24 to 26 August - Kylesku to Dundonnell

As hard as it was, we left.

Leaving Kylesku we opted for the scenic coastal route..... The route, the B869, went almost straight west through Drumbeg, along one of the most scenic routes in Scotland. 

But beauty comes at a price. 

This was a nice bomber downhill run ... But what do you think comes next? 

Well, this whisky came after the long and grueling uphills, when we found a bit of solace midday at the Drumbeg village shop- voted one of the best village stores in Scotland! This little shop even had some whisky made in its honor by the distillery in Tobermory. The shop keeper offered us a dram to test - it met our approval and.....

we even received a special label to apply to our dromedary bag!

Amazing coastal scenery along the route... near Drumbeg store.

The route past in and out along the coast, offering grand views of countless small islands and inland lochs...

We never got bored with the scenery! Beautiful all day long, especially with he distant rain and clouds covering islands and cnocs (hills).

We took a detour to the Stoer lighthouse, as well. 

These are some of the amazing rocky shores near the lighthouse where one can frequently see seals, porpoises and seabirds. We enjoyed a peerie picnic and then we tried a wee hike to see 'The Old Man of Stoer' (an incredible sea stack, so we had heard) but turned back once we'd sunk ankle deep in bog and got fed up with cold and wet feet! Not to mention, the wind died down and all of the sudden, a swarm of midges came out of nowhere!

The day saw plenty of rain, as well. We didn't know it at the time, but the weather we had going into Kylesku was the last time for a long time that we would enjoy dry feet for an entire day. More about that later. 

We ended the day at Lochinver, and pitched the tent right on the sea side. Minutes after the tent went up the rain came down. So it goes, eh?

Not sure if we've said much about the midges yet, but there's plenty to say. They are NASTY! If the wind is not blowing then the midges swarm within seconds of when we stop rolling on our bikes. They make it tough to cook because they swarm the cook. 

They make it tough to get into the tent at night because it's easy to bring them in on clothing. We've devised one that works really well to minimize the risk, but flame throwers are large, cumbersome, and illegal so we have to resort to more primitive methods. We vigorously brush ourselves off about ten feet from the tent, then make a screaming leap through the screen door. Once inside, we swat furiously at the midges until we think we've gotten them all. Then the second person flies into the tent and we swat furiously once again. 

But they know we're in there, and they swarm overnight. "Little b*tches," we call them, because it's the females who bite, and they breed after having a blood meal (um, that's MY blood!). Every time we kill one that's biting we emit a wee cry of victory because we (a) killed a midge and (b) prevented one from breeding. Thus, we spend a great deal of time crying about midges!

By morning, there are clusters of them just waiting. The shot above shows them waiting on the screen of the tent, and that's just one small part of it! 

Anyway, enough digression about midges. Back to Lochinver... One of the reasons we stopped there is because we heard they had a great pie shop. No chance we'll pass up pies!

Indeed! We had pies for dinner, and we had pies the next morning for brekkie. Wonderful pies!!

After brekkie, we headed south on an un-numbered road. Through Strathan, Inverkirkaig, and then to Loch Osgaig. 

Again, more stunning scenery. Coastal islands are beautiful. 

More cnoc an lochan (hillocks and small lochs). 

More rain. 

More cnoc an lochan an rain. 

We stopped for the night at a village east of Achiltibuie, and treated ourselves to a night at the Achininver hostel since we were cold and wet and needed to dry the tent from the night before. The hostel was a half mile down a very rugged track, and was super quiet and remote. 

That evening we went to a fun and welcoming session at the Achiltibuie town hall. We met lots of great people - including one fellow who was at the Fiddle Frenzy on Shetland, and a group of people who had seen us at the brewery on Orkney! They introduced themselves, said they were amazed that we were doing a cycle tour of Scotland, and asked what we thought of the weather and the midges! (Don't get us started on that again...) We also met a woman who attended MSU-Bozeman about thirty years ago. What a small world!!

On the morning of the 26th we headed out of Achiltibuie, back whence we came along Loch Osgaig, then east to the A835. 

We passed this really neat bridge along the route. Scottish bridges never cease to amaze us by their beauty!

By the time we made Ullapool we were thoroughly wet and cold, so we stopped at the 'Seaforth' for hot soup and cocoa. And fish and chips. And beer. Ullapool is a neat coastal town. Founded as a fishing port in 1788, it had a very nautical feel to it. While there, we met up with our German friend Marion, again!

We rode south until the A832, then headed west and up. Right after the turn we found the Corrieshalloch Gorge. It means "Ugly Hollow" in Gaelic. 

It's HUGE! (And not ugly, in our opinions.)  The suspension bridge is nearly 60 meters above the river!

The pictures don't do it justice, of course. We stayed as long as the midges let us, then continued west. 

The A832 rises to a high plateau, and we were treated to more rain, mist, clouds, and fog dancing across the highland landscape. We managed to miss the rain in the picture above by slowing down to let it pass. This brilliant strategy also allowed the next shower to catch us from behind and give us a good soaking anyway!  ;-)

We finally stopped at Dundonnell. It was quite late and we were tired and hungry. Our feet were wet, and our muscles sore. Hop off the bikes, don the midge nets, and set about the evening camp chores. 

Our totals for three days:

August 24 - Kylesku- Lochinver via costal route B869. Visited Drumbeg store, croft craft shop, Stoer lighthouse, Lochinver pie shop. Total 35.5 miles.

August 25 - Lochinver to Achiltibuie. Stayed at Acherinver remote hostel, attended music session at Coigach Community Hall. Total 27.65 miles. 

August 26 - Achiltibuie to Dundonnell. Via A835. Passed through Strathcanaird, Ardinair, Morefield, Ullapool. Visited Corrieshalloch gorge.  Total 52.87 miles.