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| Tunnel of trees in Mintlaw |
was autumn there was a carpet of fallen leaves and other detritus to ride through. The up side of this is that several times I was riding through corridors of trees, which is a really nice feeling. After Mintlaw the trees became less and vistas of fields opened up. I came across a rare sight - an unharvested wheat field, which surely must be due for collection shortly. As I stopped for a photo I heard the unmistakeable cries of two buzzards, followed shortly by a chicken - I pondered on a posible conversation with the buzzards discussing lunch, and the chicken telling them to sod off! Shortly after I came across another F&BW sign board, which had an unusual addition of a bag of dog poo hanging from it. It always amazes me when I see these, if the owners can be bothered to bag it why don't they take it with them!! At Longside the track crossed a road and continued onwards, past a locked portaloo. Shame there aren't any of these around when a desperate cyclist needs one, as the only alternative is to splash a few weeds. As I rode on, numerous signs popped up indicating local walking routes, clearly there is a good network of paths available here. I also noticed that the track was now dead straight, rather than meandering as it did
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| Not a curve in sight |
elsewhere, and you could see a long way in the distance. Soon I found myself on the outskirts of Peterhead. At this point, the track turned into a properly tarmaced path and threaded its way past houses and supermarkets. I think the routes lose their identity somewhat when this happens, out in the open countryside you can feel the history and purpose, but once in urban areas it just becomes invisible in the urban sprawl. It's a shame, but better to have it there than not, and we do have a lot to thank Dr Beeching for. I left the F&BW and navigated through the streets of Peterhead to the harbour and beach. I have a photo of me with my Nan on this beach, me jokingly trying to strangle her. There were a number of ships in the harbour, with the strange look of a Japanese bullet train to them. I left the beach, passing the Scottish Maritime Academy, and took the shared path running alongside the A982. I was glad of it, as the traffic was heavy with some big lorries rolling along. A little further along the road I saw a sign for a viewpoint, so decided to divert to see if it was worth it. Short answer - no! The view was a small bit of the sea and a large bit of the SSE power station. It definitely wasn't worth the climb up a steep grassy path, pushing a heavy bike. At least there was a picnic table and a waste bin, so I had a drink and one of my bananas before setting off again. A little further on I turned off the road into Boddam. This is a
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| Boddam lighthouse |
small village with a harbour and a lighthouse - definitely worth the divert and with a better view than that at the viewpoint! From Boddam I climbed back up to the road and retraced back towards Peterhead for a short distance before climbing inland. Midway up there was the remains of a ruined cottage that had superb views, if it could be renovated it would be worth a fortune. The road continued up and turned back southwards, and after a bit of a rollercoaster ride I eventually crossed the A90 again and dropped into Cruden Bay. At this point the sun came out, and I found myself at the gorgeous Port Errol Harbour overlooking the Bay of Cruden. It was absolutely beautiful, so I stopped for lunch. It was tough to drag myself away from there, but I knew if I didn't I'd seize up. I climbed out of Cruden Bay, passing a beautiful church building, and reached the main road again, which I crossed and headed in the direction of Hardslacks. The road climbed steadily for five miles, affording superb views across the countryside in the sun. At one point I came across a herd of cows eating feed from a huge trough, so stopped for a conversation.
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| Hrrraaauummmphh! |
All I got was blank stares, and one of them started coughing loudly at me, so I pedalled off again. After a bit of strenuous ascending I came to the highest point of the ride and started descending, still on rolling roads. I came to the A952 road that I'd taken when driving up here and followed it for a short distance before turning off at the wonderfully named Clola. Straight away I was climbing again, so to take my mind off the exertion I started playing word games with the name - Coca Clola, Clola Rodgers (one for the oldies). I stopped when I came across of field of very large cows moving towards the road, one of them having a good scratch on a gate, so good that I was worried about the gate giving way and me having to sprint to avoid a raging herd. I noticed at this point that not only were the roads quiet, but there were far fewer herds than I'd seen earlier, and also fewer birds, certainly no buzzards or the like. I knew I was due to make a right turn to drop down into Maud at some point, and was expecting it at any point, but each time I thought this was it, it turned out not to be. Eventually though I did come across a signpost for Maud, 3 miles, and followed the direction. As I rode along I noticed a small herd of alpacas in a field on my right. An unusual first for me this week.
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| Highland cow (original) |
Further along again I came across four small highland cattle. Three of these were black, which is the original colour for the breed. The reddish coloured variety was popularised by Queen Victoria who commented that she preferred these, and so in an effort to please her selective breeding took place to encourage growth of these and black cattle gradually declined over time. I stopped for a photo, which so clearly excited one of the little black fellows that he started urinating, and one of the others started a coughing fit too! After what seemed an eternity I eventually passed Maud Hospital and descended Bank Road, passing my nan's old house. I did a quick turn round Maud, taking videos for my mum to see, then picked up the F&BW to Mintlaw, ending back at the bed and breakfast shortly after three, after another cracking day on the bike.
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