Trip from East Daviot to Tomatin

With high speed gusts like yesterday’s, this was a good day for not cycling on busy roads. Roads in the area were very quiet today, partly due to the cancellation of the second day of the Moy Country Fair. There was a little rain and some sunshine but it was certainly not too warm.

The tour of the Tomatin distillery was very informative, interesting and enjoyable. It was new to me, for example, that the copper used to make the distillation vessels catalyses reactions (esterifications), improving the flavour. The large number of stages and the loss of some alcohol due to evaporation goes some way to explaining the high cost of whisky. Three whiskies were tasted and drivers (and cyclists) could take home a "doggy bag" of the undrunk samples in tiny glass bottles. Afterwards, if you could afford it, you could fill a 700 ml bottle yourself from a barrel.

The Taste of Tomatin shop and cafe was handy for lunch and then a side-trip to Balvraid offered enjoyable scenery including the river, woodland, moorland and hills. Being at a dead-end, it was especially quiet and relaxing.

During my return to the campsite, after the A9 roadworks (including new walking/cycling paths not yet open) a scenic diversion included the north-east side of Loch Moy. Benches at viewpoints have been installed and funded by proceeds from the installation of the wind farm on the estate. Surprisingly, on this Saturday afternoon there was no one else around.

Today’s stats totalled a distance of 25 miles with 1400 feet of ascent and 1130 active calories. There were some struggles against the wind. Lighter wind is forecast for tomorrow, when Plan A is to camp at Beauly.