need one!) and rode the short distance home. Not the journey home I’d envisaged when booking the trip, but it was a lot less stressful than driving would have been, plus as a bonus I’d got to experience Edinburgh Waverley ahead of my trip later this year, and got experience of travelling on Northern Trains which I probably wouldn’t have done if I’d got to Crewe at 17:00 as originally intended. Despite the issues caused by the fire and trespass, my experience hasn’t put me off taking my bike on the trains again in the future. 

Later on I found out that the "trespasser" had climbed onto a bridge at Preston and wouldn't come down. He was later arrested, then de-arrested and sanctioned. It made me think that stress is all relative, a delay to a train is hardly comparable to being in a difficult state of mind.