Pitlochry to Bridge of Balgie Glen Lyon cycle

Bridge of Balgie post office

It was the day to tick off another of my bucket list outdoor adventures. My plan was to cycle from Milton of Fonab in Pitlochry to the Bridge of Balgie post office/cafe in Glen Lyon. Truly a beautiful part of the country to meander through. 
It was to be a one way cycle, getting on a bit you know, and the first decision to be made was which road to go from Pitlochry to Glen Lyon. There is an up and down back road via Foss but it leads to a long uphill grind that I suspected would be a long trudge and not so much fun. So I opted to go via Logierait & Aberfeldy.
The day I chose was meant to be the best weather day of the week, that's not saying a lot this year, but it was more overcast than I expected when it came the time to start. Fuelled with traditional West Scotland nutrition, a breakfast roll of black pudding and fried egg, very tasty, off I went.

The Logierait road is about to dip again

The opening 4 miles on the back road from Fonab to Logierait is a narrow rolling country road with some fast descents and also some climbs that start getting the lungs going. There are some good views around this stretch but do take care, it is narrow road with many blind corners where meeting a car/tractor at speed is not recommended. Shortly after the start you pass the entrance to the Dunfallandy Stone, a Pictish carving, which you might want to visit.

Attractive garden in Logierait

At Logierait the route follows the main road and the River Tay towards Grandtully. A pleasant scenic flat route but you do have fast traffic around so take care. Also, as I turned onto the main road I was now aware of a westerly headwind which accompanied me for most of the route at various degrees on intensity, so much for the warm day.

Strathtay but n ben

At Pitnacree I opted to get off the main road and followed the suggested cycle route to Strathtay and then the back road towards Aberfeldy. There was very little traffic on this stretch and some mightily impressive properties, no change out of a million for many of these. The downside is that there is a lot of tree cover so views were limited and it felt quite cool in the shade. Still look out for the wildlife, 2 deer standing in the shadows in a forest, only movement was their eyes watching me, a red squirrel runs across the road and rapidly up a tree. There are patches of farmland, plenty of sheep and cattle and regular views of the might Tay.

The footbridge over the Tay at Aberfeldy

The road continues to Weem so you have to slightly double back if you want to visit Aberfeldy about a mile away. Worth it if just to go over the General Wade's impressive bridge construction over the Tay. For the more energetic you can also use this route to include Kenmore before rejoining my route.
Past Weem it is still a flat road but with more faster traffic so still take care. On this road is the village of Dull with the brilliant town twinning names with a place called Boring, priceless. There is also a small safari park located here as well as the location for outdoor activities.

A few miles further on take the turn signposted Fortingall. The views are getting more impressive as higher hills begin to dominate the skyline. There is a famous Yew Tree in this village which is said to be one of the oldest living things in Europe, there you go.

Glen Lyon starts here

Now you take a turn right and the start of Glen Lyon. This is real outdoor cycling for me, taking your time in a stunning location. Stopping often, not through tiredness but to appreciate the surroundings, this is why I am out doing it. The glen is said to be one of the most isolated and lonely in Scotland and it certainly is one of the most scenic. The only cyclists I passed were all going the other way, starts to make you think a bit, and all appeared to be foreign. Some of them were clearly not fit enough to have cycled over the Ben Lawers route so not sure where they started from, maybe a bus dropped them off? A few of the cyclists went speeding past me and they could not have been taking in the scenery as they concentrated on the road at speed, what a shame for them.

Typical view Glen Lyon

If you want to cycle the full glen it is 25 miles from Fortingall to the finish at Loch Lyon but for me the trip was only as far as Bridge of Balgie. As I expected there are a lot of short climbs and descents. The river Lyon is on your left and as a fisherman I love watching the water so I was stopping at any falls just in case a salmon was trying to leap them, but sadly not that I saw today.

Nice stone bridge and waterfall

There is beauty all around you, the occasional but impressive farm or country houses. In the early sections still heavily forested which is restricting the views but as you go on through the glen it opens up to mountain and river scapes that are stunning and spectacular. It is not very warm at all, despite the forecast, in fact it is cool, so I keep on my wind proof jacket for the full cycle.

Glen Lyon but n ben

Finally I reach my destination which has to be one of the most remote post offices. It also has a cafe and outside seating. A cold ginger beer was just the business. 

The vista opens out

As it was Mrs B was meant to be driving to meet me. I did think that she should have driven past by now. I had not had a phone signal since Fortingall so I had no idea where she was, last heard of entering a cafe in Aberfeldy. Had she got lost, I had keyed the destination into the sat nav but could she use it? Had she crashed my car? Worrying times. After half an hour I decided to have lunch, in part because I was hungry but also to fuel up just in case I had to cycle the road back. Just as I ordered she did show up, no problems just took her longer than she thought.

The bike made it

Today my trip journey was just under 35 miles which I travelled at circa 10 miles an hour. As mentioned before it is the journey and the views that interest me not the speed. Again for those wanting longer rides there is the option of going fully into the glen, I am saving that for another day. There is also the option of going up the single track road which goes past Ben Lawers but that is for the fit people.
Highly recommended.