Why this ride
It goes by way of The Flow Country, East Halladale and back through The Flow Country.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Skinsdale and East Halladale
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 274 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 22
- 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. 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
Skinsdale 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 32 km in. Next is East Halladale.
3. 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
65 km in you reach East Halladale. Next is back through The Flow Country.
4. 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 Skinsdale.
5. 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 at Skinsdale. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
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 30 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 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Flow Country to Skinsdale
back through The Flow Country → Skinsdale is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Skinsdale and Munsary & Shielton · 500 km
- Munsary & Shielton and Fiag starting at Wick · 412 km
- Skinsdale and West Halladale · 188 km