Scotland part 3: Through the Northern Highlands

By Adrien and Melanie October 4, 2020 Scotland 2020

To Knockdamph Bothy

Hike-a-bike on a challenging bumpy trail

We took the ferry at Stornoway and during the couple of hours we motivated ourselves to start cycling at the end of the day from Ullapool to reach a remote bothy (only 19 km) that we were hoping to be open. After 5 pm, we started an easy ride with fantastic landscapes particularly with the light at this time of the day. It reminded us some sceneries from Nepal. However, it was not very long until the path became more challenging. We had to start hiking our bikes and Adrien even offered to carry my big bag which was life-saving. Dilemma when we saw 2 different paths , one going up, the other one down, it looked like it was going to the same point so we decided to take the easy way and to go down... Big mistake, the lake was so full of water that our path was at some point water-covered. The sun had already set and it was already dusk so we did not have lots of time and we had to turn back and try the other path. We turned on our lights and our amazing Oscar was a fantastic cheer leader and really kept us going. What a wonderful arrival at the bothy discovering it was open and we were on our own. The dinner was much appreciated after such an adventure and our little Oscar whispering 'I am happy to grow up' before drifting off said it all.

To Bonar Bridge

After our amazing night, we jumped on our bikes for a challenging and fun ride down the valley. Short break at the school house, another bothy, and long break for lunch where we met a lovely couple of cyclists. This is the beauty of ... By the end of the day we reached our cosy pod for the night.

Rose Markie

On the road again, for a long day in terms of kilometres and elevation, but still with the sun. Lovely landscapes but we must admit it was less impressive.