It was great to have Jim’s company on the stage from Dingwall on to Altnaharra. The morning was overcast and showery but the showers were more off than on. Jim has some  knowledge of the area and was able to explain a bit about what we were seeing and where we were going. We had arranged to meet Helen and Sylvia at The Falls of Shin visitor centre, which was 35 miles away, for lunch. This is another section of the route that leaves Sustrans paths and instead followed the B9176 over Struie Hill. This was a long ascent on quite a busy B road but which provided very good views over The Kyle of Sutherland from the top of Struie Hill – the gloomy conditions reduced the impact of these.

We descended Struie Hill and then had to carry the bikes down some steps on a viaduct and cycle along a narrow earthen path, all of which gave Jim a real taste of Sustrans off-road routes. There followed a brief climb up to the Falls of Shin Visitor Centre where we met up with Sylvia and Helen for lunch. The centre is a very glitzy new building. After lunch we said goodbye to Jim and Sylvia and I set off for Altnaharra which is about another 25 miles on.

The country from here on is very open moorland with virtually no houses until Crask Inn about 16 miles on. Crask Inn is the most remote in the country and the route is on the A836. The raw information that the route followed an A road up the middle of the country made me think that I would be dodging high speed cars for hours on end. I don’t know how the road classification system works but this A road has passing places and more sheep than cars. There isn’t much to look at and the road grinds slowly upwards for mile after mile until you get to the first habitation which is The Crask Inn.

Helen was installed there and chatting happily to another support driver who was also waiting for her cyclist – a lady who had set off from Land’s End at roughly the same time as me.They had found plenty to natter about and I had coffee and scone before setting off for Altnaharra. The route is mostly downhill and so we were in the rather nice Altnaharra Hotel in next to no time. The Hotel has long been a place for anglers to stay and there were lots of tweed jackets and cut glass accents at dinner.

The distance travelled was 62 miles and the height climbed, 2,800 feet. We had a really nice dinner which included some venison for me - you can’t go clubbing in Altnaharra or expect to get WIFI.