Ullapool

I started today by boarding the bike bus from Inverness to Durness via Ullapool, stepping out to a noticeably colder wind, but still a pretty decent day.   I set off back the way I had just come, following the empty main road along the northern shore of Loch Broom  Twelve miles later, a quarter of the way back to Inverness, I turned onto the Gairloch Coastal Route.  Immediately the scenery changed from rolling wooded hills to rocky heathland, with big hills looming.  A steady climb to 330metres was followed by a screaming descent down the river valley as I skirted the biggest hills. 

Lunchtime came and the first refreshment stop since Ullapool, the Dundonnell Hotel after 26 miles. I ignored its dubious charms and after another  mile stopped at a café cum craft shop in Camusnagaul, on the shore af a sea loch.

I was still heading north-west, into the wind, which slowed progress quite a bit.  After 40 miles, I had gone round two sea lochs in a big U Shape, ending up about five miles west of Ullapool. Eventually I turned south, and into a lumpy landscape reminiscent of Assynt in the far north west. Just as hilly too.

My enquiries about where to stay turned up mixed news. Well, mostly bad.  Torridon YH was full, as was the bunkhouse at Kinlochewe.  "This is our busiest time"..not encouraging.  But apparently people without children prefer this time of year because it's before the midges are out. So there was a silver lining.

After considering my options, and my legs, I decided to stay in the YH at the biggest town around, Gairloch: not as far as I hoped but achievable, and available.  It's an old house about 3 miles out of town (with great views of the mountains including the Cuillins on Skye)  so rather than head back into town I cooked a tomato-y pasta-y spicy thing which was perfectly adequate.   No mobile reception or internet though, so I'll post this when I can, and add some more pictures later.

Golspie or bust?

It's a long way aroind the Cromarty Firth.  A long, straight, boring road dragged uphill, into the wind now. I counted ten drilling rigs parked in the Firth.  Last year there were only two - a result of low oil prices perhaps? Fifteen hard miles later I rejoined the A9 to cross the Firth, nearer to Inverness than Cromarty. The A9 traffic was sparse and considerate, and after eventually I took a quieter detour through Invergordon.

The detour was about 35 miles, I reckoned.  I had several options. Cut my day short and come back another day to finish the job.  Press on to Golspie anyway, miss my train, and try to get back by bus, or hitching.  Not easy with a bike, but there are a lot of kind people up here.  Stay overnight in Golspie?   Ride back overnight? ??  I decided to wait till I rejoined the planned route at Tain to decide.

At Tain, a miracle occurred.  It was only 20 miles to Golspie, and I had ample time to get there.  I had missed visiting the headland near Nigg, and a couple of small villages, but I can live with that. After the rush to catch up, my legs were on a go slow but after a short stop in the refined town of Dornoch, with another, fully working, cathedral, I made it to Golspie.

In between,  on another tiny road along a river estuary,  there were maybe 100 seals sun bathing on a sandbank and.  Nice.  And a pair of oystercatchers were there to welcome me back into Sutherland, a real Highland county.  I was so pleased to arrive that I had a celebratory cup of tea in the Caber Bar, Golspie, and nearly missed my train ;-)

Things improved through the day, both weather-wise and result-wise.  For the train ride back there was full sun on the glorious and varied countryside.  Now in the JDW King's Highway, Inverness for perhaps the last  time.

Tomorrow, the west coast, and real hills.  With panniers. 

Unfinished business

The trip back to Inverness was as it should be.  No cancellations this year and I woke among the hills as we were going through Aviemore.  I shared a cabin with a very interesting chap from San Francisco who was heading for three weeks away from the Internet to do some wwriting, and probably thought I was slightly mad.

You may remember that the cancelled train last year made me miss most of the first day's ride in order to catch up with my pre-booked schedule.   So this year I decided to fill that gap by cycling to Golspie and catching the train back.  About 80 miles before 6pm when the last train leaves Golspie. Just about do-able.

After dumping my panniers at the youth hostel, I set off in a brisk breeze over the Moray Firth. Signs said Welcome to Ross and Cromarty, and to the Black Isle.  Funny because it's not black, and it's not an island, but a twenty mile long thin promontory. There was still quite a bit of snow on the hills to the west, but I was just warm enough as I headed east on quiet lanes with a following wind.  The sunny village of Avoch, hugging the shore, made me want to linger but I pressed on to Fortrose, a mini town with a ruined cathedral.

Chanonry point was next, a narrow point in the Firth where dolphins can often be seen close to the shore.  I was rewarded by a sight of just one, only a few metres out, and decided to press on.

Round the point was the pretty village of Rosemarkie, which featured in an Ian Rankin murder story I just finished, but there were no suspicious goings-on today.  A few hills, and next stop was Cromarty where the ferry goes across the Cromarty Firth to Nigg.  I'd done a third of the distance and it was only 11 o'clock. I relaxed and stopped for a coffee.  And bacon roll.

Now, the ferry.  There were plenty of signs but it wasn't obvious where to catch it.  I asked in a local shop. "I'm so sorry. It's not running this year.  We have tried to let everyone know but it's listed all over the internet."

Zut alors! I was sure I had checked.  (If you check now and find it clearly isnt running, I don't want to know thanks.  Or even worse,  if it IS running I still don't want to know.)

There was only one thing for it. I would have to head right back round the Firth of Cromarty,  double quick.  But how would I be able to make the train?  Well I certainly didn't know but I didn't have many other options.   Tune in to the next exciting episode to find out what happened! !!

Welcome to my blog

If you're new to my blog, welcome!  To get a taste of what you'll find here, skip past all the boring maps and mileages below and look at some of the posts and pictures from the journey in 2014 or 2013.   Regular readers know what to expect:  a series of moans and groans about wind, rain, etc. plus descriptions and some nice pictures of far-flung places.  I aim to post something on here every day.

Baking Ullapool, late July last year

It hasn't really started yet.   I'm all packed and ready to go.   Couldn't sleep last night, dreaming of hills, bike breakdowns with consequent long walks to civilisation, and other possibilities.   The general plan for this year is to get the sleeper train to Inverness, and a bike bus across to Ullapool, where I finished last year.   From there I resume my journey south, with some massive hills in the first 160 miles, and then head across Skye in the general direction of the Outer Hebrides, which seem to be quite extensive.

Last year I explored the Shetlands which had very little accommodation, so I booked everything in advance.   The Hebrides are different: there seem to be plenty of hostels and campsites, so I haven't booked anything beyond my first night.  What could possibly go wrong??  But not many places to eat, so I'm taking a heavy bag of food, just in case they don't have food in Scotland.   See you on the road.

Once more into the breech

These cycling holidays are probably a lot like childbirth, I've decided.    The conception, several months before, is easy and enjoyable.  There's a period of waiting with not much to do: buying those last few things, trying not to worry about all the things that might go wrong, even though your friends keep adding to your list of possible misadventures.   But nothing prepares you for the two-week labour itself, when your plans go out the window and you try to react to what nature throws at you as best you can.   It's sweaty, it hurts, and bad words are sometimes used.  At the end of a cycling holiday, you don't even have a baby to show for it.  Just a small bag of dirty washing, a lot of photos, sore legs, and a strong aversion to riding a bike.   But you will soon forget the awful time you had, and before you know what you're doing, you will be thinking about doing it again.

And another thing.   You never know exactly when it will start.   Take last year for example.  I was all booked on the sleeper train to Inverness.  Turned up at Euston and the sleeper was cancelled.   Power cables down near Carlisle.  This year: booked months ago for the sleeper on 9 June, at a very reasonable advance fare.   But no:  there is now going to be a rail strike.  Probably.  Rhiannon in Scottish Caledonian telesales advises me to wait until the strike is confirmed, perhaps the day before, and they will allow me to re-book.   But it will be too late.  And prices will have gone up.   And the multitude of Caledonian MacBrayne ferries, carefully planned to get me around the Western Isles, don't run every day.

Ah well, here we go again...

Maps

Day 1: Should have been Inverness to Helmsdale, but only Golspie to Helmsdale due to late arrival of the sleeper train from London

Day 2: Helmsdale to Thurso

Day 3: Stromness to Kirkwall (Orkney)

Day 4: Orkney West and South

 Day 5: Shetland South (to Sumburgh Head)

Day 6: Shetland West

Day 7: Shetland Northmavine and to Yell

Day 8: Shetland Yell and Unst

Day 9: Shetland: returning from Yell to Lerwick

Day 10: Orkney: would have been Hoy, but instead just Kirkwall to Stromness

Day 11: Thurso to Durness

Day 12: Durness to Cape Wrath and Scourie

Day 13: Scourie to Achininver

Day 14: Achininver to Ullapool

Some statistics

In case you're interested:

• total miles: 948 (less than last year's 1233, but I had three very short cycling days this time)
• ascent: 17,218 metres (nearly double last year's 10036)
• average speed: 10.8 mph (less than last year's 11.4)

Miles

Ascent metres

speed mph

Day 0: 9/7 Home-Euston	14.8	165	12.1
Day 1 (Glasgow + Inverness)	6.3		7.2
Day 1b Golspie-Helmsdale	18.9	215	14.4
Day 2 Helmsdale-Thurso	92	1297	12.3
Day 3 Orkney: Stromness-Kirkwall	55.6	798	11.3
Day 4 Orkney south	82.9	1181	12.2
Day 5 Shetland south – Sumburgh	85.7	1760	11.4
Day 6 Shetland west	83.5	1830	9.8
Day 7 Northmavine	96.1	1916	11.3
Day 8 Unst	70.9	1427	10.4
Day 9 West Yell-Lerwick	60.6	1035	10.8
Day 10 Kirkwall-Scrabster (not Hoy)	22.1	269
Day 11 Thurso-Durness	77.6	1447	11
Day 12 Durness, Cape Wrath, Scourie	68.1	1495	8.9
Day 13 Scourie-Achininver	73.4	1902	9.1
Day 14 to Ullapool	26.7	465	10.5
Day 15 24/7 Euston-home	12.5	15	12.4
Total	947.7	17218
Averages		1463	10.8

(Average ascent is calculated only for the full day rides)

Last year's figures are here.

Maps to follow ...