I was awake far earlier than my alarm, far earlier than I perhaps would have wanted but fortunately once again I had enjoyed a good restful nights sleep. After a shower I got dressed and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast, negotiated to have an off-the-menu veggie breakfast which was delicious and soon found myself getting everything packed up for another days cycling.

Day five was a slightly shorter journey around the Cairngorm National Park to Pitlochry. During my earlier accommodation planning stage I'd tried to find somewhere to stay that wasn't too expensive at regular intervals between Inverness, John O'Groats and Liverpool.....roughly between 70 and 80 mile intervals.

Today would be a planned 67 miles (if I remember correctly the shortest day in the saddle) but given I was having to negotiate my way around the Cairngorm National Park, famous for its mountains not its incredibly flat topography a few less miles was likely to involve a few more miles climbing!

Bags packed, satnav set up Red and I set off out of the village (small town?) of Carrbridge and we soon found ourselves on the most beautiful road through more coniferous forests. Hard to describe in a written blog, but the distinctive fragrance of these pines and conifers especially in the cool of the early morning filled the air.

Within a few miles I rode out of the forest and through a place with a most fabulous of names - Boat of Garten, about which I know nothing other than I took a photo or two of the view south, after pausing to take in the same view south which was once again stunning!

A little further and I arrived in the town of Aviemore, probably best known as a ski resort and whilst I did see a small amount of snow within the mountain tops there was very little ski action taking place. For the most part this was because it was summer.....and once again I was being spoilt with some of the best weather Scotland could offer. A short food shop stop at Aviemore Coop and I was set up for the rest of the day courtesy of a meal deal or two.

Satnav was in her element as I was guided around the back streets of Aviemore, a cycle path or two around the heritage railway and once more onto minor roads heading roughly south east in direction. I think I saw my first loch (lake) of the journey as I once again enjoyed a lovely stretch of roads shaded by large pine trees.

A quick stop for a sarnie in the shade of these trees, a top up of Irn Bru and I continued on the route taking in the sight and sound of a burbling burn (stream) or two, but this welcome shade began to open out to be more classic heathland instead of woods as I continued southwards. The temperature was a shock from shade to full sunshine,  sat nav / phone overheating was once again a risk so the side pocket of the handlebar bag air cooling option was actioned straight away.

I took the opportunity to stop in Kingussie for more nutritional input aka lunch, hassled mildly by a local seagull before heading out of the town and back onto more quiet back roads.

Once again the sound of traffic on the A9 became more obvious as I headed towards the National Cycle Network route 7 which was very well signposted and roughly followed the direction of the A9 through what felt like a long valley between tall mountains heading roughly southwards. The first part of route 7 was on General Wades Military Road which might have seen significant traffic back in time, but was simply me, Red and after 45 minutes or so my first couple of vehicles!!!

Sat nav continued to work, the airy shaded pocket on the handlebar bag appeared to be working. However I was totally washed out at this point - no ability to escape being out in the sun, minimal breeze to make me cooler and I was working my way through a large volume of water with very regular sips from my various water bottles.

General Wades Military Road finally crossed over the main railway line (which also travels along this valley.....) and joined a separate cycle lane alongside the A9. Slightly noisier than I might have wanted with traffic, but joining this cycle path also coincided with a slight headwind and in theory a generally downhill cycle to end the day. Joining the A9 cycle path (still part of the NCN route 7) was about 42 miles into the days ride, in theory a further 25 miles or so to go. On either side of me, and in the distance everywhere I looked there were mountain peaks......giving me a sense that I would need to ride up one or two before I got to my over night stop at Pitlochry.

The A9 on the map, and I can confirm in real life, was a slightly curved direction for as far as the eye can see meaning as I continued to ride along the cycle path I really had no idea what lay ahead of me. To my very great surprise apart from slight drops and rises on the cycle path I somehow was guided between all of the mountains I could see. I took comfort in a few areas of shade on this route, possibly not enough given the temperatures I was riding through, but in one of these tree lined shady bits I came across 2 slow worms who were also clearly appreciating the shade too.

61 miles into the ride I finally left the A9 cycle path (which felt for the most part like it was actually the old A9 road itself....), crossed under the new A9 and joined a very long road with a tall stone wall to my left. Apart from the occasional glimpse through a gated gap in this wall I had no sight at all to inform me what was behind the wall.......

.....until I rode past a large sign informing me (and everyone else) that this was Blair Atholl estate / castle . After a very long and very hot day of cycling this was the first time that I had seen more than a small handful of people all day; the sight of coach loads of tourists was a total shock to the system!

From here I continued on towards Pitlochry.....all of which was downhill enough to feel like an easy end to the days cycling. In fact its quite likely that I had been cycling downhill for almost half of the days riding , but a combination of head wind and heat (possibly 28 degrees!) meant it felt more like a slightly uphill ride for the last 25 or so miles of the day.

Pitlochry was an extension of the coach loads I'd seen at Blair Atholl estate / castle.....a very busy high street, bustling in fact , but I had arrived at my destination of the Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel. This was the only accommodation I was able to book that didn't break the bank. A dormitory bunk bed, in a room for six adults, was going to cost me £20 for the night, but feeling a little flush I upgraded to the next level up. Would this be £27 well spent and what had I upgraded to ?

Now I should point out to you all that at this point I had ridden 67 miles for the day in very hot conditions, making over 300 miles for the adventure so far.....so I might have been a little tired as I looked to check in.

Everything about the Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel was different, and I mean that in a positive way..... but it was a shock to my system as I was given the key to my room (which could have upto 5 other people sharing it!) locked up my bike in the Harry Potter style under the stairs bike cupboard and headed off to shower and change before heading out to get some dinner. The hotel was decorated in vibrant colours, lots of eclectic artwork on the walls.....it was very , er, different !

My fellow occupants of the Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel were clearly all here for very similar low cost accommodation reasons; lots of people cooking their own dinner in the communal kitchen or chilling in the communal lounge area.

Showered and changed I headed out to find somewhere to eat.......the crowds of coach parties were still in town, so initially finding a seat at any of the high street pubs was a challenge. Everything felt geared up for coach tours; my welcome / sit down / menu / taking of food and drink order / serving of food was quick, something along the lines of a fast food restaurant in a pub location !

Tables were still in short supply when a lovely German couple asked if they could share my table and then shared a pint of lager which they drank very quickly between them before running off to get back to their coach. Thinking about it now I hope they had paid....... probably a common risk for pubs in Pitlochry at this time of afternoon !

Their coach leaving must have been at the time that all the coaches leave Pitlochry because as I continued to eat my dinner I found that I was now sat in a very quiet pub garden ! Finishing my meal in peace and quiet I paid and headed back to the Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel via the local Coop to pick up dessert.

I'm not going to do a review of the Coops I visited in Scotland in this blog, but this one was the best by far.....and they were all good.

Returning to the Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel I decided to pop into the communal lounge to enjoy my dessert , a chocolate bar or two, and maybe consider chatting to my fellow Backpackers. Within a couple of minutes I found myself chatting to a monk who had just arrived after 30 days walking and wild camping on a journey from Glasgow......and watched a lady enjoying a large jar of pickled onions washed down with Irn Bru (thinking her room mates might need a warning to open a window in their dorm!).

After all the heat and cycling efforts I soon decided to head to my room for the night still not aware of who, if anyone, would be my room mates. Reassured slightly by the check in times being only between 5pm and 10pm I knew there would be a cut off time after which I'd not gain any more room mates.......as I got ready to chat to Jan, update social media and get ready to sleep I was alone in room 7.

As the minutes ticked by I continued to wait for someone to join me in the dorm......but no one arrived, and as I settled down into my bunk for the night I was likely to be on my own. Maybe this exclusivity is what the premium price bought me ?

(side note - the Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel is really lovely, colourful and absolutely amazing, especially for the money. However after the luxury of the previous few nights accommodation I would describe it as a lovely colourful hippie prison.....the bunks whilst functional had the comfort of wooden boards and at my age I need a little more comfort)

Even so I was soon asleep resting for the next day of the cycling adventure......which probably says after a full days cycling I could sleep pretty much anywhere.....