Day 19 - Thursday 16th August - Inverness to Helmsdale

Weather - Dry

Distance - 66.7 miles

Camp Site - Crakaig Seaside Camp, Loth, Helmsdale

The Inverness camp site was low down and not far from the river and so there were a lot of midges around - we found that when we opened our tent the first thing in the morning there were a cloud of them waiting for us to emerge! How did they know that it was breakfast time?

The weather was dry but colder than we had been used to and we made good time leaving Inverness across the Kessock suspension bridge and on to the Black Isle. After an initial sharp climb the road was fairly flat and there must have been a tail wind as it proved to be one of the fastest stretches of road we had experienced. We were soon at the Nigg Ferry at Cromarty and had time to watch the ferry returning from the opposite side of the Cromarty Firth whilst waiting for our turn to cross.

The very small ferry only had room for two cars which drove on to the ferry and were turned around on a turntable to be ready to drive off on arrival at the other side. They managed to pack in all the cyclists who had arrived - there must have been about a dozen of us by then - we just stacked our bicycles on the sides of the deck and within the small cabin for the 10 minute crossing. We passed the huge oil rig construction yards on the north side of the Firth and there were also a number of rigs laid up in the Firth itself. Then on towards the A9 and into the busy town of Tain where we found a small café for lunch. The new bridge over the Dornoch Firth came immediately after leaving Tain and we stayed on the A9 through Golspie and Brora and finally up a short sharp hill to the small turning to the right leading to the camp site.

The farm buildings were only a few yards off the road and the vans and marquee for dinner were in the yard next to the farm. The actual camp site was about ¾ of a mile further down the lane towards the coast but there was a very low bridge carrying the main railway line over the road which was too low for the large vans. The tents and luggage had been transferred to a small van and had already been taken to the camp site by the crew. We stopped for tea on the way in and then went on to the tent area above the beach afterwards. The site and views were magnificent but the showers and toilet were very primitive. There were only two showers and two toilets - one each for the men and women - for all of our group and also the occupants of the caravans also on the site.

We walked from the camp site to the farm for dinner and luckily had arrived just before it started to rain heavily. After dinner we were entertained by a couple who played Scottish songs and other traditional tunes on an accordion and electronic keyboard - all from memory. They played Waltzing Matilda in honour of the Australian member of our group but the best that they could manage for Alex who is Spanish was Viva Espania! They started at about 9.30 p.m. and I left at about 11.00 p.m. when the party was still going strong. I was told the following morning that it finally wound up after 1.00 am!

I walked with others in the pitch dark down the ¾ mile rough track back to the tents and was very pleased that I had thought to take a torch with me. Because it was so dark and there were no lights around us on the ground we were treated to a wonderful display of stars including the Milky Way - something that is not seen in the brightly lit cities we are used to further south.