Why this ride
The stops in between: Fiag, Skinsdale, The Flow Country and East Halladale. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal and East Halladale
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 462 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 42
- 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 34 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
67 km in you reach Skinsdale. Next is The Flow Country.
4. The Flow Country
Most people who first see the Flow Country think it is empty. It is not; it is simply flat, wet and enormous, and it takes a while to understand what you are looking at. Spread across Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of Scotland, this is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe, a landscape of peat built up over thousands of years, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2024. The surface is a patchwork of sphagnum mosses, cotton grass and heather, studded with countless small pools called dubh lochans that shine like broken mirrors when the sun comes out. Under your feet, the peat holds an extraordinary amount of carbon.
Read the complete The Flow Country write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Flow Country, about halfway. Next is East Halladale.
5. 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 sits at 135 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Flow Country.
6. back through The Flow Country
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Flow Country write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Flow Country comes up 168 km in. Next is back through Skinsdale.
7. 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
202 km in you reach back through Skinsdale. Next is back through Fiag.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal.
9. 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
The route ends here after 462 km.
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 The Flow Country
Skinsdale → The Flow Country is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Flow Country to East Halladale
The Flow Country → East Halladale is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
East Halladale to back through The Flow Country
East Halladale → back through The Flow Country is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Flow Country to back through Skinsdale
back through The Flow Country → back through Skinsdale is 35 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.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- North Coast 500: Ullapool to John o Groats · 255 km
- Skinsdale and Munsary & Shielton · 500 km
- Skinsdale and East Halladale · 274 km