FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH.

UK: DAY 528 – 529. AUCHINDREAN TO ARIUNDLE.

From the top to the bottom, we head south through the highlands and more wild landscapes!

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And we are off heading south. The hostel owner yesterday told me there’d be lots of tour buses up this way, but yesterday afternoon I hardly saw any vehicles at all, let alone tourist buses, so it looks like only the really determined come to the far north of Scotland. Uh maybe a month ago when the weather was a bit better. Got about 4 hours riding time today and the temperature is not going to get above 12°. Hence why I’ve put my wind breaker on first thing. Probably put my heated grips on in a minute. And whoa, look at that North Sea again. Unreal. I doubt we’re going to see any sun today and that’s just how it is. So, we’ll keep chipping away and I’ll bring you the sights and sounds from Northern Scotland. Aiman [Music] [Applause] [Music] Here [Music] we go. The purple hills. Look at that. Beautiful purple everywhere. Interesting bit of shoreline over there and some rugged hills as predicted. What do we got around the corner? More luscious countryside. Bloody hell. I’ve just taken a turn off that says unsuitable for camper vans and large vehicles, which in one regard is great. Means I’m not going to meet any on the way. On the other regard, it means do we have an hour and a half of single lane. This really is the back roads. And out on the water we come. Woo! Could see some cars over there. So, getting past each other is going to be interesting, but we’ll sort it out. That’s how it’s done. Slowly, slowly catch a monkey. Oh, here comes the sun. You beauty. Here comes the sun. Northern Scotland. Here comes the sun. I see. Long may it last, but I sort of doubt it. And over the hill to this view. What? That is mad. Wow. Oh, Scotland just keeps on giving and giving. Look at that. People stopping to take the photos. But on we go. Doing the hill. Doing the hill. Well, I’ll tell you one thing for free. There’s no big tour buses coming on these roads. No way, lad. They’re way too skinny. Even with these little laybys, you got to breathe in and squeeze past. Okay, I think that’s the Atlantic Ocean there. Not a bad looking beach. Probably a bit chilly. Up the hill we go. Up the hill we go. What’s this guy doing? He’s doing 10 kilometers an hour. Come on, mate. Wowza. Beautiful. And the bike just died. Unreal. Atlantic Ocean. Big rock on the hill over there. Rock and roll. I’m on my way from misery to happiness today. Uh-huh. Mhm. What’s over the hill? I’ve probably got way too much footage already of the Highlands, but I just got to record it all. Now there’s a few sheep hanging about. Well, the Welsh hills and countryside was pretty good, but sorry, Hugh. I think you’ve been pipped by the Scots. Not that it’s a competition. Now, there’s a keen fisherman standing in the middle of the river. He’s probably loving it. No employees, no bosses, no wife, no children, no nothing. Just him and his fishing rod and hopefully a fish or two surrounded by this uh amazing beauty. Oh, look at those hills up there. Well done, lad. Well, Rakonic is supposed to be just around the corner, and I’ve got a bad feeling there might not be a full-size town there. Might have to push on for lunch somewhere else. Oh dear, there’s not much here. Ah, it’s a lake. It’s not a town. It’s a good looking little lake. No township for lunch, though. Just the police station. And they don’t look home either. Okay. Far out. That’s wrecked my lunch plans. So, when you get caught in the middle of nowhere and there’s no town where you thought there was going to be a town, it pays to have some emergency Pringles. Don’t mind if I do. Not the healthiest of lunches, but you got to do what you got to do. What do we got here? Some old ruins. A castle. Probably not a castle, but pretty cool ruins on the lock. This could be the last stunning view for the day. Lots of mountains, lots of water, very rugged. Only about 25 minutes from the hostel. I’m looking forward to today being over. Got two more long days ahead of me tomorrow and the next day and then a couple of days off the bike. It’s hard going when it’s cold and overcast. But anyway, that’s how it goes sometimes. In the meantime, you just enjoy the rugged view. Got to say the Scottish landscape changes up nice and regularly. Keeps it interesting. You go from locks to mountains to green lush to rocky craggy terrain. It’s trying to rain a little bit. Better put the cover on tonight. Could be somewhere like Malaysia or Indonesia with landscape like this. And here we go. The Forest Way bunk house. Ah, yes. The Forest Way bunk house. Oh, thank God we’re done. I’m knackered. Okay, let’s unpack this dead. So, here we are at the bunk house. It’s got a nice little common area and the room is okay. Looks like I’m the only one here for tonight, which is a bit of a plus. But the catch is I don’t think there’s any heating, so it’s going to be rather freaking cold. And I hate the cold, but it’s Scotland and it’s coming into winter, autumn. So anyway, shut up and carry on. [Music] Good morning, adventure travelers. All right, third consecutive day on the bike and one more to go. Got to admit, I’m not really feeling it at the moment. Maybe it’s the overcast weather and uh and the fact that it’s a it’s a bit cold, although the sun is peeking out there and behind. So maybe we’re going to see a bit of sunshine today. Unfortunately, I’m not going to make it to the Isisle of Sky because there is absolutely no accommodation anywhere. I was lucky to get some uh to get a hostel, but it’s way out of the way. So, um Isisle of Sky will have to wait for the next Scotland trip. Anyway, let’s get on the road and see what we can see. Okay, the sun hasn’t come out really, but the views have. Some sort of bridge over there in the distance. All righty, we are back down by Loch Ness and here comes the rain. The only question is how heavy is it going to be? It’s only spitting at the moment. Not sure if you can see on my visor, but it’s getting pretty cold. So, I’d say it’s going to tip down with the change in temperature. 45 minutes to my lunch stop in Fort William. So, we just push on till there. All right, just pulled over to do the wet weather fullon gear. Got the pants on now. As you can see, got the cover over the duffel bag. Shout out Paul Bayham for that. Got the cover on the tank bag. Look at those clouds. We’re heading into some nasty weather. It’s going to be cold and very wet. Here comes some riders up the road. Let’s keep on moving. Clouds on the lock. Not looking very hospitable today. Sun’s not going to come out beaming. I can tell you that though. Excuse me, mate. Do you need to buy tickets for this ferry? Um, apparently you buy them on the when you’re on the ferry. Oh, good man. Thank you. [Music] All right. Right. Well, I didn’t see this on the map. It’s got a fairy crossing. Well, there’s fairies and there’s fairies. And this is a wee wee fairy. Hope they got enough room for me. It’s more of a barge than a fairy. Just follow the leader. Do what you’re told. Boom. Boom. [Music] Thank you, mate. Cheers. Cheers, buddy. All right. Right up the front. Okay, we’re off for a wee fairy ride. All right. Well, that whole trip took about 2 minutes. Here we go. [Music] Better get back on the bike. Cook smart. [Music] [Music] Thank you, mate. And just like that, we’re off. Are we going left or right? We are going left. Goodbye, little ferry. Okay, everything’s strapped down. Let’s go. Wow, look at that. Sun’s going down. Beautiful. Wow. Stunning. and a couple of sheep in the middle of the road just for good measure. I don’t know why, but it feels next level rural out here. It’s not that much different from uh where I’ve been riding the last few days. But maybe the ferry ride makes it feel a little bit detached. Obviously, it’s the fairy ride that stops a lot of people from coming out this way, but it’s the only place that had some vacancies. Oh, look at those bloody mountains over there. Woo! Baby, this is Arendal National Park. I wonder if the Romans ever tried to conquer Scotland. They would have had a hard job with all the crazy Scotsmen waiting up the top of the hills. Look at that. And here we are. The Arendor. Hope I’m in the right place. Here comes a doggy boy. [Music] Eddie, how you doing? Good. Very nice. Looks like I’m in the right place. All righty. We are all checked into the Rundle Center. Beautiful little spot out in the bush. Here’s my accommodation down the driveway. She told me to leave my bike at the top of the driveway for some reason, but I got I got to lug got to lug all that crap in my helmet. Anyway, you just do what you’re told, lad. Don’t cause me problems. Pretty rustic, but uh as the saying goes, it’ll do for a night or two. Just one night in this instance. Off to Edinburgh tomorrow. All right, get to the on-ramp. Ah, down there. And here we go. As usual, pretty basic, but plenty of room to swing a cat. That’s me for the day. Tomorrow, a long trip to Edinburgh. [Music]