Inverness to Golspie ~ 100 miles ~ 3 hours in the saddle

For those riders who are transporting their bike north or hiring bikes we shall start from inverness Airport we shall take a circuitous route to our first hotel in Golspie.

We leave the airport and take our first stop at Culloden Moor to learn a bit more about the Jacobite cause and where it came to an end then continue to Inverness circling the southern end of the city to join the southern shore of the Beauly Firth.

The route continues through Beauly and onwards to Muir of Ord when we group with those who are hiring bikes, next comes Strathpeffer where we could consider taking a short tea break at the old station.

The next section of the route passes through Dingwall, then south across the Cromarty Bridge to cross the Blackisle to Cromarty here we take a ferry to Nigg and onwards to Balintore where we stop to see the Mermaid of the North then continue to the picturesque fishing village of Portmahomack.

We then head east to Tain where some might want to visit the Glen Morangie distillery before we progress North to our hotel in Glospie where we shall also visit Dunrobin Castle.

Those preferring to stick religiously to the NC500 circuit or arriving later are best to stay on the A9 from Inverness to Golspie where hopefully they will arrive in time for our visit to Dunrobin castle.

Golspie to Scourie ~ 190 miles ~ 5.5 hours in the saddle

I rarely travel the A9 because I feel it is a boring road and in this northern section there are very few noteworthy places. We shall be riding North with the North Sea to our right and the Sutherland countryside to our left passing through Brora, Helmsdale, Wick and a few other east coast towns. The Timespan Museum at Helmsdale and the Waterlines heritage Centre at Lybster might interest some. If you feel up to the climb best change out of your riding boots to go down and up the Whaligoe Steps that lead to a natural harbour with 250 ft high cliffs. In the late 1700’s it was a busy herring port. There is a ruined castle at Wick that dates back to 1190 and another, Castle Sinclair Girnigoe a little closer to John o’Groats that dates from 1490. The final point worth seeing on this stretch, though you will need to walk, are the Duncansby Sea Stacks the rest of us will get a coffee at John o’Groats.

We now turn to the west and make our way along the north shores of Scotland where initial places of note are Castle Mea, a home of the late Queen Mother, followed by the museum named Mary Ann’s Cottage all before we reach Thurso. Dounraey where the UK's first nuclear power station was built in1955. It became the centre of fast reactor research and development from then through to the mid 90’s and has been undergoing decontamination ever since.

As we make our way along the north coast you will see some fantastic beaches. We shall break for lunch near one of them at the Bettyhill Tourist Information Centre which has a small café or if we are making faster progress we may wait until the Weavers Café near Tongue.

The coastline starts to get more interesting now and the terrain more mountainous as we twist and turn along the A838 which is mainly single track road. The former Limekilns on the shore of Loch Eriboll is a curious place and just beyond the western side of the loch is the Golden Eagle Zip Line to Ceannabeinne Beach. Just bear in mind it is one way down so you need to get back up to recover your bike!

Smoo Cave will be reached next and is a popular stop but again I highlight walking up in bike boots can make it a tad harder, so, it might be an idea to change shoes again.

On the west side of Durness is Cocoa Mountain which makes a nice afternoon refreshment stop before we turn to the south to end the day just beyond Scourie.

Scourie to Shieldaig ~ 170 miles ~ 6 hours in the saddle

Heading south from Scourie we cross the Kylesku Bridge which is a modern very distinctive curved bridge crossing Loch a' Chàirn Bhàin connecting to the fishing village of Kylesku to the villages and town to the north. There is a car park with information about the geography of this area as you are entering the UNESCO Geopark site.

When we reach Loch Assynt some mmight want to picture the ruins of Ardvreck Castle and anyone wanting a shorter run can continue on the A837 and A835 and we shall regroup later in Ulapool. The rest will deviate westerly passing Need towards Achmelvich Beach and onwards to Lochinver where we take a short refreshment break.

We depart Lochinver taking a great biking road that at times opens out great sea and island views and brings us to a viewpoint where we are looking south across the Summer Isles and towards Achiltabuie, where we look back to the east to rejoin the A835 then south to Ullapool where we stop for lunch and regroup with those who took the shorter route.

There will be many spots were members of the group may want to stop and take pictures but it may not be appropriate for all to stop so pictures can be shared later to save time and keep everyone safer, just be conscious of who stopped so that we can allow them the chance to catch up and regroup.. We will alter course at the Corrieshalloch Gorge and onwards to Inverewe and taking an afternoon refreshment break at Poolewe.

We shall pass a sign for Shieldaig but don’t get confused, there are many places in Scotland with the same or similar names and the Shieldaig that we are heading for is another hour or so ahead. We pass Loch Marie and turn again at Kinlochewe as we make our way to Shieldaig and stop in a hotel with a pretty view over to Shieldaig Island.

We shall pass a sign for Shieldaig but don’t get confused, there are many places in Scotland with the same or similar names and the Shieldaig that we are heading for is another hour or so ahead. We pass Loch Marie and turn again at Kinlochewe as we make our way to Shieldaig and stop in a hotel with a pretty view over to Shieldaig Island.

Shieldaig to Inverness ~ 180 miles ~ 6 hours in the saddle

Heading west to Fearnmore we reach a point where on a clear day you will see Leis on the horizon to the north west, Rona to the west with Skye behind and Raasay to the south west again with Skye popping up behind. Here we turn to the south to reach Applecross where we can take a short break before crossing the Bealach na Ba to reach Loch Carron. We travel around Loch Kishorn and make our way to Dornie to Photograph Eilean Donan Castle where those in need of a refreshment can use the café.

Time permitting we will probably make our way to Plockton for another photo shot before turning towards Kyle and crossing the Skye Bridge. We are not spending long of Skye because we are heading for the last remaining turnstile ferry in the world to return to the mainland at Glenelg where we shall stop for lunch.

The road through Glenelg to Glenshiel is very nice and at times commands great views especially across Loch Duich. We join the A87 which will lead us to Invergarry and from there we follow the Great Glen all the way to Inverness taking a stops Fort Augustus for afternoon tea before following the shores of Loch ness to Inverness.

Some might want to stick to the NC500 circuit and can do so by breaking away at Strathcarron to make there way east to Inverness.

We end the day in a Spa hotel where some might want to book massage treatments or simply take a dip in the pool.