Beyond the Highlands - Thursday

The sun rises late in the Highlands. Not because of the latitude, but because the loch sides are so high. So while dawn (and quite a lot of wind) broke around 5am in our hostel dorm, it wasn't until almost nine as we were spinning along the valley floor that sun broke through.

The sun was needed to warm us up, and while the morning was chill, it was also wonderfully still.
It had chucked it down overnight, and again we had dodged the rain.

To say we have been lucky with the weather is to put it mildly for the time of year.

This morning was sunny and still.

Then there was Loch Ness.

And some more of that scenic stuff.

Then we headed up the biggest hill of the whole trip. It was 17% and went on and on. Each corner revealed another stretch of vertiginous ascent. The wonderful thing is that my legs worked and I never doubted that I would make it.

Beyond the climb we left the Highlands and entered a whole new geography, Sutherland, with rolling hills and mile after mile of golden wheat fields. The scale of it all was once again epic. The colours of the field reminded me of a picture my father painted a few years before he died and which he gave to us. It's been nice to have a few quiet moments of reverie over the last nine days.

The run in was fantastic. Fast and fun. It feels so good to have a pair of  working legs.

Now in the bar with the locals.