Inverness to Aberdeen... mostly in the rain!

Travelling from Inverness to Nairn was terrific riding on back country roads but always with threatening rain clouds and the occasional sun breaking through. Making our way east through small villages like Hopeman and Buckie we experienced extremely rough weather and the North Sea showed a little bit of its fiery nature. We had to smile at a small advertisement which said " our wool is spun into organic sweaters, cardigans and rugs". Continuing east along the northern coast the weather into Banff was horrific, with the sea crashing over the sea walls onto the road. However it cleared later for a really pleasant ride through a valley to Turriff. The weather this summer has been one of the worst for a long time, with Aberdeen having twice its August rain in the first 10 days of the month, and major flooding all over Scotland. Despite the inclement weather we have kept on pedalling through some magnificent country to reach Aberdeen and hope to be in Edinburgh to enjoy some of the events during the Edinburgh festival.

Inverness

Inverness castle

Black Isle organic beer brewed near Inverness

Carvings of the Gruffalo and other creatures in the woods

Impressive rail viaduct near Nairn

Chas enjoying some brief sunshine

Elgin cathedral ruins

Does this picture tell a story??? Yes the weather was a trifle inclement

North Sea fury

Gidday...

Buckie fishing village

View from our tent at Portsoy

Buckie waterfront

Interpretation panel on an old rail trail we followed

Rail trail- a bit greener than Otago Central  rail trail

Into Aberdeen

Bridge across the River Dee, Aberdeen

Aberdeen harbour

How's this for a fog horn!!!  Aberdeen harbour entrance

Last day Orkney ... onto the Scottish mainland

The sun finally came out as we made our way down South Ronaldsay to John O'Groats ferry terminal. What a fantastic place the Orkney islands are. Small villages, islands joined by the Churchill barriers from WW2 and very lush farming country- lots of happy cows. Sorry to have left the Orkneys. We arrived at john O'Groats and then headed across the northern coastline towards Tongue. Lots of hills, very remote roads, crossing wind swept highland country. Great bike riding, travelling through some old Scottish villages. The task ahead is to work our way down through mainland Scotland, leaving Inverness tomorrow after a day off.

St Marys, Orkney

Churchill barriers, Orkney

Churchill barriers, Orkney

Ferry to mainland Scotland

Leaving Orkney behind

The other side of the ditch... mainland Scotland

Sunset at John O'Groats

Thurso

No need for a parking place !!

Wild camping beside Loch Nevar

At least this hill is going down...

Over "one of the most remote roads in the highlands"

Old stone bridge

Shin Falls- famous in the area for salmon spawning

Another old bridge

Guess where Chas is?

Tain main street

Tain primary school

Picking wild raspberries

8th century Pictish carving

Last ferry of the trip from Nigg to Cromarty

We are still on the right route...!!!

Some images from the Orkney Islands

After travelling down from the Shetlands to Orkney, we wondered if the weather would improve a little. Well it did but still remained overcast and showerey. Actually this gave the islands and mountains quite a surreal appearance and seemed to suit the surroundings.
Orkney is very different to Shetland. There are trees, lush farm land, distinct mountains and valleys and a general feeling of a more affluent lifestyle. It is a very pleasant area to spend time on bicycles.
Our trip included a really good exploration of mainland Orkney, and we travelled by ferry over to the island of Hoy.
A stunning ride through a narrow road with high sided hills that had not been grazed for 40 years. Our camp was at the Bay of Rackwick near a bothy. We did a 3 hour walk over the sea cliffs to have a look at the Old Man of Hoy, a remarkable sea stack of some 137mtrs. It was first climbed in 1966 by Chris Bonnington and co in a televised broadcast (Chas remembers it well!!)
Other places of interest included the Scapa Flow museum where they had brilliantly displayed artifacts from WW1 and WW2. Tomorrow we plan to ferry over to John O Groats and the mainland.        

Main street Kirkwell

Lovely old house in Kirkwell

Impressive St Magnus Cathedral. Kirkwell

Old home in Finstown

Lush countryside

Standing Stones of Stenness (enlarge to read)

A standing stone

Main street Stromness

Looking towards the island of Hoy

Stromness water front

Bothy at Rackwick Bay, Hoy

Sea cliffs, Hoy

The Old Man of Hoy

Two old men.............

Betty Corigals grave...the lonliest grave in Britain, a great story here...

Rural scene

Evie camp site...very nice

Superb condition on these Scottish laddies.....!