Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bliss. Faced with a tight bend followed by a steep upward gradient, the car just hunkers
down, snarls politely and rockets away.
We're not actually travelling outrageously quickly, usually staying within ten or so
m.p.h. on either side of the speed limit, partly in deference to my three passengers (who,
I'm pleased to report, have no complaints) but the sheer pleasure of stringing together the
sequences of bends on the way to the car park at the viewpoint is just wonderful. We stop
at the top to admire the view and take photos, though the best view is to the south, and
it's a bit hazy and into the sun, so not great for photography.
We set off again, heading gradually downhill towards the Glen of the river Dee
through a succession of nicely cambered, generously open bends, gradually encountering
stands and small forests of old Scots pine, their scaly red roots curling out of the sandy
soil like dragons' claws.
This is, very understandably, a popular route with bikers. You can tell that because
every few miles, pretty much since Fettercairn, we've been seeing yellow roadside signs
telling us things like 34 ACCIDENTS ON THIS ROAD IN THE LAST YEAR, with a
little symbol of a motorbike underneath.
I don't recall ever seeing signs like this, anywhere in Scotland, so you get the im-
pression that not only is this a very popular road with bikers, but that it really must be
one where they have a
hell
of a lot of accidents. This is slightly mystifying; it's twisty,
certainly, but so are hundreds of Scottish roads. There are a fair few deciduous trees in
the lower reaches to the south that might cause problems in the autumn when they drop
their leaves and it gets slippy under-tyre, but not that many, and once you get above the
tree line, that's that problem gone. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason for the
road to be especially prone to gravel or stones or mud, and it's not as though the views
are so gob-smackingly wonderful that you'd end up staring open-mouthed through your
visor at them and forget to steer back out of the corner or whatever, so what's the prob-
lem? Maybe it's one of those trial things, where they choose one bit of road to try out a
new signage system; we've got one of those on the M90 north of the Forth Road Bridge,
opposite Dunfermline; thin posts on the far edge of the hard shoulder whose tops flash
when there's a problem ahead.
I find myself wondering if the signs are digital and update themselves in real time;
if you wrapped your RS-1 round one, would it suddenly click up from 34 to 35
ACCIDENTS ON THIS ROAD IN THE LAST YEAR …? Probably not.
Deeside; all very civilised and terribly nice. After the exposed heroics of the broad
hilltops, the roads curl themselves up comfortably amongst the farmed, forested folds of
the Dee's middle reaches, dappled under the new green leaves of spring. We take the 976
on the south side of the river, heading for Balmoral.
