Kincardine Church

It wasn't a promising start to the day looking out of the window and seeing the branches of the birch and pine trees swaying wildly in the wind and to find the Cairngorms completely hidden by cloud.

But the thought of another cake at the Mountain Cafe got us onto our bikes for the 11 mile cycle along the back road to Coylum Bridge and then on to Aviemore.
It was a pleasant ride on a quiet road with the wind soughing in the pine woods and a cuckoo obligingly calling from the trees.

The ominous looking blackness over the Monahdliaths and the curtain of rain over the Cairngorms threatened us, but only came to a few light showers which hardly dampened the road.

We discovered this little church to the south of Street of Kincardine, an unlikely name for a jostle of houses calling itself a hamlet.
The iron structure attached to the wall on the right of the door is a mortsafe which was used in the 19th century to prevent robbers stealing the body from a coffin and selling it to a medical school.

I had thought to blip his Lordship's cake which was described as double chocolate blueberry cake - an abomination to behold at noon on a Monday, but I thought better of it. I limited myself to a chocolate and banana scone of gigantic proportions.
There will be no lunch and no snacking for either of us before dinner tonight.