Carbisdale Castle to Tongue

Another supposedly easy day today - less than 50 miles from Carbisdale Castle to Tongue. Unfortunately, no-one remembered to yell the wind about the arrangement and it blew in our faces non-stop all day as a result.

I started and ended the day with Matt and Steve but did most of the ride solo as usual.

I've got a nice shot of the three of us leaving the castle after a relaxed start this morning but this shot sums up the day better. It was taken half-way across the bleakest moor I've ever cycled across, a crossing compounded by the unrelenting headwind. At times (as here) the scene resembled something like a World War I battlefield - with trees strewn everywhere. After a nice cup of tea at the Crask Inn (a great pub with a very nice owner) I pressed on across the moor, stopping to eat my SYHA packed lunch on a hollow by a river just about out of the wind.

I felt really odd to be wearing 3 layers on top and 2 pairs of gloves but it really was that cold... in August!

However, to kind of make up for the effort of cycling, the view of the sea and estuary (kyle) around Tongue was stunning as I came down the hill at the end of the day. The sea was very similar on colour to that found around the coast of Cornwall.

We finally made it to the SYHA at about 7 after stopping at the local pub in Tongue for a couple of pints to recover.

I quite like moorland cycling in many ways but not when the wind is blowing as hard as it was today.

Last day tomorrow!