Why this ride
The stops in between: East Halladale, Munsary & Shielton and back through East Halladale. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
West Halladale and Munsary & Shielton
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 119 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 03
- 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. 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 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 about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Munsary & Shielton.
3. 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
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Munsary & Shielton. Next is back through East Halladale.
4. 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 West Halladale.
5. 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 at West Halladale. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
West Halladale to East Halladale
West Halladale → East Halladale is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
East Halladale to Munsary & Shielton
East Halladale → Munsary & Shielton is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Munsary & Shielton to back through East Halladale
Munsary & Shielton → back through East Halladale is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through East Halladale to West Halladale
back through East Halladale → West Halladale is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.