Scotland – the Brave? (Or the Mad??)

Main reason I've been off here for a while is that I spent the past 10 days being a VERY good wife – driving the support car round Scotland in pursuit of Hawksey, Nicky & Jules as the three of them embarked on the North Coast 500. Yes, a 500 mile cycle round the north of Scotland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Started in Inverness and headed west, then up the coast via Ullapool to Scourie and the north – along the top, turn right at John o-Groats, down through Brora and Durnoch, ending up back at Inverness Castle 8 days later for triumphant photos. Though for me – a wait in a side road as I couldn't find a space big enough for the bloody car and bike rack!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have to say – hugely fortunate that it was a fab sunny week, as a wet one would have been a darn sight less enjoyable for the cyclists, and certainly for me. My day – get up, all pack car, bikes go, I go, walk Scrumpy on a beach or in a wood, top up bikes with water at a morning stop, meet bikes for lunch, head off again, trot dog on another beach and await them at afternoon stop, drive on to one of the 8 hotels & B&Bs (mm, did those range in quality!) . And then have a pint or two and eat pretty much what they did for dinner as it was the highlight of my day – sadly, without having burned off the necessary 2,500 calories to have earned it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upside was that the Scottish beaches were very surprisingly pretty bloody lovely – bastard cold water but turquoise in colour and miles of soft sand, with hardly a soul on them. (You have to look closely in the photo above – S is on the water line). Apart from the one beach that had a huge flock of sheep and yes, a bloody hereof cows on it! We got off there sharpish before they came for us.. Phew – as there was literally absolutely nothing else en route, apart from hundreds of miles of single track road (eek!) with passing places. I did start to hallucinate those in my sleep..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I rather like this last shot – Scrumpy's paw marks, and yes, there she is again, impatiently waiting for me to throw her a stick in the shallows..)

So, a week of taking photos of lycra-clad arses in front of me, as I then overtook them a sped off.Not entirely my idea of the first holiday I would choose post lockdown, but it was at least a good change of scenery (9which was nearly all pretty stunning) and a midge-free sunny experience which it might so easily not have been. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was just a 600 mile+ drive home – my how good my bed felt when I made it back! Thanks to David & Mandy for the much needed pitstop en route. And H does now have a particularly ridiculous bike tan – he is Mr Brown Forearms and Lower Legs. Tee hee x