On leaving the library in Alness last night at 7 ish having 'rough ' pitched my tent in a wooded area of the local play park by the river , it started bucketing and at 7pm and 80 miles further on , it hasn't stopped bucketing since. I did get a decent meal in the only cafe there and that helped to put off the evil moment of discovering what might have happened to my tent in the meantime. All well though and everything as I'd left it with no appreciable water ingress - at that stage anyway.
Roughish might in a tent that did well to hold up to the deluge and a rising river right beside me , but it does make getting up easy. All packed up and ready to go on daylight at 7.30 . Expected to get breakfast in Bonar Bridge 18 miles away. Got there just after 9 to find neither of the 2 hotels open, but one of them with a hopeful sign that they would open for 'all day breakfast' at 10. Changed out of soaking kit in porch of closed hotel and waited. Worth waiting for though . Open fire , only customer , an enormous breakfast and dried some clothes .
Away from there with some reluctance at 11.30 . Sign said Tongue 38 miles with pretty much nothing in between other than than the small village of Lairg after 10. Wind easterly with a touch of south which made it do-able . Without that I prob wouldn't have set off. Horrific conditions for whole of it. Very wild with nothing but bare moor . Virtually no traffic.
Got to Tongue ( a mile downhill off route ) about 4 only to find Tongue Hotel with no vacancies. Couldn't believe it . Asked the owner to telephone Bettyhill Hotel 13 miles in the direction of John o'Groats to check on vacancy and a room available . So after quick bite in rain outside Tongue Hotel of oatcakes, cheese and apple - too wet to step inside- set off for the 13 miles into an easterly wind for Bettyhill. Made it just after 6 and got a great reception. Ros and I with M & D had a family holiday there 50 years ago. I remember getting wet then too.
A day to remember.
50 odd miles to go to JoG.
 |
| wet, wet, wet |
 |
| Bettyhill - what a haven |
1 comment:
Hi George,
WAs looing at a map just there to guess what route you might have taken after Lochranza and have just followed it all from your accounts. Will check in later when you have arrived. Aidan (Lochranz Youth Hostel)
Post a Comment