Wild Mountainside

Ride & Stride – Day 2: Thursday 8 September – LOCHCARRON to KINLOCHEWE (63 miles)

We could not have imagined, when we woke up yesterday to a fine dawn over Lochcarron, that up here in the Highlands we would be witnessing the final hours of the Second Elizabethan Era. Our triumph at completing the climb of Bealach na Ba and the undulating coastal terrain around to Shieldaig and Torridon, then along to Kinlochewe, has been tempered by the passing of Queen Elizabeth after a memorable life of duty well lived. Certainly the end of an era for our country.

Our NC500 experience yesterday will also last long in the memory. The morning began for cyclists James and Phil with a few miles over the col to Tornapress, before Phil set out alone to tackle the demanding climb up Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle). Waiting at the top, at 626 metres above sea level, the team watched in awe as Phil cycled into view having completed the demanding climb in little over an hour. Well done indeed Phil – what a triumph for dedicated training and determination!

The three cyclists descended the single-track road into Applecross, quite a daunting feat in itself even in the camper-van. Here we all met for a celebratory coffee and cake, before continuing around the stunning coastline to Shieldaig.

At Shieldaig I parked up the van and helped myself to a glorious 8-mile walk, eastwards along grassy tracks above the southern shore of Upper Loch Torridon.

From the Countryside Centre at Torridon the runners took over into Kinlochewe, before we all transferred to the Loch Maree Hotel at Talladale.

Dining on haggis with a dram of whisky, our phones pinged, simultaneously, with the news of the Queen’s death in Balmoral. Our setting and situation in the Highlands seemed an appropriate place for some reflection on the passing of times. May she rest peacefully now.

A wonderfully evocative song from Scottish songstress Eddie Reader provides today’s Blog heading ‘Wild Mountainside’. Phil, especially, after his exertions up the Bealach na Ba, might associate with some of the lyrics: