Day 33 - Altnaharra to Thurso

Quick facts:

Weather:  Sunny with cloudy periods H19 L13 Humidity 99% in the morning fog. Winds W 2 kph sunset 20:14

Departure: Altnaharra Hotel,  Altnaharra 

Destination; Weigh Inn Lodges, Burnside, Thurso KW14 7UG

Planned distance: 54.9 mi/ 87.8 km

Planned ascent: 2,090 ft

Plannes descent: 2,303 ft

Route: photo from International Travel Maps.  Sorry. I don’t have the Ride with GPS map.

For actual metrics pls see Ralph’s Strava report https://www.cycling4charity.org.uk

Good morning/. good day 

I woke to the foggy sunrise out my east facing window and knew we were going to have another nice day. 

My poached smoked haddock with poached egg and all the usual breakfast trimmings was a great start and a continuation of the excellent meals chef Henry prepared last night.

We saw Henry and praised him and his vegetables!  We also saw Scott our host, server, bus boy, and front desk reception.  An efficient 

Jack of all trades who will be missed when he heads back to university soon. 

I didn’t see Morag again. She lives 30 miles away and doesn’t do the morning shift.  Thirty miles would be a long drive on this dark twisty narrow road after the dinner service. I am sure deer would be the biggest hazards.  There was a large herd of deer in the paddock behind the hotel …. but they had a very high fence keeping them in.

We said goodbye to the fly fiahermen in the parking lot and “Saint” David assured me he had several head covering  bug nets as he handed me one of his.  It was indispensable for the rest of the Scottish leg of the trip. I think you would go “stark raving mad” if you had a flat tire in North Scotland and didn’t have a bug net! 

Saint David the fly fisherman above.

Lorraine making a fashion statement below!  Ralph had bought a head net in Glasgow so he was all set. He obviously picked up the local intel somewhere.

According to the sign, The Altnaharra has been catering to fly fishermen since the 1800’s!  With my new hat I fit right in.

We got 50 feet down the driveway and stopped for our first photos. Lands End is apparently 788.2 miles according to the broken paddle sign post in front of the hotel.  

River Mudale flowing into Loch Naver, the mountains and Loch Naver  beyond.

We left Altnaharra on A836 (no traffic) and turned east onto B874 (even less traffic) and pedalled on the north shore of Loch Naver. The River Naver flows north out of the loch to the Atlantic Ocean. Our route followed the Strathnaver, or wide valley of the River Naver.

Lamb sign

Who us?

Sheep by Loch Naver

We were heading towards Thurso for the night but first we would go through Bettyhill infamous as the place Betty (yes she named the community after herself) , the Countess of Sutherland, who forced the tenant farmers to move from the good farmland they had been tilling for generation’s.  This happened in the early 1800 and is referred to as The Clearances.

 7 villages emptied by the Highland Clearances 

Essentially rich lords wanted the good land for intensive sheep farming and forced villages of people out of the area by burning their homes in violent evacuations.

There were several road plaques and descriptive postings about the demolished homesteads such as Rosal Clearance Village  which repeatedly told the sad stories of the tenants being violently turned off the land because the local Lord had hungry sheep he wanted to let loose. The Wikipedia list of Scottish clearances has 18 villages and 18 on various islands particularly on the Isle of Skye and Isle of Mull.

Of the 18 villages there were 10 in Sutherland many along the road we cycled to Bettyhill. We also passed one of Lord Sutherland’s homes, conveniently at the end of the railway line to the area.

This picture was taken at Grumbeg on the Strathnaver Trail that connects many of the clearances sites. The clearances started here in 1814 but were finished in 1819 when over 1,000 families were removed from the Sutherland Estates.

The text above by Tim A Johnson explains how Rosal ceased to exist after Whitsunday 1814 when Patrick Sellar, factor for the Sutherland Estate emptied the people out of town. He had the reputation of being the largest and most efficient sheep farmer in Scotland. Two years later he was arrested, tried and hung for murder.

“In memory of Donald Macleod - stonemason- who witnessed the destruction of Rossal in 1814 and wrote Gloomy Memories.”

As if the title doesn’t say it all,

I think his book would be a depressing read.

One thing I particularly like about Scotland (in addition to their public toilets in town squares) is that they actually put highway route numbers on their signs. Come to think of it, just having signs at crossroads is a lovely gesture I greatly appreciate.  England should move on from 1939 and take up this modern idea. 

This is Scottish  A road A836.  So sometimes A roads are a nice quiet option…. Which is lucky because this road was the only option..

The “traffic” in the distance is Ralph.  This is the countryside that fills up my soul and sees me through the city traffic jams!

This photo is looking to the west over Loch Loyal that we will pedal the length of when we come back south in a week or “In memory of Donald Macleod - stonemason- who witnessed the destruction of Rossal in 1814 and wrote Gloomy Memories.”

As if the title doesn’t say it all,

I think his book would be a depressing read.

River Naver somewhere between Syre with its 19th century corrugated church with wood interior and Achanlochy Clearance Village off route, the other side of the River Naver before we meet the A836.

You scratch my back I’ll scratch yours! Scenery on the A836.

Traffic was not a problem on the one lane bridges.

The land at Bettyhill. Rocky and very hilly with the inlet from the sea.

Some very steep hills. I know the pictures don’t illustrate the pitch very well.  I encourage any cyclists to come and explore this country on two wheels.

A mailbox on top of the hill in the middle of nowhere with no buildings around… 

…. Unless you count the phone booth.

Scenery going into Thurso.

You can just see the North Sea at the horizon. 

Thurso  is a busy supply town for this far NE corner of Scotland which it claims!

Downtown is a charming mix of historic buildings and a modern co-op for our grocery needs.  It is also the tourist gateway to John O’Groats which is the end of LEJOG and on the NC 500 route.

There are several business hotels like the Weigh Inn we are staying at for the next two nights.  We arrived just as the sun was setting to the west over the North Sea…. Oops or maybe the Atlantic.  It gets a bit murky for me up here.

Safe travels.

Lorraine