Dunkeld to Dunfermline via Dundee

Magda and I got the train to Dunkeld and cycled to Dundee following The Salmon Run (NCN 77). It was a windy day, but there were some lovely bits of scenery, especially following the River Tay for a stretch into Perth. From Perth over Corsie Hill to Glencarse was also nice, especially as the wind was now behind us.

The breeze pushed us along at a fair old pace from St Madoes, past Errol and on to Dundee in time for dinner (and some lively debate about God, crime, and masculinity) with Beata & Artur.

Sunday promised to be a long day. We crossed the Tay bridge and set off west along the opposite coast. We passed Wormit, Balmerino and Hazelton Walls before reaching Newburgh. We ate some chocolate biscuits and drank some coke by the waterfront and then turned south and headed up hill.

The road to Auchtermuchty is surely a strange one. We passed a rabbit rescue centre, a house with (at a conservative estimate) 1000 cats (plus geese, ducks and hens), an old gnarled walker on one bench muttering words of wisdom, and some freakish horror movie teddy bears on another bench.

We were welcomed in to Auchtermuchty by the statue of Jimmy Shand (wiki), and pushed on toward Strathmiglo as the Lomond Hills loomed large in front of us. As we skirted round them we had a sustained gradual climb into a westerly breeze. The effort was rewarded by great views of Loch Leven and a pub lunch in Kinross. The next section was my favourite of the weekend: a climb up to Loch Glow. On the way I spotted a Kestrel and then we had a great descent through Blairadam forest to Dunfermline.


By this stage it had got dark so we slinked into Inverkeithing and got the train home. It was a shame not to cycle all the way back to Edinburgh, but nevertheless a good trip.