Cycle: 36.4//2hr20min//15.6km/hr
Wednesday, September 11
It was tough, but we had to do it. We left the comfort and care of John and Lizzy's and headed back into Inverness to collect our new tent. Not an hour later we were at the Royal Mail Office (the slowest institution on earth), shipping our old tent home with odds and ends we can do without. A good two hours later (yes, that long) we were off to a pub for a drink (its possible we should have been cycling instead) just in time for the sun to make an appearance through the heavy clouds.
Our plan was to find a nice place to wild camp beside Loch Ness, about 40km outside of Inverness, and watch the sunset (and wait for Nessy to say goodnight). But, it seems the new norm is that our plans change, agian. Jenn got a flat, and although she unloaded the bike, flipped it over, patched the tube, put a boot in the tire to cover the slash, and reload in record time....it managed to get too dark to ride. Luckily we'd spotted a gravel road that promised some open space and solitude for pitching our tent just 500m back. Stomping through very soft, deep heather next to a planted forest, we found a spot that could accommodate the Tadpole (our new tent). Just before turning out the headlamps, Madalene insisted she found a tick lounging about the tent floor. Jenn was quite sure it was too small to be a tick.
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| The classic red phone booths can be found throughout the UK, often in the most unlikely places. |
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| Overlooking the route from Inverness to Beauly. Landscapes reflected on still lochs would become a common feature of our wonderful time in Scotland. |
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| Jenn fixing her flat in record time just outside Inverness |
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| That's a pretty big tear. |
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| Camping 101: Tent, map, radio, headlamp. A subtle ad for Arcteryx if there ever was one. |
