Why this ride
It goes by way of The Flow Country, East Halladale, West Halladale and back through East Halladale.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Skinsdale and West Halladale
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 466 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 01
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. 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 about 87 km into the recorded legs. 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
about 161 km into the recorded legs you reach East Halladale. 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 back through East Halladale.
5. 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 sits at 310 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 about 384 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skinsdale.
7. 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
Skinsdale closes the day.
Leg by leg
Skinsdale to The Flow Country
Skinsdale → The Flow Country is 87 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 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
East Halladale to West Halladale
East Halladale → West Halladale is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
West Halladale to back through East Halladale
West Halladale → back through East Halladale is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through East Halladale to back through The Flow Country
back through East Halladale → back through The Flow Country is 74 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 87 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
- Munsary & Shielton and Fiag starting at Wick · 412 km
- Munsary & Shielton and Fiag (359 km) · 514 km
- Skinsdale and East Halladale · 274 km