"The Salmon Run" - Sustrans NCN 77.

[Paladin - York]

Day 1.

Start Dundee 1400 19th April. B&b Perth.

Day 2.

Perth to Pitlochry 20th April. B&b Pitlochry.

This is the second of my 2011 "solo" & "Far from the Madding Crowd" trips.

 

[Coco]

Good luck. Can you report back on the route and conditions please?

 

[Paladin - York]

Hi Coco,

Will do.

Mar sinn leibh an drasda.

Good luck. Can you report back on the route and conditions please?

 

[Paladin - York]

Hi Coco

I completed the Salmon Run yesterday, the 20th April and I've posted as many photos as I am allowed to in the "Gallery".

The route is fully detailed in Sustrans "Discover" series.

There was very little traffic encountered along the whole route which, with the odd exception, was adequately signed. From Dundee the route went along the minor road between the north bank of the Tay and the A90, passing through Invergowrie, Errol & St Madoes. There was an ambiguous sign which led me temporarily astray in Invergowrie but a bit of logic (!) led me back to the coast track. I think this was another of Sustrans' deliberate mistakes which for a further few miles I kept referring to as a pain in the Carse.

There was a 20% gradient up Kinnoull Hill with a steep descent into Perth. I can't recall any offroad sections on this stretch to Perth except along the Riverside cycle track out of Dundee. At Dundee airport I followed the way signs, which for some unknown reason took me off the cycleway and into the airport. I still can't see the relevance of this slight deviation so if there is next time I'll just keep cycling straight on past.

I encountered a few miles of offroad tracks north of Perth but they were on good behaviour due to the warm dry weather. All except for maybe a 50 metre stretch of riverbank before Almondbank. This looked as though it had been washed away and was in the process of being repaired. It isn't often that I've had to carry my bike like I did here. It's a bit of a roller-coaster ride along the minor road to Birnam & Dunkeld but with a delightful riverside track from just north of Dunkeld to joing the B898. From there to Pitlochry the roller-coaster returns.

I don't know if you are still considering this ride but there were a couple of places where it would have been easy to go astray. The first is leaving Dunkeld, head for the Hilton through the arch (see photo) on the left hand side of the road. The sign for this turn off is, for some reason, on the opposite side of the road. Another turn off I nearly missed, due to the speed I was going, was the one to Logierait & Pitlochry on the B898.

Pitlochry was an oasis. I paid my usual respects to the Moulin Inn with a pint of "Braveheart" £2.90. YES!

I had prebooked b&b at the Well House, Toberargan Road. £28. I found this to be an excellent choice, and, for me, just a few minutes away from the railway station.

All the best should you choose to do it.

Good luck. Can you report back on the route and conditions please?

 

[Coco]

Thanks for that. Good to get first hand notes on a route - and even better to find out I'm not the only one who can't follow Sustrans routes

 

[HLaB]

Hi Coco, just saw that I did the Dundee to Perth bit on Monday. Its shared use leaving Dundee its not in to bad condition and it a lot better than trying to mix with the A90. When the path becomes a track the proper path veers right and runs parallel to the A90. At Errol Road there is no sign pointing left (and idiot here went right, I should have looked at a Map beforehand). Errol Road is in good condition and takes you straight out into the Carse, any time I've taken it though there has always been a head wind (its pretty open and exposed). Its almost pancake flat then you hit Glencarse (Kinnoull hill), its signposted 20% but I think the signmaker was high on drugs that day; its steep but my garmin recorded it as a max of 15.4% which is more realistic. The unsigned alternative road to Kinfauns looks tempting but don't be tempted it leads straight down to the A90. The descent into Perth is then fun and the roads are good condition. I've no idea what the route is like after that I turned off back to Dunfermline.
My Ride

I also posted a couple of pics in Dundee and at the top of Kinnoull hill in the cafe

The section I took is quite easy to follow once you are out of Dundee but I can imagine through Perth and beyond it'd become awkward. Condition wise, a little bit of shared use at first in Dundee but after you hit Invergowrie and Errol Road its quiet well surfaced roads all the way to Perth.

 

[Coco]

Thanks for that H. sustrans routes seem to be a bit of a mixed bag so I like to know the conditions before taking the good bike

 

[Telemark]

We've just been along the bit from Perth to Logierait (and then turned west along NCN7 which we followed towards Weegieland, but that's another story). Back on topic - The NCN77 was very nice indeed, for the most part!
Lots of very quiet wee roads, some pot-holed, some freshly resurfaced. There were only 2 short non-tarmac sections that I remember (lots more on the NCN7):

* a few miles N of Perth, where the traffic-free route falong the Tay turns off onto the Almond (?) towards Pitcairngreen. A short stretch was supposedly closed for work on the river banks, without any warning/diversions . Luckily somebody had pulled the barrier aside, and we walked the bikes through as the foundations had been laid with huge boulders, but no filling in yet. [edit: just re-read Paladin's account, looks like the works are progressing]

* a few miles N of Dunkeld, along the Tay - very idyllic, and very good surface, HJ's skinny gatorskins didn't have any problems at all.

There is also a short stretch right next to the A9 (separated) that's less pleasant, but that's mainly because all the noisy & smelly cars & lorries whizzing past come as a bit of a surprise after the quiet roads.
All very well signposted, we never got lost .
And have I mentioned it's beautiful, especially in the sunshine, with a tailwind?

T

 

[Paladin - York]

We've just been along the bit from Perth to Logierait (and then turned west along NCN7 which we followed towards Weegieland, but that's another story). Back on topic - The NCN77 was very nice indeed, for the most part!
Lots of very quiet wee roads, some pot-holed, some freshly resurfaced. There were only 2 short non-tarmac sections that I remember (lots more on the NCN7):

* a few miles N of Perth, where the traffic-free route falong the Tay turns off onto the Almond (?) towards Pitcairngreen. A short stretch was supposedly closed for work on the river banks, without any warning/diversions . Luckily somebody had pulled the barrier aside, and we walked the bikes through as the foundations had been laid with huge boulders, but no filling in yet. [edit: just re-read Paladin's account, looks like the works are progressing]

* a few miles N of Dunkeld, along the Tay - very idyllic, and very good surface, HJ's skinny gatorskins didn't have any problems at all.

There is also a short stretch right next to the A9 (separated) that's less pleasant, but that's mainly because all the noisy & smelly cars & lorries whizzing past come as a bit of a surprise after the quiet roads.
All very well signposted, we never got lost .
And have I mentioned it's beautiful, especially in the sunshine, with a tailwind?

T

 

[Paladin - York]

Hi Telemark

Sorry about the non-event above - still can't get the hang of "quoting". One day perhaps?

Anyway,

I think I may have posted a photo of the eroded track by the River Almond in the "Rides & Events" gallery.

 

[Telemark]

Hi Telemark

Sorry about the non-event above - still can't get the hang of "quoting". One day perhaps?

Anyway,

I think I may have posted a photo of the eroded track by the River Almond in the "Rides & Events" gallery.

Thanks for the photo, we didn't take any pictures of this bit of the track. From memory, it looks like they have finished building up the bank "in the rough" a bit more from a week earlier, when you went through. And there are no barriers in your photo!

HJ has started writing up the ride, will post a link when it's ready.

[How to quote: Click "reply" under the post you want to quote (you must have done this bit ), then in the edit box type your comments/reply below the "end of quote"]

T

 

[Paladin - York]

HJ has started writing up the ride, will post a link when it's ready.

[How to quote: Click "reply" under the post you want to quote (you must have done this bit ), then in the edit box type your comments/reply below the "end of quote"]

[/quote]


Hi Telemark

Thanks for the "quote" tip - let's see what happens.

I'll be interested to read HJ's "write up", although you turned westward @ Logierait.

Sounds like you also had good weather but the Kinross Sportive report for the 23rd said the weather was bad for that event.