............ Lands end to John o'Groats cycle ride 2014 .........: Day 18, Wednesday 17th September 2014

Tain - Bettyhill

Day 18 started off like day 2 very misty so we took our time getting ready in the morning hoping the mist would lift.

Eventually we decided we had to make a start on the 70 mile ride

The A9 headed north following the east coast to Wick our route headed east inland hopefully away from traffic and following the edge of the Dornoch Firth

As we were riding along in the distance what appeared to be a dark portaloo stood on the verge at the edge of the road

As we got closer we recognised it as an old AA box, none of us had ever seen one before we have since found out there are only 19 left in the country and 8 of those are grade 2 listed buildings

Box 504. Ardgay, Highland: at junction of A836 (Bonar Bridge-Tarlogie) and B9176

We were entering the county of Sutherland and leaving Ross and Cromarty who could resist a photo of the places used as characters in of the Adventures of Portland Bill

It wasn't very often that our route coincide with Lynn and H but as we reached further into Scotland the roads and destinations became less, it was a new experience when they passed us and found somewhere to park.

A rare photo of the four of us riding along as a group

and another rare photograph our support crew on the move.

15 miles from the start we passed under the Invershin viaduct famous for having a pedestrian gantry added to the bridge as part of the millennium project. Just after this we left the main road to call and see the Falls of Shin famous for the Atlantic salmon jumping between May and November

We saw several fly fishermen along the route and we even took a long rest at one of the falls we weren't fortunate enough to see any salmon.

Above you can just see a fly fisherman letting his lure float down stream to the rapids he didnt catch anything while we were watching

We rode on the next village we came to was Lairg around 23 miles completed it had taken us 3 hours to get here we cycled past a very nice looking cafe called The Pier and we decided it was time for a rest so unusually stopped

The view at the back of The Pier was overlooking Loch Shin with mountains in the background

We carried on along A836 (cycle route 1) note the width of the A road, luckily it has very little traffic and regular passing points.

Andy & Beaky we surprised at the lack of potholes in the rural roads of Scotland, the surface was probably the best throughout the country.

as you get out into the wilderness you notice the massive areas that have had thousands of trees cut down, its all part of the management of the wood production but in these areas there are no birds chirping and looks like man has taken what he wants and killed off a massive area of the planet.

around 3 o'clock in the afternoon we had only managed to cover 50 miles, we arrived at Loch Naver and decided it was time for another rest, to get some cereal bars eaten and as you can see below it was a discreet place to replenish chamois cream.

Beaky applying chamois cream or preparing for an interview as a circus strongman act

We rode along the shores of Loch Naver for about 5 miles then it turned into the river Naver, this was good news because the river Naver flows all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, this meant generally we must be riding on the level or downhill to the ocean.

The River Naver winding its way north we eventually crossed the river, we were almost there then we came to the sign for Bettyhill

Climbed one last hill for the day

As we rode into Bettyhill we saw a sign for the village shop, no Sunday trading laws to worry about here obviously.

Then we got our first glimpse of the Atlantic, its a great lift knowing your about as far north as you can go all we had to do was ride east.

As we turned west for the last 1/2 mile we saw our first section of Atlantic beach.....

We took a wrong turn to and couldn't find our campsite, no phone signal to ask Lynn and H, from google maps Andy remembered we had to pass the 8 day shop and we hadn't so we pressed on and saw our tent and the caravan in a grass field full of sheep....... Andy and Beaky came down the steep gravel road a little to fast for the and were both very unsure about turning at the bottom of the hill.

the girls came down the gravel path at a more sensible speed and both found it amusing that Andy & Beaky almost failed to negotiate the corner

When we booked this campsite the owner said we will be closed by then but turn up and we will sort you out..............This campsite was a field for sheep half a dozen static caravans from the eighties.......the shower block was an old breeze block outbuilding with 2 showers and two sinks..........the shower head was hung on the roof rafter and you stood in a belfast sink no lights but all perfectly serviceable.

Jo W decided it was preferable to get showered then come back to the tent to get sorted out you can see the shower block on the left

We weren't alone in the field other than the sheep there were two surfer dudes in a campervan and a young french lady who worked in London but was cycling from Liarg - Bettyhill - Thurso where she would catch a ferry to the Orkney Islands.