West Halladale and Stones of Stenness · 313 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Oliclett.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stones of Stenness.

3. 3. Stones of Stenness

   At the southern end of the narrow neck of land between Loch Harray and Loch Stenness, four tall stones stand against the sky. They are all that is left of a circle that may have had twelve, laid out around 3000 BC, which makes it among the oldest stone circles in Britain. The tallest stone is over five metres, thin as a blade, cut from the local flagstone that splits into slabs, and the whole group has the stern, upright look of something that has stood a long time in the wind. Inside the circle are traces of a central hearth, and archaeologists have found bones of cattle from feasts.

   Read the complete Stones of Stenness write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 156 km into the recorded legs you reach Stones of Stenness. Next is back through Oliclett.

4. 4. back through 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

   back through Oliclett, late in the day. Next is West Halladale.

5. 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.