Day 19
Lairg to Forsinard 58miles/2355ft ascent
Alasdair had kindly agreed to meet me this morning and ride up to The Crask Inn for breakfast before he headed back to Lairg and then home to do a day’s work. We left Lairg at 7:30am and got up to the Crask with plenty of time for a blether and a big feed which set me up for the day – Thanks Alasdair!
Up the road and back onto new territory for me and what a beautiful ride it was to Altnaharra and Loch Naver. On the way I stopped and had a yarn with Alasdair from Edinburgh who was also nearing the end of his Lands End to John O’ Groats adventure. I really enjoyed the mellow conversation we had about places or people we had met on the way and the quiet confidence that we had just about got this in the bag.
Alasdair headed north for the coast road while I tarried a while in the hotel for a cup of tea and some lemon drizzle cake. There I met Jane Schrier who had just completed her Lands End to John O’ Groats journey on foot, having started in March. I was blown away that someone would be tough enough to do this as a walking route! Look out for her book…
For the rest of the day I seemed to either be heading south or east into a gentle headwind. Eventually I arrived at the beautiful wee place called Forsinard which has a train station with an visitor centre for The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. There I had enough time to talk to the friendly and very knowledgeable ranger there about the importance of this area which is know as The Flow Country.
I nearly managed the snooze in the sun I had promised myself before Rachel arrived with her beaming smile in the van. What a perfect end to another wonderful day on the bike.
A Teacher trying to Divide. 