Month: June 2016

27 June

34 miles

Climbing 1070m

Cumulative 1235 miles

Well we made it!

We had thought that we might take a rest day today before going to the Northernmost point on Unst, in fact the weather forecast looked slightly better for today so we headed off to Hermaness the most northern point , opposite the superbly named Muckle Flugga lighthouse.

Cycling through Unst

Everyone had said that the wind on Shetland can be challenging- we started with a strong westerly sidewind and made good progress just the occasional gust a bit alarming . We stopped at Baltasound, a tiny village with a shop and Post Office- the most northerly in Britain and people go specially to have their postcards franked there. There are no banks on the island and we were short of cash but the post office is able to supply that as well

We made our way to the National Nature Reserve at Hermaness- a wild headland but with an immaculately maintained path across the heather to allow birdwatchers to visit the cliffs, strict instructions to walkers to stick to the path as some of the birds particularly the Great Skuas are ground nesting.

Hermaness nature reserve

We wondered if a skeleton some yards from the path was a walker who had strayed… probably a sheep. Little rabbits seem to make their homes under the boardwalk.

Rabbit hiding under the boardwalk

… and venturing out

The skuas had been very endangered but there were huge numbers here nesting in colonies on the moorland. They are aggressive birds and feed by stealing other seabird’s food and eggs and are a threat to the puffins . There are warnings that they also attack people who stray too close to the colonies, we saw birds brooding on nests, flying and fighting in the air and many posted on sentinel duty, often flapping their wings and posturing.

Skua brooding

… and posturing

There were puffins flying acrobatically and then diving into their burrows and vast numbers of gannets – the colonies so large that the rocky islands offshore were white with guano.

West coast of Hermaness

The sheep seemed to like looking out to sea

When I am old I shall wear purple…

Apparently in 1970 an albatross appeared,  they are southern hemisphere birds so he was very lost. Anyway, he decided to join the gannet colony and returned faithfully every year, building a nest and hoping to find a mate, until last year, the reserve staff affectionately named him Albert Ross.This is the second year he has not been spotted so unlikely that he will come back now.

Arched seastack

Gannets

Once we reached the far side of the headland we contoured around to the most Northerly point- a sign proudly announced that there was no land between us and the North Pole.

We thought a point a bit further on was actually a bit further north so set off across the tussocks but an angry skua, maybe tasked by the nature reserve staff to keep an eye on trespassing walkers made it clear he would not easily let us proceed.  We decided that for a few hundred yards we would accept the signpost’s position.

Muckle Flugga lighthouse from Hermaness

We took our obligatory shot with the banner and then sat down to lunch and mutual congratulations.

We made our way back to the bikes, visited the visitor centre at the reserve, unmanned but with good information and a kettle to make hot drinks.

Hillsides

Sea

Martin reminded us that we had said we would be visiting Skaw- the most northerly habitation in the UK (now that the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga is unmanned). He confidently predicted that it wouldn’t take long and didn’t go over the obvious hill – in fact it took us up the steepest piece of road we have encountered on the whole trip and despite not having any luggage we both had to push.

Skaw itself is a single farm reached by a remote single track road over the headland,  the most northerly road in Britain, worth the effort as the sun and a rainbow came out at just the right moment to celebrate the end of the trip.

The isolated farmhouse on the promontory was once home to Walter Sutherland who until his death in 1850 was the last person to speak Norn,  an extinct North Germanic language which was spoken in the Northern Isles and Caithness before it’s gradual replacement by Scots, mainly over the 1600 and 1700s .

Skaw, the most northerly habitation in Britain at the end of the most northerly road

Cycling back

Replica viking ship

There is clearly a strong community spirit on Unst. Many facilities, including the hostel and visitor centres, are immaculate and well equipped and are open and unmanned with honesty boxes.  The Unst Bus Shelter illustrates the possibilities this opens up, a dry warm haven complete with comfy chair, books, games a can of beer and a visitor’s book full of appreciative comments.

The Unst Bus shelter

With duty done we set off back , by now the wind was a fierce 20mph southwesterly headwind, ironic as we had to battle Northerly winds all the way up the UK. We had to pedal hard downhill at times and take turns to be in front taking the full brunt of the wind. We were tired but pleased when we arrived back at the campsite , job done.Tonight it is deluging so we may just be forced to have a lie in tomorrow .

Gardiesfaulds hostel

So from Horse Point, St Agnes in the Scilly Isles to Muckle Flugga, Unst in the Shetlands.  It has been an amazing trip. Despite the population density of Britain,  we have travelled consistently through beautiful unspoilt countryside,  often completely away from traffic and all but the smallest settlements. The weather has blessed us, we have been drier than we might have expected, it has been cool, only one day when we sought shade for lunch.

It has felt different cycling to fundraise, more pressure to get on every day, no option to give up, and doing the blog has been really fun but also an additional task each evening. We have felt so supported by all the messages and feedback and we thank you all for them. We have also been overwhelmed by your generosity, you have contributed about £2500 to MSF and £1200 to Ashgate Hospice.

We will leave the justgiving page open for a while. Many of you have fed back that you enjoyed the photos.  We did wonder about using them to make a Britain End to End 2017 calender, using the the best photo from each 100 miles and putting a small profit from each calender into the fundraising . As a market research question, would you tell us if this might be something you would consider as part of your Christmas shopping?
We are going to potter slowly back down Shetland and then ferry and train home. It will feel very odd getting into a car again….

26 June

48 miles

Climbing 936m

Cumulative 1201 miles

Up through the Shetlands

We arrived in Lerwick on the ferry at 7.30am , wheeled our bikes ashore but then promptly went back aboard for a full breakfast. we were soon off heading up through the islands . The first part over the bigger island  was quite hilly , very different from Orkney, peat moorland very like the top of Kinder but with views over the sea lochs.

As we have moved North the houses have changed- no longer many stone houses , instead brightly painted houses more reminiscent of Norway. There are many cultural links between Scandinavia and Shetland stretching back to their Viking heritage- Shetland was part of Norway until 1468 when the Danish and Nowegian King needed money for his daughters dowry and pawned the islands on the condition that he could buy them back for 210 Kg of gold- probably it would have been worth redeeming them if he had known about the oil.

Nordic style houses

Small hamlet with its own quay

We stopped and chatted with an interesting lady running a tea van – the only sustenance we saw all day- she had moved from Lancashire to work as a social worker twenty years ago, she now does crofting and runs the refreshment van. She was very positive about the inclusiveness of the  Shetland community and had adjusted to the short winter days- Shetland is at the same lattitude as Southern Greenland.

The only coffee for miles

We passed the the Sullom Voe oil terminal – now much less active but still with a huge gas plume visible across the moors .

Hardy sheep

We arrived at the first ferry that we needed to catch over to Yell just in time to see it settling off , as it is Sunday we had two hours to wait but lunch made up for it- again oatcakes and cheese with dried apricots whilst watching an inquisitive seal nearby watching us .

Seal keeping an eye on us

Once over on Yell we had quite a lumpy ride over the tops until we dropped down to the ferry pier – again to see the ferry halfway across the sound to Unst. This time we only had a short wait for the next ferry and couldn’t even pay as the ticket machine was awaiting repair- here the ferries are run by the local council as an essential service and not by CalMac as in most of Scotland.

The map hinted that there may be a small hill to reach our campsite – in fact it was quite tough but luckily fairly short and we arrived at the amazing Gardiesfauld Hostel and campsite  we had read great reviews and they were right- fantastic views over a sheltered sound , very quiet and flat places for the tent but with a good kitchen and drying rooms so no  cooking on a meths stove tonight. Oh and local eggs with an honesty box.

Idyllic campsite on Unst

25 June

29.5 miles- sightseeing

Climbing 463m

We had a varied day , another slight aside from the main project. We had to be back in Kirkwall to catch the ferry to Shetland just before midnight so had a day to see more in Orkney. We were determined  to see Scara Brae the extraordinary neolithic village on Orkney, and as luck would have it our evening before catching the ferry would be well used as it is the annual St Magnus Music Festival started by Sir Peter Maxwell Davis and there were tickets left for the final concert with the BBC symphony orchestra.

We started out from the camping at Stromness in light drizzle but it eased after a while and we cruised gently round the quiet roads to the sight of Scara Brae- it was discovered in 1850 when a huge storm shifted a large sand dune revealing meticulously made dry stone walled houses. Luckily the local landlord who lived a feww hundred metres away recognized its importance and started to excavate in a careful way and recorded his finds.

The village is a fantasticaly preserved village from 5000 years ago- before Stonehenge , the rooms include hearths, stone box beds and even sideboards complete with families precious artefacts , bone needles, jewellery made from local materials and cooking pots. Stone age man was NOT primitive by any means , the houses are well made and show they must have had a well organised social structure. Interestingly there was no evidence of any weapons . 

Interior of one of the houses with stone furniture :dresser, box beds. Cupboards and hearth

We stopped off again at the Ring of Brodgar  as we cycled past and it seemed a good place for our lunch of oatcakes and cheese.

Ring of Brodgar

We set off back to Kirkwall and thought that we might need to pay the campsite for a nights lodging to be able to clean up and cook before going to the concert in the sports hall next door- in fact they are really welcoming and have a special arrangement for visitors- three pounds to use their excellent facilities for the evening. We also had a quick visit to Kirkwall cathedral- unusual as it is owned by the city not the church , it was built by Vikings  and then given to the city by James III of Scotland. It had some impressive old architecture including leaning pillars but also  a great collection of macabre headstones particularly from the 1600s keen to show everyone that death is inevitable- lots of skulls and bones in evidence.

Interior of the red sandstone cathedral

Cathedral in the evening light over Kirkwallk

To commemorate a tradesman

We set off for the concert venue clean but feeling potentialy under dressed in our camping outfits but it wasnt a problem – nothing too stuffy about people here. The BBC symphony orchestra was playing along with the local Orkney Community choir- no auditions needed. It was a great evening and some how it seemed fitting that the second half was Beethoven’s 9th, much appreciated by some German cycle tourers we have met several times and made friends with , they are completely bemused by the Brexit vote and it is good that they do not see the UK as completely anti-European.

Outside the concert, they made us laugh

We were pleased by the local touch at the end- instead of giving the lead musicians flowers they each got a bottle of local malt whisky.

We had to rush at the end of the concert and cycle a little way out of town to the Ferry terminal in thick mist that had come down suddenly. There we wheeled the bikes onto the ship and settled down for a sleep (we hoped). We had paid a bit extra for “sleeping pods”, sold as being like those in Business class on aeroplanes – in fact they were very uncomfortable and we had a bright light shining down all night (everyone else was in darkness- are we marked out in some way?)

24 June

5 miles on bike, 6 miles walking, 4 miles on Ferry- all sightseeing!

We woke up in the tent on the fantastic beach at Rathwick- We had no mobile signal but Martin was able to get onto the radio to find out the referendum result. We feel this result is going to be a catastrophe for our wonderful people and beautiful country and we have been preoccupied and subdued thinking about it all day. It will certainly change all our futures (and more importantly that of our children and grandchildren). It makes our current project feel somewhat insignificant compared to what awaits the UK as we head over a precipice into unknown waters ahead. The Scots we have talked to today have no doubt that Scottish independence is inevitable- even those that opposed it previously. Tourists from abroad find it hard to understand why this has happened.

Early morning mist over Hoy

We had to get back up the rough track from the bothy to the road- the gate involved heaving bikes over it without luggage but we were soon on our way walking to the Old Man- past an interesting museum in the old crofts about the local history- Rathwick had a school for both boys and girls as early as 1718 , quite an achievement in such a poor community.

The old school

We walked over the headland on a well made track courtesy of the RSPB and arrived at the Old Man- unusually even more spectacular than we had been led to believe. Martin had always had an ambition to climb the iconic classic route up the pillar but having seen it up close the sandstone does not look attractive to climb anyway, also joints mean that pretty much our climbing days are behind us and we will stick to cycling.

Inside the old school

Turf roofed dwelling

Old Man of Hoy

The Old Man sticks up over the skyline as you approach

lovely colours of plants and sea

Sandstone cliffs

The walk back was followed by a brief cycle over the island,

Ferns

we had time to call in and visit local author John Aberdein who we had met yesterday and had kindly invited us to call in for a cup of tea. We were worried about leaving soon enough to catch the ferry but he assured us that we would see it approaching as his house has a stunning view over the Hoy Sound. We had a fascinating wide reaching chat but alas had to cycle off  to catch the boat, such an interesting encounter- among many other things John was the the first person to kayak around the North coast of Scotland way back in 1970s and was very understanding of the issues of a long trip , ours however is much less adventurous than his.

We are back on mainland Orkney tonight with a signal, still trying to come to turns with yesterdays outcome, we fear that many of the consequences cannot be predicted .

Stromness

June 22d 2016

25 miles
486 metres
Cumulative total 1153 miles

The campsite was just next to the terminal of the little pedestrian ferry from John O’Groats to Burwick at the South tip of South Ronaldsey so it was not too hard to be in the queue at 9am for the sailing, clutching a hot cup of coffee . John O’Groats is a tiny settlement, remote, perched on the edge of Britain and it was a lovely morning, sunny and the water calm.

Waiting for the ferry

Trusty bikes strapped to the rails

John O’Groats from the boat

Lighthouse on Stroma

In the campsite, our neighbours were two lads, one of them celebrating a stag event of trying to photograph sunrise at John O’ Groats, and sunset at Lands End, we vaguely heard them depart at 4 am, wonder if they will make it with the Glastonbury queues …

The crossing was 40minutes , really lovely, lots of seabirds and we wished Chris was here to identify them for us. We spent the rest of the day meandering up the 24 miles to Kirkwall enjoying being in this magical place. Gentle scenery, low green hills, soft colours and always the sea.

Rain on its way

Cycling through it gave a feeling of great calmness. It feels rather depopulated with quite a few empty crofthouses and although we passed a thriving school and active churches, there were also a boarded up school and the Church of Scotland has the lovely Old St Mary’s Church at Burwick up for sale. Lots of cows.

Old St Mary’s Church

In the graveyard of Old St Mary’s church

The Orkneys enclose Scapa Flow, a large natural harbour which was still as a lake and very sheltered and which of course has in the past been the opposite of calm having been used as a naval base since the Vikings, but most recently for the British fleet during the two world wars.

The German fleet surrendered at the end of WW1 and was told to go to the sheltered moorings in Scapa Flow,  when they arrived they had secretly arranged to scuttle all of the battleships which sank without trace in front of the watching British.  They are popular dive sites as the crews escaped,  other wrecks where crew died are war graves and diving is banned

After a German sub penetrated throught the Eastern entrances in WW2, they were blocked off, intially by sinking old ships, Blockships , and then in WW2 by buiding causeways (Churchill’s barriers) There were several information boards about all this and parts of various wrecks stick out f the sea, they are now good habitats for widlife and keep human divers amused.

Old blockships still visible

More sunken ships

Italian prisoners of war were brought to help construct the barriers and they built a Catholic chapel, out of Nissan huts and materials they salvaged from the blockships. The British camp commander was sympathetic and the prisoners included artists and sculptors one of whom Domenico Chiocchetti returned in 1960 at the invitation of the Orcadians to help restore it. It is a moving place, especially when you realise the ingenuity they had to use, the chandeliers are made from bully beef cans , the windows painted glass and the frescos copied from a small religious picture Domenicco carried with him . The Italian Chapel is now well maintained and a tourist attraction, a bit incongruous seeing big coaches and flocks of tourists in this quite humble little building.

Inside the Italian Chapel

Painted wall of Italian Chapel (it is all flat)

Looking back over South Ronaldsey

Calm sea

It was lovely weather in the morning, we stopped for a coffee which turned into two when a hard shower arrived, we had watched it blow in over Hoy. It cleared for a bit but then rained hard just as we started to put the tent up, we were not as organisd as usual and managed to end up wet. Fortunately for us, this is the best equipped campsite we have ever stayed in with self catering kitchens, bathrooms and a laudry room, all run by Orkney council. We are now warm and dry, ensconed in the lounge with other campers taking refuge from the elements.

We intend to be tourists for a few days. The ferries to Shetland go from here 3 times a week so we will catch the one leaving at midnight (!) Saturday night, in the meantime we are going to visit the archeological sites and go to Hoy. We will be in Hoy tomorrow night and I am sure we will have no signal, we will blog when connected but will not add our miles to the cumulative Scilly to Shetland total. This feels particularly important as one particularly generous supporter HW has been donating for every 100 miles that we compete- clearly she knows a thing or two about motivation but we cant expect donations whilst we have a little sideways jaunt sightseeing- we have never been to Orkney before and so many people have told us about the amazing Neolithic sights and birds it would be a shame to just pass on by.

Thank you again to everyone who has been supporting us , it really helps keep the pedals turning when going uphill or into the wind and rain. People have contributed an amazing £1192 for Ashgate and £2292 for MSF. We are really chuffed by everyones support for such important causes when the last few weeks have brought out some of the uglier side of British politics and media, heartening indeed.

21 June

51 miles

Climbing 834m

Total Distance 1128 miles

We arrived at JoG late this evening but it was well worth it to feel that the first part of the trip is behind us now just the islands to come which we are really looking forward to.

We had quite a late start this morning after an itchy night caused by the usual midges, it was overcast all morning but in fact we stayed dry. Our neighbour on the campsite was a surfer , when we woke this morning there was a big surf and he was already down in the bay- a lonely figure searching for the elusive perfect wave

It is the solstice. This was the campsite at 10pm

Our other neighbour made a donation and was full of encouragement. We had been warned about the ups and downs along the coast- in fact it wasn’t too bad they aren’t  too steep. The scenery was good, dramatic skies and the hills rising out of the flat coastline.

We gritted out teeth and the 5 hills slowly passed. We stopped for a late coffee  at a traditional scottish bar complete with a multitude of single malts, resident drinkers but a very warm welcome and a fine piece of chocolate cake for Martin, Gayle watched enviously as she ate her disapointingly small piece of blackberry pie. We met some friendly cycle tourers from Manchester doing the NC500- a circuit of Northern Scotland being promoted for cyclists but also motorbikes and cars- they had had some trouble with unthinking motorists on the single track roads.

We set off refreshed and sustained (well Martin was) and pushed on past the Dounreay nuclear power station, now being decomissioned and still a large employer locally. Nearby there is a large windfarm and posters about consultation on how to spend the community money paid by windfarms in Scotland. There are also posters opposing further windfarms, and yet only two miles from the nuclear power station with not the best safety record.

These fellows clearly felt they owned the road, walking sedately down it causing traffic jams in both directions

Views over the Orkneys

Coastal views

The offending windfarm

We pressed on Thurso and had a late lunch ,

Lunch on Thurso sea front

We then stopped at a bike shop called- The Bike Shop, to get some supplies. The owner Sam was extremely helpful, Gayle mentioned the difficulty she had been having with gear changes for a few days , he couldn’t have been more helpful, coming out on his bike to follow her whilst she changed gear, leaving Martin to watch the shop. He ended up getting her bike on the stand and tracing the problem to a hidden split in the cable housing- and fixed it without charge- what a great guy, nothing was too much trouble.

The Bike Shop, Thurso

After a bit of delay we knew we would be late getting to John o’Groats but decided to press on, in fact the last 20 miles were flatter on good roads so we made good time. In Caithness by now, flat land, big skies, sheep and sea.



All day the scenery was fantastic- views back to the mountains and then out to the Orkneys as we got nearer.

After a quick supper we were rewarded with the site of a whale out in the sound- as well as seals.

These walls are everywhere, huge slabs of stone

The campsite is busy- mainly with rows of campervans, we hope that the ferry tomorrow will have space for us and the bikes- it is a small foot ferry but takes people to Orkney for a coach tour around the island so is popular.

We have one approach to camping….

Some people have another

20 June

45 miles
Climbing 512m
Total so far 1077 miles

We thought today would be a great ride and it exceeded our expectations- a very quiet road through some great scenery- mountains moors, lochs and big skies and the afternoon was mainly downhill and flat with the wind behind us- what’s not to like?

We had a proper breakfast at the Highland Hotel in Lairg where we retreated last night – even feeling hungry could only manage the “Half a full Scottish Breakfast” , then set off on one of the quietest A roads in the UK- single track with passing places and only a handful of cars each hour , but not too steep and with a nice surface which makes all the difference on a bike.

Sutherland hills

Our plan was to stop at the only point of sustenance in about 25 miles- the Crask Inn which we had heard much about before we arrived. When we arrived at the hamlet of Crask you can’t miss it- there are two buildings: the Inn and a bothy they run beside it. It must be the loneliest inn in Britain- nothing for miles around and very little passing traffic, no mains services ( a generator when it gets dark and peat fire for heating).

Crask Inn

View from the Crask

We had a very warm welcome and great coffee- whilst we were there they had a fair stream of customers- a high percentage of people travelling the road seem to stop and many of them know the owners well. The couple who own it …….. run the Inn, a bunkhouse/ bothy next door, farm the surrounding land with sheep and cattle and also look after a mountain bothy in the nearby hills- very resilient. In addition they have a church service in the back room once a month as it is so far for local farmers to travel to established churches. Unfortunately they are looking to sell the Inn for health reasons- quite a challenge for someone to take on.

Deer and cattle grazing together

We met someone starting their end to end , on his second day from John o’Groats – he warned us about the gradients tomorrow once we reach the North coast.

Peaty water

We had a choice of routes- either continue on the “main”road or take a smaller road off along Loch Never to Bettyhill. Both looks really nice but at the Inn they said that the smaller road was particularly nice- and had less climbing- quite a bonus. We followed the long loch and had lunch sat beside it- beautiful scenery and lots of flowers: orchids, thyme, some early heather, thistles just starting, foxgloves coming into their own and many others. For once the wind was behind us and the flat sections felt very easy going.

Loch Never

Interesting information boards about the local history, the old clans and the effect of the clearances. Many Victorians praised the local landlords for the ‘improvement’ of their lands which in fact was achieved by the brutal eviction of whole communities of crofters to make way for sheep. When the Countess of Sutherland wished to raise men for the Forces during the evictions,many refused saying ‘if they value sheep more than men, then let sheep defend them!

Eventually we reached the coast and were immediately made aware of it as the steep ups and downs kicked in for the last couple of miles

Beach at Bettyhill

We are on a small campsite at Bettyhill looking out over a bay with a beautiful beach .

Cooking supper in the rain

No internet connection again tonight so we will post this when we get signal tomorrow.

18th and 19th  June

53 miles

Climbing 729m

Cumulative 1032 miles

It wasn’t raining on Sat morning! Not only that, by lunch time the sun was out and in the afternoon our arms and legs came out for the first time in several days. Gayle usually has a minimalist approach to dressing for wet weather, shorts and sandals on the principle that it keeps her clothes dry however, the cold wind and wet of the past few days have called for leggings, gloves, waterproof hats, the lot. The only problem is that as the weather is nicer for us , it is also warmer for the midges and they have been in evidence all day, strong incentive to keep pedalling.

Ian made us porridge for breakfast and it would have been easy to sit and chat all morning but we mounted the steeds and got on our way. It has been really nice being able to catch up with  Dianne and meet Ian and they made us so welcome in their lovely home and garden

Ian and Dianne in the parsonage garden

We set off along the Cromarty Firth, amazed to see patches of snow still in the top corries of some of the hills. In the other direction, oil rigs which had been floated into the firth for maintenance.

Snow patches in the high corries above the gentle East Coast fields

Bee in foxglove

This guy made a very menacing growl at us. We were glad not to be on his side of the fence

Coffee at Evanton in a friendly cafe and over the peninsula on quiet lanes to the small town of Tain which has elegant buildings and a lovely community garden where we sat and soaked up the sun over lunch.

Tain community garden

The possible routes for people doing the End to End are coming together and there have been several parties today: two Australian girls in Dingwall, four very efficient machines powered past us at high speed in Evanton, and we chatted also to Kate, an intrepid lady from near Bakewell who has been walking North from Lands End since the 4th of April.

Then down to the bridge over the Dornoch Firth and the A9 over the next peninsula to loch Fleet.

Looking over the Dornoch Firth

Heron on the mud flats above the bridge on the Dornoch Firth

Bridge over the Dornoch Firth

The A9 is quieter here but we were glad to get off it and cycle up the Fleet valley to Rogart where we are staying with Hugh and Pat.

Loch Fleet

We got to know Hugh 27 years ago cross country skiing together in Norway and he invited us to visit then…. He has been really inspirational to us because of all the adventurous and creative things he has done since then. It is lovely to visit and to sit and renew acquaintance in their beautiful home, sitting in the sunlounge looking into Pat’s exquisite garden

Rogart valley

Sunday morning was bright and nice. Hugh and Pat gave us a lovely breakfast and we sat and chatted and enjoyed seeing around the lovely garden which they have created over the years from nothing.

Hugh and Pat

We set off up the beautiful quiet valley towards Lairg but Martin became overcome by another migraine….  We sat and gave it time to settle but he clearly wasn’t going to be well enough to carry on further today so we are ensconced in Lairg and he is feeling better after a good sleep. We have had no Internet access until tonight and hence have been a bit incommunicado,  this may still be an issue tomorrow I guess but we will just do our best

The broom is just riotous

Valley up to Lairg

We are planning to go North to the coast at Tongue tomorrow… we are looking forward to the day as the scenery will be lovely and it will be good to be on the coast.

People continue to be very generous to both MSF and Ashgate Hospice and this is a great motivator for us.

17 June
52 miles
809 metres climbing
Cumulative 979 miles

Last night we spent at the Scottish YHA hostel in Aviemore- a modern large hostel full of people doing outdoor things in the Cairngorms (or looking at the low cloud and wishing they could do things), the drying room suggested plenty of people were out whatever the weather.

We set off in good time and again were going to be following the line of the main A9 trunk road- up here there are not really many alternatives due to the mountains in the way. In fact the start was brilliant- a custom made cycle track through the forestry quite a long way from the main road , quiet and fast through heather and bilberry heathland.

Heather heathland

Should have had lovely views of the Cairngorms but the cloud was firmly down. We weaved our way through the golf course and then on to Carrbridge on a smaller road parallel to the A9- all very picturesque if only we could see the hills- mainly they were smothered in cloud. In Carrbridge we admired the ancient packhorse bridge, used until 1829 when it was damaged in a ‘muckle spate’ it looks quite precarious to cross now and we were happy to look at it from a distance.

Carrbridge packhorse bridge

Climbing through the mist

We spent most of the day cycling in dreich- for those that don’t know this great Scots word refers the sort of fine drizzle that you can’t see but gets you just as wet as if it was properly pouring. Whilst we do have it in Derbyshire it is an essential ingredient of any holiday in the Scottish hills.We pedalled patiently uphill to reach the rather bleak summit of Slochd where the road and railway cross a rather damp pass.

Going down the other side was cold but quick and we promised ourselves a coffee at the advertised “ country store “ at Tomatin- sounded hopeful. In fact Tomatin has a handful of houses and the country store is a tiny village shop- but it did have a coffee machine although nowhere to sit. we sat outside on a bench drinking hot chocolate and eating our sandwich in the dreich – it was good to get moving again.

Lunch outside Tomatin village store .
The Aero hot chocolate out of the machine really hit the spot

Scotland is still lovely though even in the wet, the soft colours, the mosses and pines and then occasionally a glimpse of the hills

Climbing through the forest

A quiet lochan

A Scots pine coming into flower

The moss was very happy, swollen with moisture

We liked this fellow

A couple more hills and we were in Inverness.

View over Inverness

We succumbed to the delight of coffee in KFC as the only place nearby and then had to navigate through an industrial estate to get to the bridge over the Beauly Firth and onto the Black Isle.

Sutherland hills from the Black Isle

Sutherland hills

We made it to Dingwall with tired legs but received a really warm welcome from Ian and Dianne who have revived us with tea and supper, a tour of their beautiful garden and good conversation. Dianne used to work with Gayle quite a few years ago and they moved to Scotland where they have completed the Munros- a mammoth task.