Leg 5, Day 5: Stornoway - Durness

 

A comparatively relaxed start to today with a 07:00 ferry from Stornoway back to Ullapool, where we finished our ride yesterday afternoon. Knowing we didn't have to put our bruised bottoms on saddles until 09:30 was a great relief. 

Talking of bottoms, thanks to all who pointed out that we had "pooed into a bakery" a rather amusing typo from Day 1's post which has now been corrected.  

The weather is (hopefully) taking a turn for the better which will make our lives significantly easier. I'm starting this post on the ferry and as I look out the window I can see a calm sea and the sun glistening off the water. What a wonderful part of the world to be in when the weather is like this! Our cycling gear is still a little damp form yesterday so we're making a chinese laundry out of one of the dining tables.... 

To be continued...

We have now finished for the day and we are in the possibly the most remote place in the British Isles! A beautiful B&B run by Duncan and Marleen Shaw, who are kindly putting us up for the night, without charge, so this is an enormous thank you to both of them. 

It's struck us both as slightly odd that in one of the most fierce areas of the UK coast (especially in winter) there are no RNLI stations within 70km! I'm sure there is a good reason for this and we'll ask at Thurso RNLI station tomorrow. 

Anyway, the day started with some undulating terrain but this was more than made up for by the fine weather and simply breathtaking views. We headed north out of Ullapool towards our first and only station of the day in Lochinver. It was 50 km or so to get there and we were on a windy single track road that hugged the coastline, providing ample distraction from our sore parts, the number of which were growing steadily throughout the day. 

Despite being in mainland Scotland this area had a distinct 'Island feel' with better kept properties, friendlier drivers and surprisingly lush flora, a particular favourite seemed to be the rhododendron which was abundant in all shades of 1980s pinks and purples. 

Having taken our photo outside Lochinver RNLI station, we grabbed a bite to eat at the nearby cafe. Being able to sit down and eat a hot meal was an real luxury, yesterday, with the thought of missing the ferry, we had limited our breaks to short roadside stops where we stretched and wolfed down as much food as we could before getting too cold. Today was very different, we even had a 5 minute bask in the sun which was made eve better with the bakewell slices nick pulled out of his pannier bag. 

After Lochinver, the road turned sharply inland and we entered the terrain more comply associated with the Highlands- vast glens, dramatic mountainous terrain, which would not be out of place in The Lord of the Rings, although nearer Mordor than The Shire. Not that it isn't beautiful, but there is a reason that Bear Grylls filmed his 'survival in the wilderness' here! We we're fortunate enough to be enjoying the views in the sun but I can't imagine how bleak this area becomes in mid-winter. 

We skirted around various lochs and as our legs lost any power the gradient increased and we spent a great deal of our time in our easiest gear with the 30mph northerly wind which had picked up in the afternoon greeting us head-on. The final 40km which might normally take us an hour and a quarter or so took 3 gruelling hours and by the time we got to the B&B we were (once again) in pieces. 

A delicious venison chile con carne and a dram of Scotland's finest made us both feel considerably better and as the rain began to fall and the easterly wind grew in strength, we tried our best to put off any thought of tomorrow's exploits.

 

Leg 5, Day 4; Mallaig to Stornaway

 

It is with great relief (and exhaustion)  that I write this post from the Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, with a well deserved pint in hand...

Having covered close to 170km today, the majority of which was in strong wind, heavy rain and across hilly terrain, we are both feeling totally exhausted and can barely walk!

We were unable to hit the road early today, as the first ferry from Mallaig was not until 8.15am, yet we needed to cover close to 170km of hilly terrain to reach Ullapool by 4.30pm, to catch the only ferry of the week to Stornoway... This put us under considerable pressure- If we missed this we would be totally stuffed! 

This morning we opened the blinds at Mallaig RNLI Station to find the view of the harbour obscured by Scottish sea mist and heavy rain... a great start!

 The ferry across from Malaig to Armadale gave us the chance to have some breakfast and plan for the day ahead. Setting out with knackered legs following our previous days ride certainly was not the best- especially with such a huge task ahead of us....

The initial ride up Skye, wearing our (now standard) bin bags, went well and we made good progress albeit were soaked within the first hour. I would certainly now vouch for the fact that wearing bin bags has very limited effect on keeping the rain out! We crossed the short but magnificent Skye Bridge, and dropped into the RNLI station at the Kyle of Lochalsh for a speedy photo before heading on. 

The road ahead from here was hilly and the rain bucketed down. By 11am we were drenched and genuinely couldn't have got any wetter if we were to jump in a Loch! We were making reasonable progress but on tired legs the hills were proving extremely hard work and very painful. 

Eventually the road bought us to the shores of Lochcarron , and along with this came more gently undulating roads. This enabled us to progress in earnest, and there was now a glimmer of hope that we may make the ferry in time. We even had a brief stint of dry weather and sunshine which was bliss, but it wasn't long before the next wave of rain hit.

With ham strings tightening and very stiff legs, bums, backs and necks we allowed ourselves 1 minute breaks every 10km to stretch out before heading on! We couldn't afford to stop for any longer than this, as we knew we were very tight on time for the ferry, and would also risk becoming hypothermic in our soaked kit, so pressed on...

Battling on into the headwind, we took it in turn to go in front and take the brunt of the wind and lashing rain while the other would slipstream behind.... Needless to say the road seemed endless!

The eventual sight of Ullapool in the distance was very welcome indeed, and we limped on to the end. 

Exhausted but relieved to have made it in time, we had a quick shower at the ferry terminal and got some dry clothes on, before settling in for pint on the ferry. As Sod's law had it the skies cleared and the sun came out, giving some stunning views of the coastline during the crossing...

I also managed to capture one of Rad's extraordinary stretch routines on the ferry crossing as follows-

We arrived in Stornoway at 9pm , and for the first time in 3 days, with bright sunshine and clear skies. John met us at the RNLI station and gave us a very warm welcome before leaving us to hang up our soaked kit to dry and bed down for the night in the crew room. Fingers crossed for less rain tomorrow!

CalMac are on board!

 

 

 

 

The major ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has offered their generous support to The RNLI Tour of Britain by providing complementary travel for us during the 2014 leg of our circumnavigation of Britain.

 

This year's trip involves taking in excess of 16 ferry trips, 10 of which are run by CalMac so their involvement will save us a great deal of money.

 

We are extremely grateful to them, especially considering they receive huge numbers of people requesting sponsorship each year- perhaps the obvious link between the RNLI's objective to 'save lives at sea' and their business operations was too great to ignore.