Day 8

I was treated to owls hooting again at the dawn chorus and reflections in the loch when I got up.
The trail crossed another of General Wade's bridges.
 
It then followed a forest track before getting to Inchbae Lodge, another place that was closed. After that was a scary couple of miles on the main Inverness to Ullapool road.
 
From then on it was beautiful valleys with the endless sound of cuckoos. A couple of times there was one on each side of the valley. The first valley was Strath Vaich.
 
There were more reflections in Loch Vaich.
 
The trail was undulating alongside the Loch without the big climbs of the last few days.
 
Lunch was more pot noodles looking down on Deanich lodge, part of the Alladale estate.
 
The route headed down to Alladale lodge with some great views on the way.
 
 
 
 
 
The trail then went past Croick church, famous for the villagers seeking refugee in the clearances, before heading along another valley.
 
 
 
When climbing out of the valley I was suddenly greeted by these peaks looming out of the distance with Suilven in the middle.
 
Round another corner was another mountain, possibly Ben More Assynt.
I then heading downhill to the pub at Oykel Bridge for a meal.
I now need to find a camping spot for the night. It is now about 66 miles to Durness with little mobile reception so probably no more posts until Saturday!
Today's route.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 12

Image
When a minibus load of people arrived at the lighthouse yesterday, it was time to head for the Kearvaig bothy. After about 4 miles back towards the ferry, there is a turning which goes down a steep hill to the bothy and it's own secluded beach.   After unloading my bike, I headed to the beach for a quick dip.        I then got set up in the bothy.   There were several rooms, with one person's stuff there already and a couple with young child on their way. I had passed them on the track and seen a pile of panniers etc. by the turn to the bothy. Before they got to the bothy, two young women arrived with backpacks having walked from the lighthouse after the bus ride there. They headed upstairs.   When the family arrived they decided to camp outside despite it threatening to rain. The rain never came to much. I celebrated with a can of beer from the lighthouse cafe and, of course, some noodles! One of the women lit the fire while we ate our various meals a...
Read more

Day 6

Image
After stocking up on pot noodles at the Spar, and checking for Nessie at the Caledonian canal, I set off from Fort Augustus.   The route followed Major Caulfield's military road over a pass to Glen Moriston. It started with some zig zags up the hill through a forest.   There was plenty of pushing the bike again today, partly due to yesterday's exertions. There was never as long a section but more pushing overall. I kept away from an old bridge after last year's experience with a rotten footbridge.   Instead I forded several streams.   Major Caulfield's soldiers appear to have marched in single file which has left a great single track mountain bike path!   The mountain views today were served in more manageable portions than yesterday's vast panorama, and with a cloud topping.     After stopping for lunch at the Redburn cafe in Dundreggan it was time to go over the second, and higher, mountain pass of the day. This was on wider forest tacks with more gr...
Read more

The Ride

Image
An Turas Mor (The Long Journey) is an off-road bike trail from Glasgow to Cape Wrath at the far north west of Scotland. It is 350 miles long with about 27,000 ft of ascent (not quite as much as Everest). I'll be taking a tent and everything I need on my bike so that I can be flexible about where I stop.   I won't have a support vehicle following me, but if you would like to support me, please see Alistair's An Turas Mor Fundraising Page . I'm raising funds for Aberystwyth Samaritans where I volunteer each week. As part of Samaritans nationally, we provide emotional support to people facing many challenges and experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide. I plan to set off on Thursday 1 May and expect it to take me a couple of weeks or so. I'll post updates here as I go. You can also follow me on Strava .
Read more