Speyside Way – Day 1 – Aviemore to Cromdale

June 17th, 2018
31.6km | ascent 278m | descent 307m
Wild camp by the River Spey near the church in Cromdale

: Aviemore Youth Hostel – after finishing the Great Glen Way in Inverness, I took the train straight to Aviemore and stayed here the night before starting the Speyside Way

: Fish and chips for dinner in Aviemore

: I guess this is the starting point of the Speyside Way from Aviemore… near Aviemore station

: The Speyside Way follows the National Cycle Network Route 7 for the first stretch beside the Strathspey steam railway line

: The village shop in the very quaint village of Boat of Garten, where I stopped for a snack

: A quick snack at the village shop in Boat of Garten

: Passing wetlands in the Abernethy Forest National Nature Reserve

: Abernethy Forest National Nature Reserve

: Waymarks are quite sparse on the Speyside Way, here’s one in the Abernethy Forest National Nature Reserve

: I can’t resist a cute cottage, Nethy Bridge

Nethy Bridge was another quaint village (no photos, sorry, but it would be a nice place to stay the night) and I stopped for more snacks at the charming Nethy House Cafe.

: Lupins along the trail

: The first of many squeeze gates

: Lupins

: Lupins and Old Spey Bridge, Grantown on Spey

: Lupins and Old Spey Bridge, Grantown on Spey

: Into Anagach Woods

: On my way to Cromdale, I noticed on Google Maps there was one hotel so I called and asked if they would be serving meals tonight (Sunday) and the kind lady said they were serving up a roast dinner for a group but as I was solo I could join them. She also told me Cromdale House was closed (which used to allow camping in their yard) but that I could camp near the church by the river. It was a bit of a walk past the church to the hotel and back, but the roast dinner and company was definitely worth it.

: Camping by the River Spey in Cromdale. What looks like an idyllic spot turned into a nightmare as the wind picked up about midnight and I thought my tent was going to tear into pieces! I ended up moving at 1:30am closer to the church to try to get out of the wind.