Day 4 - Nairn to Ullapool

Day 4 - Nairn to Ullapool, 

Thursday 12/05/2022

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After a nice evening sitting in the bothy, watching Goewizard's 'straight line mission across Scotland' YouTube video over beers, we slept well in our warm cosy tents and woke to sunshine and bird song. We were a bit slow getting going as the sun was out drying our tents and we had a nice bothy in which to cook our porridge breakfast.

We eventually hit the road after 10am in pretty good weather. We rode towards Inverness and after going through the urban hustle rode towards Lairg, the crossroads of the northern Highlands and the centre of Sutherland.

In fact we didn't have any rain until 1.30pm, but when it rained then it really rained and blew a gale....

Things didn't improve when Konrad hit a grouse (grouse was unharmed and flew off, bike and rider also unharmed so it's a draw) and the weather towards Laxford Bridge continued to get worse. That said, irrespective of the weather, riding the length on Loch Shin (and the following Lochs) was pretty special, irrespective of the weather. So pretty yet remote and wild. Like I imagine Alaska or Siberia to be like - not an easy environment to exist in.

We stopped to see Kylesku Bridge again (and Ardvreck Castle) then headed towards Lochinver on the backroads before heading South towards Ardmair Campsite. We pitched up in the rain then headed towards Ullapool for a bite to eat with a pint at a fish and chip shop, the sun finally coming out as we got back. We are camped 5 miles out of Ullapool right on the water's edge. We've done our best to find shelter, but it is very windy (very pretty though).

The coastal roads around Drumbeg were challenging today in such heavy winds and rain. Such a shame as these are my favourite parts and the weather just made them a hard-core experience that we needed to get through. You can't always be lucky with the weather I guess.

Having an early night as we need to get-up relatively early tomorrow to catch the ferry to North Uist (Outer Hebredes). Looks like the wind and rain is back though, so it will be grim packing-up in the wet, especially if it's still this windy.... Hope the seas are not too rough! 



Mileage: 955
Beers: 17
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 2/10
Mechanical issues: 2 (Konrad's dodgy chain + oil leak)
Accidents: 0
Wetness: 8/10
Coldness: 6/10
Theft count: 0
Bird Strikes: 1



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