We woke up to our 7am alarm in the cosy cabin in Lairg after one of the best nights sleep we had had most of the trip! We got up, had brekky and got ready for an early leave with 120km ahead of us to cycle. We headed out just after 8am (Beth now with two strapped up legs to get her through the last 1.5 days looking more and more like a patchwork quilt as the days go on).
As we cycled through Lairg past Loch Shin we spotted ‘the wee hoose’ on the loch.
The cycle then started with a 20km climb up to Crask. The area was SO remote we barely saw any other people or cars. It was really hard to capture in the photos just how vast and empty the area was.
As we climbed higher and higher it got colder and colder and we also got caught in a shower meaning we got very chilly. We could even see our breaths!
To pass the time during the 20km climb, we played some fun little games between us, like naming as many lochs that we had seen on the trip that we could remember, or naming all the counties we had been through, or the first one to spot a car – they really were thrilling!
At the top of the climb was the well known Crask Inn to LEJOGers, who often stay there because of there basically being no other option around! We had heard from other LEJOGers that it’s owned by a Scottish priest who lives there with his 3 wives(!!!) and if you stay there you sit round the dinner table and have dinner with him and his three wives all together. It was a no from us.
We descended the other side and then cycled along a beautiful peaceful road along the side of another loch – the sun even came out for us to warm us back up.
We saw lots of wildlife while cycling along this road, including some birds I’d never seen before and even a deer with her baby Bambi – so cute!
We then headed towards Betty hill (appropriate name) where we met Tina, mum and dad for lunch in a local cafe. The views on the way up to Betty hill were beautiful.
After lunch we had a hilly but pretty 50km cycle left to get to Thurso.
We made it to our Airbnb in Thurso in really good time as we tried to avoid the rain that appeared to be chasing us.
The Airbnb was lovely and it’s where all 5 of us are staying tonight which is nice. We had lovely hot showers and mum and dad cooked us a scrummy dinner.
Tomorrow’s plan: 9:30am park run (because the Scots like a lie in), brunch with the parents in Thurso then 32km left to cycle to the finish line!!!
Distance cycled: 122km
Elevation climbed: 1,157m
Time pedalling: 6h 15mins
Highlight of the day: Scenery and wildlife and completing our last long ride!
Lowlight of the day: Rain showers
Towlers' Travels 
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