UK06: Lochs of Fun

Cycling Lands End to John o’ Groats, Days 14-16.

It’s Friday night in Thurso and it’s completely dead. The northernmost town in the UK is deserted. The only person we’ve seen is the friendly owner of the Sri Lankan restaurant we just ate at, similarly devoid of customers. It feels like we’re at the end of the world, so close to the end now.

Day 14: Fort William to Inverness, 111km

The Great Glen runs almost perfectly south-west to north-east from Fort William to Inverness, an ancient geological fault line that is now home to Loch Lochy (the lochiest of Lochs) and the much better known Loch Ness. At either end of the lochs is a fabulous series of locks, which together form the Caledonian Canal, a navigable waterway that runs all the way from the west coast of Scotland to the east. Lots of lochs and locks.

Along and around the lochs and locks runs the Great Glen Way, a walking route that doubles as a cycle path. 100-odd kilometres of segregated cycling, a real treat to be away from the traffic for such an extended distance.

We started early from Fort William, stopping first to fill up on pastries at Farine, and then taking all the necessary photos beneath Ben Nevis, the UK’s tallest mountain, a light dusting of snow crowning its peak.

We were then onto the lochs, and met an old nemesis, the headwind. There would be no relief all day: the Great Glen runs almost perfectly northeast, and a stiff northeasterly breeze was blowing straight at us. It was a tough ride, with plenty of climbing and long sections on gravel. Richard was having the time of his life on the rougher surface, me less so on my skinny road tires, and taken together with the wind, I found it a bit of a slog.

After dodging the crowds at Loch Ness, we followed a steep climb that took us high up the eastern flank of the loch. The views were superb, but up high we could also see the darkening clouds on the horizon, and with them came rain, lots of rain. The 14-day dry spell was finally broken, and we rolled into Inverness soaked. Pizza awaited, and then a well-earned sleep.

Day 15: Inverness to Golspie, 97km

A small mistake can make such a big difference to the day. Enter the Spinning Disk. Just outside Inverness we saw an empty children’s playground with some of the fanciest looking playground equipment we’d ever seen. Richard asked if I would like to be spun in the Spinning Disk. I said yes, and spent the entire rest of the morning cycling at about 7km/h, feeling deeply, deeply nauseous.

Luckily lunch rolled round, and took the worst of the nausea with it. As we rolled onto the east coast of Scotland, we encountered a very British phenomenon, a form of indecisive weather best known as April showers. One minute we’d have dark skies and heavy rain, the next bright sun and blue skies, and then the most curious combination of all, where it’s both intensely rainy and sunny at the same time. The plus side of this meteorological vacillation: rainbows.

Day 16: Golspie to Thurso, 104km

I didn’t have high expectations for the last couple of days of this ride. I’d assumed once we were through Glencoe and to Fort William, the best of Scotland would be behind us, but today I was proved very wrong. The north-east coast of Scotland is jaw-droppingly beautiful, with dramatic cliffs, and the kind of long, golden-sand beaches that would be world famous if the water was warmer than 5°C. The coastline is home to a number of ruined castles, perched on the cliffs above the North Sea, as well as the impressive and still-inhabited Dunrobin Castle.

Over a great lunch of local crab (plus scones, butter, jam and cream) at the The River Bothy Cafe, we met Jay Wilson, who’s spent the last decade negotiating with local landowners to set up the John o’ Groats walking trail that runs all the way to Inverness.

After talking us through the history of the Highland Clearances (something I know embarrassingly little about) Jay told us that we were approaching the Flow Lands, the desolate interior of this northeastern corner of Scotland. We soon turned left off the coast road and into the Flows, and were transported to an entirely different world. This section of the country seems more like the steppes of Mongolia than a part of the UK, a vast series of flats, almost entirely uninhabited, lone cattle dotting the otherwise scrubby landscape. Completed by an enormous onshore wind farm, it is beautiful in its bleakness.

Tomorrow we head for the finish. The final 35 km to John o’ Groats, and the end of this 17-day adventure to cycle the length of the UK. And then the real challenge begins, the 17-hour train ride home to London.