Why this ride
541 km from Wick to Wick, about 9 h 43 of riding. The stops in between: East Halladale, Skinsdale, The Flow Country and Fiag. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Oliclett and Fiag starting at Wick
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 541 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 43
- 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. Oliclett
Caithness is the flat northeastern corner of mainland Scotland, a country of big skies, peat and flagstone, and Oliclett lies in it west of Wick, among scattered farms and low fields. The soil is thin and the wind is constant, and the trees that grow bend away from the sea. But beneath it, the county is thick with prehistory: chambered cairns, standing stones and broch ruins by the hundred. The Grey Cairns of Camster, near Lybster, are among the oldest, built over five thousand years ago, and you can crawl into one of them along a low passage.
Read the complete Oliclett write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Oliclett is where the day begins. Next is East Halladale.
2. 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 comes up 42 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
83 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 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 167 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 208 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
250 km in you reach back through Skinsdale. Next is back through East Halladale.
8. back through East Halladale
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through East Halladale, late in the day. Next is Oliclett.
9. Oliclett
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Oliclett 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 541 km.
Leg by leg
Oliclett to East Halladale
Oliclett → East Halladale is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
East Halladale to Skinsdale
East Halladale → Skinsdale is 40 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 Fiag
The Flow Country → Fiag is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fiag to back through The Flow Country
Fiag → back through The Flow Country is 54 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 East Halladale
back through Skinsdale → back through East Halladale is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through East Halladale to Oliclett
back through East Halladale → Oliclett is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Oliclett and Fiag · 438 km from Wick · 438 km
- Fiag and Stones of Stenness · 536 km
- North Coast 500: Durness to Dunrobin Castle · 255 km