Day 13 - Inverness to Crask (overnight in Lairg), 68 miles

Our penultimate day was to take us from Inverness across the Kessock Bridge to skirt the Beauly Firth through Muir of Ord, Dingwall and Evanton. We were then to climb into open and country with fine views of Dornoch Firth and a descent to Bonar Bridge for lunch. We were then to continue by the Kyle of Sutherland and through the Shin Forest to Lairg and the southern most end of Loch Shin. Finally, a stunning but bleak ride through woods and high moor land to the Crask.

Preparing to leave Inverness

Essential Info. about Inverness:

• It is the most northern city in the UK
• Nearby, the 18th century Battle of Culloden took place
• It is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities
• A third of the Highland population live in or around the city
• It’s ranked 5th in the UK for quality of life of 189 British cities
• Over 5% of the population speak Gaelic

Source - Peak Tours notes - thanks for allowing me to plagiarise

Beauly Firth, having crossed Kessock Bridge...

...stunning route along the shore side.

 Bit stormy ahead though.

Vanessa and the Cumbrian lads. Here the pavement was designated as pedestrian and cycle path. Our route north followed much of NCR 1 and was very 'cycle friendly'

 Dave who shall be known as 'Dids'

Dave who shall be known as 'Tommo'

 Ian who shall be known as Sid

 Vanessa who shall be known as Lady Penelope

 The cycle routes protected us from huge lorries (left) and at times we felt very exposed when on the road (right)

True - but not avoiding the big hill!

 Dornoch Firth - the sun appeared then vanished.

The road surface here was excellent - but not always. Often the tarmac would wear away, creating a gritty and bumpy ride.

 High up, the moorland was marshy in places with feathery, white-headed grasses, wild flowers, heather and bracken.

 Descending to Bonar Bridge for lunch

 Fine views of Dornoch Firth...

 ...brief glimpses of patchy sunlight but the rain came. Mild only.

 And the sky darkened.

 We yellowed up in our rain gear.

 I called the Tardis and asked them to stop the rain.

 Lunch at Bonar was excellent.

Homemade soup, a mountain of sandwiches...

 ...and freshly made scones.

 Time to chat...

 ...and deepen friendships.

 After lunch we climbed up into an enchanted forest, Mirkwood from Middle Earth.

 I cycled accompanied by the local elven folk.

 ...until my compatriots scared them off.

 We then climbed higher and higher...

 ...up towards the Crask.

 The road was very long...

 ...the scenery bleak and barren, but beautiful!

Eventually, we arrive the Crask in the middle of nowhere, high up on this bleak plain.

Fabulous friendly pub with two local beers and accommodation...

...but fully booked that night with Munro baggers - often a site for a final Munro party as the Scottish peaks are completed.

 This characteristic Sustrans sign (right) is found up and down the country showing the superb work supporting National Cycle Routes (http://www.sustrans.org.uk)

The owner has run pub this for 20 years but is retiring to move to a more populated area. Fancy a pub far in the North?

There is limited accommodation in the area. Therefore, we leave our bikes at the Crask and catch a lift back to Lairg. Others cycle onward to Altnaharra.

Super view over Loch Shin from our room.

 It remained light until 10.30pm.

Statistics - are you really reading these?
Roadkill - one bird, one small furry mamma.
Live spotting - a shrew scurried across the road unscathed (Sid saw a polecat)