Why this ride
The stops in between: A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal, The Flow Country and back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fiag and The Flow Country
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 126 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 50
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal.
2. 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 comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Flow Country.
3. 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
about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach The Flow Country. Next is back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal.
4. back through 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
back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal, late in the day. Next is Fiag.
5. 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 at Fiag. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fiag to A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal
Fiag → A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal to The Flow Country
A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal → The Flow Country is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Flow Country to back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal
The Flow Country → back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal to Fiag
back through A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal → Fiag is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal and Skinsdale · 188 km
- Fiag and East Halladale · 311 km