I am currently cycling around Cornwall and am three quarters of the way through a 4,500 mile cycle tour around… The best corners of Great Britain.
When asked what has been the most memorable moment of my trip so far, I say: Scotland.
On what will be a three-month trip when finished, I loved the rugged Yorkshire coastline, the thatched cottages of East Anglia and the stony chalk paths cut into the South Downs, but although I endured one of the bleakest summers on record, I have no hesitation in saying that the Scottish leg of my mammoth journey has been the most spectacular part.
Below are seven of the highlights of the Highlands.
APPLE CROSS
This drone shot shows Carlton climbing Bealach na Ba, or Cattle Pass, which the rider describes as a “beast.”
The climb to the Applecross peninsula is a beast.
Hill-loving cyclists gather for the climb near Lochcarron. Known in Gaelic as Bealach na Ba, or Cattle Pass, the narrow road that crosses the pass (famous for its hairpin bends) is one of the most difficult to navigate in Britain, at an altitude of 625m.
The 80km route around the peninsula describes a square, meaning there was a tailwind on at least two sides. At times I didn’t even have to pedal, allowing me to admire the incredible views of the Isle of Raasay and the pointed peaks of the Isle of Skye.
CORRIEYAIRACK PASS
The photo above shows Carlton descending Corrieyairack Pass, with Loch Ness in the background. The image above shows him tackling the gravel hairpin bends of the pass.
This zig-zag gravel road between Dalwhinnie and Fort Augustus in the Great Glen is historic, laid out in the 18th century by General Wade as part of the English campaign against the Jacobites. Built in 1731, General Wade’s military road over the 769 m (2,526 ft) Corrieyairack Pass is now a walking and cycling trail.
Crossing the pass in a storm, I reached Black Burn Hut halfway down before dusk. The huts are basic but free shelters for the night.
By morning the storm had passed and as I descended I had glorious views of Loch Ness.
TARF FALLS
The photo above shows Carlton crossing the rope bridge in front of the “stunning” Tarf Falls. The image above shows him driving away from the falls on a Land Rover track in a “really picturesque” setting.
Located 12 miles from the nearest tarmac road, Tarf Falls in spectacular Glen Tilt is difficult to reach, especially as I arrived via sheep trails from the most difficult direction.
The impressive set of waterfalls, a favourite of Queen Victoria, is crossed by a suspended walkway.
The Lecht
The two photographs above show Carlton going up and down the ‘super steep’ A939 in the Cairngorms, which skiers use to reach the Lecht ski centre.
The Lecht ski centre in the Cairngorms, reached by the steep A939 road between Cock Bridge and Tomintoul, is one of the highest trunk roads in Britain, reaching 2,090 feet (637 m).
I did it in pouring rain. It was gloomy, but satisfying.
GLENTRESS
Here Carlton climbs to Dunslair Heights north of the nearby Glentress 7Stanes mountain bike (MTB) trail centre.
As well as battling through the hairpins of the Newcastleton Mountain Bike (MTB) Trail Centre, I also hiked through Dunslair Heights north of the nearby Glentress 7Stanes Mountain Bike (MTB) Trail Centre.
I then trudged across the Minch moor, which Sir Walter Scott mentions in The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, a collection of border ballads first published in 1802.
He writes about a spring high up on this moor, just off the old Minch Moor road.
“It is sometimes considered bad luck to pass through such places without performing some ceremony to avoid the displeasure of the elves,” Scott wrote.
‘There is, at the top of Minchmuir… a spring, called the Cheese Well, because, in ancient times, those who passed that way used to throw into it a piece of cheese, as an offering to the Fairies, to whom it was sacred.’
If no such offering is made (coins, not cheese, today), it is feared that fairies, elves, or the little characters of the moor will do him harm.
I camped on the moor, left no offerings, and escaped, ahem, unpunished.
HERMITAGE CASTLE
In this drone shot, Carlton passes the “really scary” Hermitage Castle in the Scottish Borders region
Built to defend against medieval Border Reivers (and often to imprison and torture them), Hermitage Castle is truly terrifying, probably one of the most severe-looking fortified houses ever built.
Border Reivers were cattle-rustling ruffians who lived and fought between England and Scotland, from which the words “brokenhearted” and “blackmail” come. The reivers – or low-horse riders – raided and ambushed each other for 300 years before the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603.
Hermitage, in the Scottish Borders, was a remote village in Elizabethan times and remains so today.
MELROSE
Carlton, in his bright orange jacket, rides under the “spectacular” Leaderfoot Viaduct
Carlton sets up his Outdoor Research sleeping bag and Thermarest pad and duvet at Blackburn Hut
The 4 Abbeys Cycle Route links the four abbeys of Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh.
But it is not just ecclesiastical ruins: there is also Trimontium (‘three mountains’), a Roman garrison town beneath the three Eildon hills, near modern Melrose.
There is nothing to see on land, but the finds discovered here are so spectacular that they are housed in the British Museum in London rather than the impressive local museum.
There is also the spectacular Leaderfoot Viaduct, a railway crossing over the River Tweed. Further on is Scott’s View, said to be a favourite of Sir Walter Scott.