Today was always going to be long, 112k to be precise from door to door, straight down the A9.
What makes this pleasant is the fact that the sea is in view for the majority of the day. Even when the road moves away from the coast it is rarely separated by more than a few fields. This is a day to get the miles done and just keep moving. Our plan was to stop every 10 miles to stretch, have a few jellybeans, some water and then head on.
Although busy, the A9 is perfectly safe providing you keep going, hold your road and pay attention to the surface which is frequently pitted, given the number of articulated trucks tanking up and down between key destinations. There are some great views to he had out to see and some fine buildings along the way.
Lunch was at the very good Thyme and Plaice in Helmsdale,about half way down the route and town with a great river and again a place where the new has popped up driven by the opportunities of the Northcoast 500 and the old has previously closed due to the previous lack of demand.
The toughest part of this day is just before lunch where there is a succession of three hills back to back lasting between threequarters and one mile each. 10% up, 13% down x 3,- clearly you start “up” else you would finish subterranean!
Despite the mileage, this was a day we finished at a decent time heading into Tain around 4.30. It was a difficult decision to make as the Glenmorangie distillery is on the right as you turn into the town…… However, for the sake of the following half days riding and the fact we had no space to carry anything in our paniers we turned left and headed to our hotel for food, rest and of course a chance to sample one or two of the large selection of whiskies on offer!
There and Back: 