Aberdeenshire and Highlands

Day 1 (June 6): Aberdeen - Portsoy (112 km / 1200 hm)

In sunny weather, we cycle out of Aberdeen, hoping that the good weather holds. The first 10 km are on bike paths parallel to the heavily trafficked main roads heading north. Here, the route is well signposted with National Route 1, and we can follow the signs all the way to Portsoy. We then switch to a well-built bike path on an old railway line. The path rises slightly, flanked by numerous gorse bushes and accompanied by many rabbits that appear on the right in the bushes and disappear on the other side - or vice versa. We make good progress and reach Haddo House around noon after a brief rain shower, a country house of the Earls of Aberdeen for many centuries. A notable time in the history of the house was World War II when it served as a maternity hospital for women evacuated from Glasgow. It is well known that almost 1200 babies were born in Haddo Emergency Hospital, and some of the