There was a lot of heavy rain overnight but by morning it had stopped. The plastic sheet I used to cover my bike had a mini lake in the middle where the rain had collected. The rain stopping was good but the wind had dropped and that was bad. The reason was clouds of midges which made packing the tent away very painful, even with a bag over my head and eye holes cut out as I needed in Wales last month.

Morning view to An Teallach

I set off descending towards Ullapool along the A835. The distant hills had a bit of sun on them but none where I was. I passed the branch which is the A832 where I was earlier in the month driving from Slioch to Stac Polly. The descent was quite steep for a while then levelled off and became undulating along the NE side of Loch Broom, which is a sea loch. It also gave me the first whiff of a sea smell, which I find quite pleasant. Before reaching Ullapool I stopped by the road to photograph the characteristic view of the white houses standing out along the promontory.

Ullapool

I reached the town but didn’t stop as nothing was happening because it was morning and nothing much happens in Scotland before 11am. I continued north on the A835 up a long climb. The road turned to the NE as it headed for Ledmore. It was quite windy for a while. At Ardmair I’d descended to the shore at sea level. There were a few houses and a caravan site but little else. More long climbs followed as I headed for the left turn off to Stac Polly. When I got to the turn the head wind I was expecting wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. The road was undulating but no steep climbs.

Narrow road to Stac Polly

Stac Polly and Loch Asgaig

The magnificent peaks of Stac Polly cleared from cloud as I approached and it was interesting seeing the changing profile as a rode by. A few miles on I turned sharp right then up a long steady climb on the road towards Lochinver. A Road sign warned against caravans etc as the road is single track with very sharp bends on the many sharp climbs and descents.

The road to Lochinver

The scenery was constantly changing as I passed small lochs with distant mountains behind. I reached Lochinver before mid day and my objective was to have a meal at the Seaman’s Mission (now called the Lochinver Mission). I continued along the main seafront road but missed the mission and had to turn back to follow the road towards the harbour.

Lochinver Mission

The mission was open for morning menus but as it was 11:50 I only had to wait till 12 for the lunchtime menu. I was hoping for some fresh seafood but they didn’t have any. So chicken and chips with sweet and sour sauce would have to do. At £8 it was quite expensive considering it was all pre cooked and just had to be heated up. I ate the food and continued on my way.

A long way for Chicken and Chips

Around the Assynt coast

I’d done about 43miles so far and I could feel the effect of the many tough climbs in my legs. Instead of taking the main A837 I decided to follow the Assynt coast road which is mostly single track. The views were very similar to the Outer Hebrides but there were many ups and downs and the climbs were quite tough on my touring bike. Eventually the road followed round to the north then east and I had a tail wind to help me. In Drumbeg I stopped briefly at the village store which has won some kind of award. A few miles on the tough climbs had the effect of causing cramp in my legs and brief stops didn’t ease it much. I’d done over 60miles and began to look for somewhere to camp. The last climb of the day was long and incredibly steep so decided to push the bike up. I found a good spot away from the road with a small river nearby. I chose a windy spot to pitch the tent to hopefully keep the midges away.

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