A day of changing scenery. Started off with riverside forest paths alongside the river Tay, then in the interest of safety the A9 to Pitlochry was avoided in favour of gently undulating lanes, offering superb views of the opening up scenery and mountains in the distance.
Moving on, there is a lot to be said about the Drumochter Pass. It's one of few cycle routes with a warning sign of no food or shelter for a great distance and changeable weather. The Sustrans answer to Death Valley. To me and many others no doubt such a sign is more an invitation than a heed!
The track mostly uses the old (and traffic free) A9 road close to the present one and despite the summit height is a gentle, gradual climb. I'm lucky to have now been through twice in good weather. If you're a little snap-happy like me you could end up stopping frequently, and if you're not, stop now and then anyway!
The summit itself is a squeeze of the road, railway, and line of pylons through a mountainous gap before the route drops down and you enter the highlands. At this point I felt almost sad the Pass was over as I'd looked forward to it a lot. I can safely say that in any dry weather it's worth savouring, and fails to disappoint. A great day!
Day 14 map, stats and gradients.
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