Awoke this morning to blue sky and cloud, for the first time...giving us hope that the forecast for snow later in the day might be wrong. Our first 11 mile section took us through some stunning scenery on an undulating road which we found quite hard going. We found a sign for Land's End in someone's front garden, so I had to take a photo. It was difficult for both of us to get the wheels turning during the first session, so we were glad to see Greg at the top of a steep hill. A short chat gave us the impetus we needed to see it through. We knew we would be walking up some hills, but we never expected to be walking down. In the last 2 miles there were two 15 percent hills that were so steep they jarred our calves and quads to such an extent that we were forced to walk them!
Section 2 was the one we had been looking forward to - all along the north side of Loch Ness. It had rained during the break, but the sun came out as we headed off and gave a beautiful introduction to the Loch - beginning with a wonderful view of Urguart Castle. We then enjoyed a couple more miles of rolling road until the heavens opened and the snow/sleet fell. From then on it was wet, undulating hills with blind bends, but beautiful waterfalls, forest and mountains. Greg had decided to ride the Loch during our second session and gave us the key to let ourselves in. He returned early though because of the weather and lorries - a real shame. The break didn't seem long enough and we headed off to Fort Augusta, all too ready to end the day. The road took us inland to cross a river which was a shame, but we were soon back with the Loch and in sight of home. We ran long again to reach the camp site and were delighted to be met by Greg with the red ball featuring a huge 150 for the final pic of the day.
We stopped in Fort Augusta on our way to the start and bought fish and chips, so while we showered the heroic Greg cycled off and bought chips for all, from the same shop. A great end to the day.
So 5 days down, 150 miles covered and we are now over a sixth of the way there. Tomorrow we head for Fort William (the last time I was there was to climb a mountain - absolutely no danger of that this time!)
Hope you're all enjoying the show...