Land's End to John O'Groats on a Bike Friday Tandem

Day 20 (July 4)

Mike, Tandem, and Clouds, on the Struey	Dornoch Firth from the Struey

After a rapid descent the road to Bonar Bridge was flat and easy. A heavy shower before Bonar Bridge drove us into a Craft and Tea shop in the town, to have tea and scones and dry off in the warmth. We chatted with a friendly elderly woman and young child who were staying in a nearby Youth Hostel.

The rain had tapered off, so it was on to Shin Falls, where we saw one (Lynn) or two (me) Salmon jumping up over the falls, which were flowing very fast with all the recent rain. Soon after, torrential rain began to fall, and the road rapidly became more like a river. We were quite wet by the time we reached Lairg, but it didn't seem worth stopping since the rain looked likely to continue.

North of Lairg there is almost nothing for 40 miles, as the single track road (still labelled an A-road) crosses the bleak northern moors. There is one pub in the middle of nowhere - the Crask Inn - that seems mainly there for cyclists, and the tiny village of Altnaharra, with a B&B and hotel, but no shops. This latter was our destination. We had on-and-off rain as we cycled up to 800 feet to the Crask Inn. There we dried out, and had lunch of excellent spinach soup that the friendly landlord recommended.

After lunch it was 8 miles downhill to our Altnaharra bed and breakfast, where the proprietor, Mandy, immediately started spoiling us, serving us tea and biscuits in the lounge, and taking all our wet things away to the drying room. We had a lovely cosy stay there, and she provided us with a delicious evening meal of wild venison from the local hills. (There is also a deer farm in Altnaharra, right next to the hotel.)

NCN Milepost, Crask Inn	The Crask Inn

Route and more pictures

Elevation

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