Gairloch / Loch Maree 21-24 July

The rain was threatening as we set off up the pass from Inchnadamph http://www.inch-lodge.co.uk/accommodation.html to our next destination. The rain blew away and we were left with a very good cycling day which was uneventful until just before Ullapool. http://www.ullapool.co.uk/ At the top of a big hill we paused for a break when coming the other way was another bike. It turned out to be a tandem. A recumbent tandem. They were seated with their backs to each other. A sort of push-me pull-me arrangement. The bloke behind had to have complete trust in the guy in front as he only

looked backwards. I do wish I was quick enough to get a photo as it was unique.

We arrived at Ardmair Point where we ate lunch overlooking a stunning bay at the seaside. The sun shone brightly and I took the chance to revert to my childhood and bounce a few stones over the smooth surface of the bay. I was actually showing off to a teenager who failed miserably when he tried. “Watch and learn Sonny” . Despite the fresh layer of Deet, the sand-flies had a feast on my face so we pushed off sooner than we really wanted to. A long slow climb led to the final descent into Ullapool and I hit 60 km per hour, my peak for the whole trip.

Ullapool is the ferry terminal for some of the Western Isles and is large enough to have a supermarket where we stocked with food for the evening and the next day. We also chatted to some local cyclists

who were on a tour of just a few days. Then we were blessed by a display of low flying air force jets. On enquiring, we found out that the RAF uses the Loch by Ullapool for low flying practice, and that whenever there is trouble brewing the number of practice flights increases considerably. We found a spot along side a river to pitch the tent and just as we finished dinner the rain arrived.

It was so miserable and wet the next morning that we broke camp without breakfast hoping to find a cafe along the road. We did not, but I stopped at the top a long hill where I demolished 6 slices of bread before the midges finally forced me to abandon my feast. Sally went on ahead as I was going slowly as usual.

We crossed over “desolation road” which was a depression time project to create work for the unemployed. It is bleak and cold and full of swarms of midges. I learned that if I cycled at 9 kmph I was

surrounded by a cloud of them . But at 10 kmph they could not keep up. So I busted my guts for several kilometres of uphill to keep them at bay. I was exhausted. I caught up with Sally at Dundonnell where she was sipping on a pot of tea and munching on a slice. Sally had also had very little to eat but was coping better.

We agreed to meet at the next bay ( or so I thought) and off we set. We had a long steep hill to mount and after the descent I stopped at a bay overlooking Gruinard Island. http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/GruinardIsland I looked for Sally but she was nowhere to be seen. I asked a local worker who arrived to pick up his truck if he had seen her by chance and he said no. I was pleased that I did not know the history of the island as I would not have stopped there if I had.

So I pushed on wondering where she had got to. I walked (slogged up)

a very steep hill that I found out later Sally had struggled with as well. So much so that when she stopped for a breather the bike pushed her backward. It was mean. At the top I lay off the side of the road to recover for about 20 minutes before continuing.

At Laide http://www.visitwester-ross.com/laide-accommodation.asp I went into the local store and asked if they had seen Sally. No was the answer. They could see I was struggling so they insisted I buy some food to eat before they would let me go. One Ice-cream later I was feeling less shaky so I bought a phone top up which she loaded on my phone so I could call Sally. Sally answered but the phone cut out . Flat battery I presumed. I still had no idea where she was.

Meantime the lady at the store had rung the doctors to see if she had turned up there. No. A local was going through to Gairloch so said he would report back if he passed Sally. No. Eventually I got a call from

Sally who had recharged her phone using the computer USB. She was only a few kilometres ahead. As I had the food bag Sally had been existing on snacks and some shop bought extras. I caught up and discussed how we had got separated and set off for the last 9 kms to Gairloch.

We had a wonderful view of Loch Ewe http://www.scotlandinfo.eu/wartime-loch-ewe-and-shipwreck-incident/ and read up about how it was the starting point for convoys to Russia during the second world war.

Once again I told Sally to go ahead as I was feeling absolutely stuffed by now. I arrived at https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/gairloch-p236191 the Youth Hostel an hour and a half after Sally who had bought a meal and cooked it for us, even though she was exhausted too. I don’t

know what I would do without her.

I was incapable of lifting the bike into the hallway for the night and was so exhausted I struggled to eat at all. When I look back I was lucky that was all I suffered. What was really annoying was all the food I found in the food bag when I emptied it out. Sally was surprised that I had not remembered that it was there. I wish I had remembered as 87 kms on 6 slices of bread and an ice cream is a bit insane. I ate as best I could and went off to bed.

The next morning I ate 2 bowls of porridge, 1 bowl of pasta, and half a tin of baked beans. As we set off I was surprised at how much energy I had , given the struggles of the previous day. As we climbed the hill towards Loch Maree http://www.scotlandinfo.eu/loch-maree-wester-ross/ we found a patch of wild raspberries so we collected a container full and pigged out on them as well.

On our trip around Scotland I have described Loch Maree as spooky and that it had a hold on me. One person suggested that a better word was spiritual. I agreed. She told me that many people had their ashes spread at the top of the hill overlooking the loch. It is a beautiful place and you could see how it could affect people like that. This time though it had no effect on me. Probably because I was so busy avoiding the midges and had no time for more ethereal experiences.

We followed the loch to a picnic site where where lathered up with Deet and ate our lunch. The camp ground was just a few miles further on and it had a toilet block which was spotless. Not bad for a free campground. Sally braved the clouds of midges to cook dinner and we settled in for a pleasant night beside the loch with only a small amount of rain during the night.

We decided to get breaky at Kinlochewe, but the 2 cafes were still closed so we just bought ready made food at the local store and filled our bellies as best we could. The hill out of the Loch is slow and at the top is a beautiful viewpoint that was full of tourist buses. After a photo stop we continued on to Garve http://www.garvehotel.com/where Sally stopped for a tea and cake while waiting for me. When I got there I had to stop for a coffee to recharge the batteries, The previous few days had caught up with me and I was limping along miles behind Sally. We stopped at Contin for a night camping in the rain and the cold. It was a very nice little campground.