A final summary of 26 days in Scotland May-June 2018

Positives.

1.       Favourite places: Glencoe for hiking, St Magnus Cathedral (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands), Castle of Mey, Dunrobin Castle, Handa Island, Cape Wrath, Skara Brae, Hunterian Museum, South Uist Museum (Bonne Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald), Calloden Battlefields.

2.       Appreciating Scottish history back to Neolithic times.

3.       Enjoying single lane roads and particularly special bike roads like route 78.

4.       Fun to ride on a total of 9 ferries.

5.       Bicycles from Gearbikes in Glasgow – hybrid, 24 gears and disc brakes.

6.       Finding that one could cover 1127 KM in 23 cycling days for an average of 49 KM a day at the age of 79!

7.       Very fortunate to have excellent weather – only three days of rain in 26.

8.       Excellent accommodation in B and Bs and some hostels.

9.       Special thanks to friend Neil for his meticulous careful planning of the trip and for his companionship. He was going down memory lane (having been born in Scotland, been to school in Scotland and visited many times.) I was along for the ride!      

10.   You can see the Highlands in many ways – cycling, hiking, public bus, motorcycle, motorhome, car, sports car, in a vintage car, private coach, as a bird watcher, as a fisherman etc. We met them all.

11.   Appreciating Scottish people and visitors from many places – particularly the north of England.

Negatives? None really.

1.       Could have taken a few less things in panniers.

2.       When on highways (2 lanes) much traffic passing close  including large trucks, buses, motorhomes and many noisy motorbikes!

Back in Glasgow again

It was sunny once again as we took the train from Oban to Glasgow on Friday morning. We left our paniers at the Scottish Youth Hostel in Glasgow and proceeded to Gearbikes where Jo agreed to purchase back our bicycles. I would recommend anyone thinking of bicycling from Glasgow be in contact with Gearbikes. Jo said he currently had 18 bikes out on rental but our arrangement for 26 days to purchase end of season rental bikes (six months ago) and then sell them back worked out well for us. Here is Jo with the two of us.

At the top of Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow (close to our hostel)  is a statue of Earl Roberts. He was an incredibly distinguished but also brutal soldier known as Lord Roberts of Kandahar. Many places and institutions named after him. He was born in 1851, took part in the Indian Mutiny and later the Boer War and was eventually known as "Commander in Chief of the Forces".  He died in 1914 of pneumonia when at the age of 82 he was visiting troops in France during WW1. See: Lord Roberts of Kandahar.

 

Glencoe to Oban

It was a perfect cycle ride to-day. Sunny with a few clouds. Route 78 took us around and across A 828 several times. Much of it was along on old railway track so it was fairly flat. However to-wards the end as we approached Oban it challenged us and went up a few steep hills that we walked up.There were some great views of Loch Linnhe - we passed a marina, an island called Shuna (after which Neil named his eldest daughter) and an old castle. We cycled 59 KM to-day. Our total for the 23 days we have cycled is now 1127 KM. We have averaged 49 KM a day! This is the end of our cycling as to-morrow we put the bikes on the train to Glasgow, sell them back to the bike shop or have them sell them for us. Then for me its WestJet back to Victoria via Halifax and Calgary. It’s been a great adventure and we have ended it on a high note. We have been very lucky with the weather. Only three days of rain and one was mostly on the ferry from Stornaway to Ullapool. My anxieties at the start of whether ones physique was up to daily cycle rides were for naught. Another worry was health and safety but that has not been an issue for either of us. The training and preparation paid off!  I am very grateful to Neil for his meticulous planning which worked out so well and his encyclopedic knowledge (having been born in Scotland, been to school in Scotland and visited many times). 

Neil with Shuna island in the background.

Linnhe Marina.

This was Castle Stalker. There has been a castle on this site since 1320. This one was built around 1450. The only way of reaching the coast was by sea and some of the castles would have been built to defend against the Vikings.

We found a seat looking out onto Loch Linnhe for our last lunch. 

   

Glencoe - a hikers paradise

To-day it was sunny at breakfast time and already warm. This was an optional day as we are staying two nights at this hostel. We rode (without our panniers) for half an hour on the main road towards Glasgow. We then did a four hour hike up  "The Lost Valley" trail. We probably hiked 8-10 KM. Magnificent scenery of the many hills and some Munros around. It was sunny with clouds all day. A Munro is a peak over 3000 feet (over 900 meters) and many keen hikers try and bag as many as they can in their lifetime. We decided that we did not have the energy to bag a Munro to-day. There are numerous hiking trails in the Glencoe area surrounded by the magnificent Scottish hills. We have seen it at its best to-day. Neil wanted to visit the Kingshouse which was an historic building but is now undergoing a renovation so we carried on in an easterly direction with a slow uphill most of the way but downhill on the way back to the hostel. When we got there it was just a construction site but by the time we got home we had bicycled 35 KM. I think we are getting fitter! We were passing a section of "The West Highland Way" which hiking friend Ian did with his family a couple of years ago. To-morrow is our last cycling day from Glencoe to Oban - we hope we can continue on the dedicated Scottish cycle route 78.

The lost valley trail

The lost valley

This was as far as we went. We had probably climbed about 300 meters.

Looking back down the lost valley.

Spean Bridge to Glencoe

For the first few KM to-day we were in traffic as we made our way back to Gairlochy from Spean Bridge. This was preferable to cycling in the busy A82.  However it meant that we could enjoy the excellent cycle path along the Caledonian Canal. It took us all the way to Fort William where we observed "Neptunes Staircase" the eight locks at the western end of the Caledonian Canal. In Fort William we said goodbye to Anna who was taking a bus back to Inverness and then will come back to Fort William where she was able to leave her bike at a place that supported scooters for disabled people. We then rejoined cycling route 78 (you can look it up on Google) by taking a somewhat rustic passenger ferry to the west shore of Loch Linnhe and enjoyed a mostly flat route with very little traffic until Corran where we took another more substantial ferry back onto the A82. From here we made our way to Glencoe Youth Hostel but missed a turn and ended up doing about 5 KM more than we might have. To-day we did 61 KM. Neil now reports that we have exceeded one of the objectives of this trip and we have done 1033 KM. This means that for the 22 days of cycling we have averaged 47 KM per day. OK for two older chaps!! Two more days of cycling - to-morrow is optional as we are staying at this hostel for two nights. We will decide at breakfast what we will do to-morrow - hiking or biking or both! Along the way to-day we had great view of Ben Nevis and Glencoe. As was usual we started off in a fairly cool cloudy day but at the end of the day it was sunny! We have been really lucky with the weather and it looks as though it is going to hold for our last two days.

Ben Nevis

Along the Caledonia canal again.

Neptunes Staircase - eight locks.

The small passenger ferry we crossed Loch Linnhe on to the west side to avoid the A82 and find the route 78 bike path. Ben Nevis in background.  

Our last of nine ferry crossings we have done! 

Fort Augustus to Spean Bridge

It was a perfect cycling day. It started off cloudy (about 16C) but as has been usual the last few days it was sunny by midday. We had a following wind all day getting quite strong later. The first part was flat - along the Caledonia canal. Later in the day, helped by advice Anna had obtained, we passed through some forest land on a track which was quite rough in places and we twice had to walk up hills. However - no traffic. We did encounter quite a number of hikers. We only encountered traffic and were on the A82 for the last few KM as we went into Spean Bridge. Total KM to-day estimated to be 45 KM.

Here we were along an old railroad track with wonderful Rhododendrons all along the track.

This was the Bridge of Oich, that was not over the canal but which was built after floods in 1849.  The floods also resulted in the need for an extra lock on the canal to prevent further flooding. 

Just before Spean Bridge was this memorial to the Royal Marine Commandos who trained near here from 1942 onwards. 1700 Commandos died during WWII. The Americans developed the Navy Seals with training and responsibilities similar to the Commandos.

We had mostly been cycling along the 78 Scottish Cycle Route to-day, with its excellent signage.We did a short detour to our B&B at Spean Bridge. Anna will ride with us to Fort William to-morrow then she will take a bus to Inverness and pick up her car and then come south to pick up her bicycle.  

 

The Caledonia Canal

Port Augustus is quite a tourist trap but it is interesting to see the Caledonia Canal locks - similar to the Rideau canal that joins Kingston with Ottawa that was completed in 1832 ten years after the Caledonia canal. I was delighted to find an Ocean Cruising Club member boat Terrapin, a Valiant 47 and had a pleasant chat with owners Baxter and Molly. They were heading towards Norway and plan to cross back across the Atlantic in September.

Inverness to Fort Augustus

Anna, Neil’s sister, has joined us for two days. The first being another very pleasant cycling day. It started off cloudy and foggy but warm with no wind as we cycled down the east side of Loch Ness. There was very little traffic as we rode though the center of Inverness at 9.15 on a Sunday morning. The road down the east side is ideal for cycling. Very little traffic, single lane much of the way. We stopped for lunch at Foyers for a bowl of soup and the sun came out. There was quite a lot of uphill and we walked our bikes on three occasions. The high point was Suidhe viewpoint (366 Meters, 1200 feet above sea level) and then there was a steep downhill to Fort Augustus. We cycled about 53 KM to-day. The distance seems to be quite manageable particularly if one stops for a break at lunchtime.  

Animals seen next to the cafe where we had lunch.

 

Fort Augustus showing the old Benedictine Monastry which used to be Abbey School whom Neil played rugby against when he was at Gordonstoun.

We ate at the local pub this evening - I ordered Haggis, Neaps and Tatties. This is what it looked like - it was delicious with the creamy onion sauce.

Cromarty to Inverness

Cromarty was a village (once a Royal Borough) that one could have spent a couple of days. We had a very comfortable B&B that had been in the hosts family for about 100 years. It was attached to a family owned farm which is now run by her brother. The present owner had lived in the house with her family since 1999 when she took it over from an uncle. Since the uncle had kept it in a rustic state over the years she and her husband had renovated it and kept such original features as window shutters instead of curtains. It was very tastefully done with tartan blankets and great colour coordination. After the usual substantial Scottish breakfast we found country roads that avoided main roads until we were near Inverness. Even there there were bicycle paths along or around the main road - particularly the A9. We stopped at Avoch to view the drying out harbour.   



There was a dedicated bicycle path on the bridge across the Moray Firth. 

From here we decided to go to the Calloden Battle museum. We had been thinking of doing it the next day after being joined by Anna - Neil’s sister. But - surprise, surprise - we had just stopped at a Tesco parking lot to have a snack and who should pull in but Anna. At that moment it had also started to rain, the first since Ullapool!  We were delighted to accept a ride with Anna to the Calloden Battle museum. It rained for about an hour only. We have been very lucky with the weather and were lucky that Anna arrived to taxi us to the museum and back. It was only a short ride then into Inverness to the Youth Hostel we are staying in to-night. We cycled about 39 KM to-day - a bit less than expected thanks to Anna. She will be riding with us to-morrow as we head down the east side of Loch Ness.   

This was the Hostel we stayed at in Inverness. Very well run. We had a twin bedded room with ensuite bathroom and then breakfast provided in the morning.

 

 

Golspie to Cromarty

Another great cycling day. The weather forecast kept changing - possible fog all day or even later in the day thunderstorms. In reality it was a bit foggy when we started off but then became sunny again with the temperature about 20 C. No side trips had been planned but then Neil remembered an old school friend (from Gordonstoun days) had owned a hotel in Dornoch so we did a side trip to this interesting village with a history of involvement by Andrew Carnegie who bought a castle nearby. It turned out Neil met a woman who knew his friend but found out that he had died. There is even a Church of Scotland Cathedral (they do not have bishops), an old courthouse (now a cafe) and a famous Golf Club (The Royal Dornoch). I learned that both golf and curling were first played in this part of Scotland. We crossed the Cromarty Firth in a small ferry and observed where many oil rigs are constructed and the disused ones left at anchor. I counted a total of 10 rigs in the Firth. Cromarty was initially created in 1767. In 1774 "The Hemp Works" were completed and became one of Scotlands first factories. It has seen many activities since including in the two world wars. The latest seems to building the towers for ocean wind turbines. We cycled about 52 KM to-day.

The Cathedral in Dornoch.

High street Dornoch.

An oil rig in for refitting in dry dock.

Towers being built for wind farms.

This car was about to back off the ferry. Our two bicycles were the only two vehicles on the ride over to Cromarty. It was the first day of the season for the ferry to operate (June 1st).