A BIKEPACKING STORY OF THE 450-MILE PICTISH TRAIL THROUGH SCOTLAND

Today I will be starting a Scottish adventure starting in the capital Edinburgh as I will be peddling my way through the ancient Pictish kingdoms to the most northerly point, Dunnethead. All that stands in my way is 460 miles or 750 kilometers of Scottish wilderness. Starting in Edinburgh after a long journey from the south coast my first objective was to get out of the hustle and bustle of the capital. The first battle that Scotland was putting in my way would be the wind. It was looking like it was going to be a gusty crossing of the Forth Road bridge. Starting in the evening meant I had planned for a short day in the saddle. Getting out into the countryside was the goal and with it being so windy I would have an extra task to find somewhere sheltered to set up the first full day on the trails I was treated to a calm morning. With the sun starting to rise the wind this morning seemed to have passed. It was looking like it would be a beautiful start to today's pedal into the Lemond Hills. The first bit of climbing and the first time that luckily for me it was pushing me along which was a welcome break from the slow first 10 miles I had covered climbing through the Lemond Hills. But being pushed towards Dundee along the hard packed ease along this beautiful coastline thankful I had decided to ride this route in this direction as the easy miles just got easier and easier. I would have to make the most of these easy of the wind and rain hitting my tent last night I was half expecting it to be a grey and miserable day when I unzipped my tent but I was counting my blessings another morning with blue skies and the sun rising over the hills behind. The sun might have been rising behind the hills behind me but I was about to start climbing the ones in front of me and the one in front of me was the the freezing cold wind this morning but I was having the best of time. It helps that it wasn't raining but pushing on to the top of the highest point of this adventure to be greeted with these back to making my way uphill but the climbs were smooth gravel and steady going and the descents apparently it's Orla I think say hello to Orla. Orla was a bit of a local celebrity of Beulah apparently loved going on her own adventures only for her owner to have to come and collect her and as much as I'm sure she would have loved the Pictish Trail it was time to say goodbye to my new friend and get underway and see what today had in store for me and it wouldn't be 10,000 years ago standing on a little wooden bridge with the water over 100 feet below there is an eerie feel to this place. From eerie gorges back to the wonders of the Scottish landscape I found myself pedaling along the perfect gravel smoother than most tarmac roads and every now and again just being taken back by just how beautiful everything felt. but sometimes very occasionally perfect does happen. This evening was just that endless descents the sun drying me out and ending my day after an incredible day along the Scottish trails watching the sun set behind all the hills I had come through ending my day with an incredible camp spot. Yesterday the sun painted the trees orange today the low clouds were rolling in from my left there was hope from my right though as I made my way through the now very damp trails and along Scotland's east coast. where I would actually break the 1000 feet elevation gain once more with a climb up to the clouds. Yeah this seems safe. I knew I was getting closer to the end of this adventure and ever closer to the furthest north point in mainland UK so I was eager to get over this last climb hoping for an easy pedal up and over like every other trail on this route however the heavens opened once more and the trails turned to hiker bike with boggy trails that I would have to move as fast as possible to keep the water out of my shoes which ultimately is always a losing battle. With soaked shoes my next challenge wouldn't be so much fun either. Oh oh oh my god how? Okay hopefully oh god it's still quite slippery now. It's better oh oh my god this is lethal. It's so slippery please don't break please don't break oh my god this is horrible. Jesus Christ that that was worse than just getting a roof across. Surviving the scary wet slippery creaky bridge was a relief and so was the trails I now found myself on. After the challenges I had left behind me it was nice to be back riding into the sunset now surrounded by the flow country with deep peat and bog pools. This corner of Scotland holds more than 400,000 hectares of blanket bog making it the largest expanse of this remarkable wild habitat in Europe. With just 35 miles to go to make it to the end of the Pictish trail I would be waking up to another cold but calm still morning. With mostly a downhill day it was going to be easy going to the end and it was. I would arrive fairly early to the most northerly point of mainland UK meaning I had time to enjoy and reflect on such a great adventure across Scotland and the ancient Pictish kingdoms.