Why this ride
A 514 km round trip from Wick - roughly 9 h 25 in the saddle. It goes by way of The Flow Country, Skinsdale, West Halladale and Fiag. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Munsary & Shielton and Fiag
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 514 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 25
- 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. Munsary & Shielton
Inland from Wick, in the far north-east of Scotland, the land flattens into a vast, rolling expanse of peat bog, brown and gold, dotted with pools and lochans that reflect the sky. Munsary and Shielton are areas of this blanket bog, part of the Flow Country, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024 as the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe. Here, sphagnum mosses have built up peat over thousands of years, storing vast amounts of carbon, and the bog teems with life: insect-eating sundews, cotton grass waving white in summer, and birds such as golden plover, greenshank and dunlin nesting among the hummocks.
Read the complete Munsary & Shielton write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Munsary & Shielton is where the day begins. Next is The Flow Country.
2. 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 comes up 45 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
90 km in you reach Skinsdale. Next is West Halladale.
4. West Halladale
Forsinard is the name of a railway halt, but the country around it is what people come for. The Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe, a vast, treeless plain of peat, pools and sedge that rolls out to the horizon under a huge sky. It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2024 for its importance as a carbon store and a wildlife habitat. West Halladale lies in this country, in the strath, or valley, of the Halladale river, which runs north to the sea at Melvich.
Read the complete West Halladale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
West Halladale, about halfway. Next is Fiag.
5. 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 sits at 180 km, about halfway. Next is back through West Halladale.
6. back through West Halladale
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete West Halladale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through West Halladale comes up 224 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
269 km in you reach back through Skinsdale. Next is back through The Flow Country.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Munsary & Shielton.
9. Munsary & Shielton
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Munsary & Shielton 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 514 km.
Leg by leg
Munsary & Shielton to The Flow Country
Munsary & Shielton → The Flow Country is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Flow Country to Skinsdale
The Flow Country → Skinsdale is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinsdale to West Halladale
Skinsdale → West Halladale is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
West Halladale to Fiag
West Halladale → Fiag is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fiag to back through West Halladale
Fiag → back through West Halladale is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through West Halladale to back through Skinsdale
back through West Halladale → 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 The Flow Country
back through Skinsdale → back through The Flow Country is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Flow Country to Munsary & Shielton
back through The Flow Country → Munsary & Shielton is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Skinsdale and A’Mhoine-Hope-Loyal · 534 km
- Skinsdale and West Halladale · 188 km
- Munsary & Shielton and Fiag starting at Wick · 412 km
- Skinsdale and East Halladale · 274 km