The plan originally had been to do an Audax ride yesterday, but with the crappy weather and a up and down week with the family having colds, throat infection etc I didn't really feel I had it in me to do 200klms against the clock. I decided last night just to put some miles in locally and just casually go for a few hours out.
A late night text to Brian and I had a riding buddy to join me.
Brian arrived about lunchtime and we set off with just a vague plan, an eye on the weather and a shared plan to just see where we ended up.
The broad route was really to head south, staying on the singletrack roads as much as possible, then head east towards Wick, maybe head from there out towards Groats, then back west to my place for dinner. Stopping along the way as usual for whatever took our eye. The weather was a mixed bag, dry though sometimes threatening rain, sometimes sunny and with a decent breeze for the first half. We ended up doing about 70klm with a few stops, one for a sandwich and coffee and another for a while at a 2000 year old Broch, this was well off the road down near the cliffs and with only a tiny sign post on the main road. Once down near the cliffs there was then maybe a couple of hundred metres of track and there it was. Open, exposed and slightly overgrown but it was clearly a broch, similar to Skara Brae on Orkney. The main section had a clear firepit and hearth and easily recognisable compartments. We spent a fair time there as it was such a cool spot. I felt a bit weird as while it had been logged and sections excavated over the years it seemed a bit neglected. Though no worse than the Victorians who had dismantled some of it to take the stone to build a monument to the site that was now incomplete because some of the stone was missing
Time was getting on when we got round to leaving and so headed out towards groats with the plan now being to head up the hill, about 3 miles, and cut the section of the peninsula and Groats out. Head along the high road above the sea on the other side for the few miles home. I suppose it could be a coast to coast and back ride, we went from the Pentland Firth, (edge of the Atlantic) to the North Sea and then back to the Atlantic.
Cloud was hazy on the last stretch and with not long back the rain started so we were lucky. Once again it was a good ride with the highlight being the Broch. There are quite a few about this area but I had never known of this one.
Thanks to Brian for coming all the way up here with just a vague route plan. It was a good ride out as usual.
A few pics below and hope everyone else had a good weekend as well.
Jamie
Lunch Stop
Nearly Home. Stroma and Hoy in the background
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