01-Jul-1996 - Day 14 - Drumnadrochit to Lairg

• Day's Distance: 68.21 Miles
• Total Distance: 896.74 Miles
• Time:  6 Hrs 29 Mins
• Average Speed:  10.5 Miles/Hr
• Max Speed:  32.0 Miles/Hr
• Punctures:  0

 Breakfast was more soup and more bread before striking camp and doing a first(!); going back 1 mile uphill where I'd been the night before to take some photographs of Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness, then on into town and stop off at the local Spar to stock up on groceries and replenish the choccy store.

The road ran up and down a bit to Inverness and rained several times, so the waterproof kept coming out, then taken off again to suit.  As I crossed over the bridge for the A9 at Inverness it was pouring down, then, once over the other side, the sun came out again.  Approaching the bridge over Cromarty I could see a dark cloud overhead and as I began the descent to the bridge I felt the first few drops of rain.  I stopped the bike and got out the waterproof, again.  Then as I crossed the bridge, the skies threw everything it had at me.  It is only a narrow bridge so the cars & lorries passing were throwing a lot of water at me as they were so close.  I was completely drenched and could barely see with all the water coming at me.  The wind was howling and preventing me from progressing at any reasonable speed.  Finally reaching the other side I continued under this torrent now desparate for somewhere to get something to eat and at least dry out a little bit.

At a sign saying "Evanton - Tourist services - food" I turned off and eventually reached the town which looked anything but a tourist spot.  A hotel offered food and so I gratefully went in and ordered soup and the roast lamb.  I eagarly swallowed these down and went to order a coffee, just to round things off and get a bit more warmth in my bones.  "Sorry, we close at half two" said the barmaid.  I looked at my watch which showed exactly half past two.  I paused for a moment to see if she would relent, but no, she was adamant.  I paid the bill and began to get the bike unlocked, etc.  Out of the hotel comes the barmaid and shoots off in her car.

I took the 'B' road as per my schedule and soon regretted it.  A continuous uphill battle, my feet still cold and wet from the downpour.  Thoughts of Rannoch Moor ran through my mind and I decided when I returned to the main road to return to the A9.  I then consulted the map which showed a lot of back tracking requried.  There was no way I was going to do that and so my route as planned continued although stopping earlier than scheduled in a town called Lairg.  This turned out to be a good choice as the camp-site had a laundry and a restaurant - my sort of place.  I chose venison steak pie for dinner and then washed my long overdue dirty clothing.  With the prospect of a good breakfast and clean clothes, I retired to bed in a better frame of mind.

Day 14 map (approximate route)


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