Scotland 2.0, Day 2 : It was a drizzly Tuesday........

I woke feeling tired after the ride yesterday, not what I really wanted. However, a hearty breakfast of fruit and yoghurt followed by a good helping of porridge set me up for the day. Today, I was going south on the Formartine and Buchan Way (F&BW), to Dyce just outside Aberdeen, returning via the NCN1 from Newmachar to Auchnagatt. As I started off, I felt some spots of rain falling. This definitely wasn't on the radar, however it wasn't enough to warrant carrying any extra waterproofs. Leaving Old Deer I picked up the F&BW and headed towards Maud, glancing at the road to Maud on my left and thinking this was a much better option for a tired cyclist. At Maud, I passed through Maud Junction station, which was the biggest on the line and still has four platforms standing, one of which includes the Maud Railway Museum. From here I followed the F&BW south towards Auchnagatt.

Lineside hut

The scenery here was arable farmland, similar to that north of Maud, however there were fewer wheat fields and the animals were fewer and further between. I did stop to talk to a herd of cows, but they weren't in the mood for conversation. More evidence of the history of the track was present with several lineside buildings, such as the one on the left here. The drizzle was falling slightly heavier now, and these buildings offered at least some cover should it become much heavier. 

At Auchnagatt the track crosses the road and resumes on the opposite side. It left me wandering what was there when the line was in operation - maybe a level crossing perhaps? I then thought I should get out more.

The stretch from Auchnagatt to Ellon was 7 miles, and the track here was a much firmer, gravel surface than I'd encountered north of Maud, although there were still patches of grass covered bits to watch out

"For Karen" playground

for. At one point I came across the incongruous sight of a Welsh flag flying, with "For Karen" stitched on it and a small children's play area alongside. There were still some good views either side of the track, and more old railway history, including some lineside mile markers which indicated I was around 22 miles from Aberdeen. There was also a white field mushroom growing at one point! The drizzle was also increasing at this point, and didn't show any signs of stopping.

On entering Ellon, the track became tarmaced, which is good / bad depending on your point of view. I exchanged pleasantries with a local as I paused to take a photo of a group of brown mushrooms by the track. The track skirts past Ellon so you don't see much of the town, but it does cross the spectacular River Ythan via a lovely stone bridge.

Shortly after the bridge the tarmac runs out, and the track returns to its gravel / packed dirt state. Just before Udny Station I noticed a box of tennis balls on the ground, these had been left by the owners of the recently deceased dog Ziva Diva for others to use as the dog apparently loved this place. What a lovely gesture.

After Udny Station I came across a set of level crossing gates alongside the track, so there was at least one level crossing along the line. At Newmachar there is a lovely little wooden train pulling a set of planters with flowers in them. 

Wooden train with planters at Newmachar

Here is where NCN 1 leaves the F&BW to go northwards to Auchnagatt via local roads, and you can see that the F&BW section to Dyce is part of the National Cycle Network by a colourful mile marker one mile outside Dyce. At this point I should have turned and headed back, as the last bit of my ride was on a soulless tarmac track in a built up area, good for commuting and local travel but a far cry from the rest of my journey. There were a couple of highlights though, crossing the wide and incredibly clear River Don being one of them. The chatter of helicopters was also very apparent here, being close to Dyce airport, and indeed I saw several helicopters flying during the day, no doubt off to one of the oil rigs in the North Sea.

On my return trip I left the F&BW at Newmachar and followed NCN1 northwards, with the drizzle now having stopped. Rather typically I had no sooner rounded a bend than I was faced with an uphill stretch, and to rub salt into the wounds the sun came out and I started overheating. The roads were rolling around here as they had been further north, but the gradients here weren't quite as bad. And on a positive note, after a fairly long uphill there was an even longer downhill stretch. At one point I'd clocked another uphill ahead, and decided to get up enough speed downhill to use the momentum going up. It was only at the last minute that I noticed I had to give way at a road crossing, fortunately there was nothing coming nearby. The road climbed up into Udny Green, a lovely little village with a restaurant from which some lovely smells were emanating - what a temptation. There was also a nice looking church which I stopped to take a photo of, and noticed opposite me something I may have found useful - a phone box with a defibrillator!

Tree lined lane

Leaving Udny Green behind, the road headed towards Tarves, and took me through a wonderful lane with trees overhanging from either side. It also took me past a farm where the roads were covered in thick mud, it must have been there a while as the bits at the side were dried and packed. Tarves was a nice town, although there seemed to be a big building expansion going on. After Tarves NCN1 takes you to the entrance to Haddo House with its Gardens and Country Park, which is owned by National Trust for Scotland. It then skirts the grounds, although you can't see any of the park as there are copious amounts of fir trees growing, in addition to the usual walls you get around these type of properties. At this point, the roads were getting a bit too rolling, and were starting to have an effect on my legs. I'd had both of my bananas, although still had some reserves, but it was taking longer to get up the uphill bits.

Tanglandford bridge

At Tanglandford, the road went over the River Ythan via a bridge, originally built in 1864, from which I saw a train of ducks, and a fish jumping. The road carried on rolling, passing the quaintly named Quilquox, and just before reaching Auchnagatt a buzzard flew up from the manure heap it was hiding behind and hung in the air on the strong breeze, looking around before drifting off to get away from me. Another example of birds of prey using harvested fields to search for their food. Back at Auchnagatt I availed myself of an energy bar, then binned off my original route plan of going over the back roads to Old Deer, instead choosing to return on the F&BW to Maud and then to Old Deer. This wasn't because I couldn't stand any more rolling roads, although my legs were putting up a strong case for the prosecution on that one, rather I'd spotted a cafe at Maud Station on the outward leg, and was hoping to avail myself of a coffee and cake there. Given my previous history with cafes I wasn't 100% hopeful, but set off nonetheless. Outside Maud I heard the unmistakeable noise of buzzards on the wing, and looking over my shoulder spotted a couple wheeling in the air. On reaching Maud I was delighted to find that the cafe was indeed open, and took the opportunity to stop for a rest, a coffee and a cake (not necessarily in that order).

Aaah, an open cafe!

Having satisfied my cravings I set off again, with heavy legs from the stop, and eventually rejoined the F&BW branch to Old Deer, finally rolling up to the B&B for a nice hot shower and a lot of recovery. Another enjoyable day, and the entire F&BW from Fraserburgh to Dyce covered.