Why this ride
The stops in between: Fiag, Skinsdale, East Halladale and back through Skinsdale. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal and East Halladale · 372 km
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 372 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 44
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal
There is a particular silence on the A836 above Altnaharra, and this stretch of it is the best place to notice it. The road here is single track with passing places, running north from Lairg toward the Kyle of Tongue, with Loch Loyal laid out beside it and the four-peaked ridge of Ben Loyal standing over the water. Hope is the other half of the name, Ben Hope, the northernmost Munro, which you will have glimpsed already as a long flat-topped wall to the north-west.
Read the complete A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal is where the day begins. Next is Fiag.
2. Fiag
Fiag lies in the empty country of central Sutherland, in the far north of Scotland, where one road, the A836, runs between Lairg and the north coast through miles of peat bog, heather and lochs. Loch Fiag and its bridge are close, a small, quiet water set among low hills, and the ridge of Ben Klibreck rises to the north, a rounded mountain above nine hundred metres. This is part of the Flow Country, a vast blanket of peatland that is one of the largest in Europe, and the habitat is home to golden plovers, greenshank, red-throated divers and, now and then, an eagle overhead.
Read the complete Fiag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fiag comes up 37 km in. Next is Skinsdale.
3. Skinsdale
Nobody lives in Skinsdale to speak of, which is more or less the point. The glen lies in the east of Sutherland, an empty fold of moorland and burn between the coast at Brora and Helmsdale and the great open bog country to the north-west, and the nearest towns of any size, Golspie, Brora and Dornoch, are all over twenty kilometres away. A road passes through this part of the country, but the glen itself is a place you look into rather than ride through.
Read the complete Skinsdale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
74 km in you reach Skinsdale. Next is East Halladale.
4. East Halladale
Strath Halladale is one of the emptiest valleys in mainland Britain, and East Halladale is a scatter of crofts and sheep fields along it. The A897 runs up the strath from Helmsdale on the east coast to Melvich on the north coast, following the Halladale River for much of the way, and for long stretches you will see more deer than cars. It is single track with passing places, so the rules are simple: pull in to let faster traffic by, wave, and never park in a passing place.
Read the complete East Halladale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
East Halladale, about halfway. Next is back through Skinsdale.
5. back through Skinsdale
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Skinsdale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Skinsdale sits at 147 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fiag.
6. back through Fiag
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fiag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fiag comes up 184 km in. Next is A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal.
7. A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal closes the day.
Leg by leg
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal to Fiag
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal → Fiag is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fiag to Skinsdale
Fiag → Skinsdale is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinsdale to East Halladale
Skinsdale → East Halladale is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
East Halladale to back through Skinsdale
East Halladale → back through Skinsdale is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Skinsdale to back through Fiag
back through Skinsdale → back through Fiag is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fiag to A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal
back through Fiag → A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.