RogueRunners '23 - Day 6

 What can I say about day 6?

It wasn't just EPIC - it was the very EPICentre of EPIC!

236 miles of diving heaven. We headed north out of town on a route similar to yesterday's but with a minor de-tour to take in a couple of hairpin bends I'd found. After that we endured the A9 & it's traffic for a few miles, but today I was content to just sit there because I knew what was coming.

On the minor roads, we got stuck behind an artic, but managed to get past, then took a smaller road which was good driving, but put us behind the artic again. We pulled in for coffee & cake at a cafe Linda had found - I don't think the attached soft play area was what appealed to her. When we arrived at Lairg, the very same artic was unloading comestibles into the shop as we refueled. It was only 40ish miles in to the journey, but fuel stops can be unreliable in the northiest of north, so keeping the se7ens topped up was the order of the day.

The next target was Altnaharra, but unfortunately the road that was so EPIC yesterday was infested with vehicles that wouldn't pull over to let us past, so I stopped to mess with the cameras & as I suspected the van that had been in our way was there in the pub car park at Altnaharra.

We turned off the north / south road just to the far side of Altnaharra (where there was a proper full size red deer stag eating someone's front garden) onto a very scenic, very winding road & I stopped again re-arranged the cameras but the one now fitted in the nose only recorded 15 seconds of stationary gravel before switching off.

Eventually we arrived at the north coast & turned towards Tongue, though we never arrived because I'd again taken the route on a short detour for a couple of hairpin bends & a sea view.

The road across the top of the country is wide & flowing & we passed hamlets with spectacular beaches & azure seas, but as we rolled into Durness to refuel the Se7ens again, we realized that Richard's 2B wasn't with us. He was hailed on the phone & said the car was making an odd rotating noise & he'd pulled over to investigate. Having re-fueled, the others went on to the refreshment stop at Scourie & I went back to find Rich.

This Rock........

I had no doubt he could sort the car out, but 10 miles from Durness is 80 miles from any population centre worthy of the name & just having someone there with you takes the stress away.

...........how does it just stay there??

We rolled the car back & forth & decided it was something loud but minor & it would be best to take it into Durness where there was hard-standing, loos, food & drink if required & there Richard sorted it out (It was just a dis-used sensor rubbing on the prop-shaft), refueled we headed for Scourie ourselves. The road south is spectacular, but busier with campers than I've seen it before, then Richard came on the radio saying "problem". I stopped & saw in the mirrors he had pulled in a little way behind.

This time a throttle cable had snapped, but again Rich soon had it sorted & we rolled into Scourie where Linda & Robert were still waiting.

After an ice cream, we set off again, setting a "good pace" taking campers & saloon cars in our stride & after another 50 miles of fantastic roads, through properly breathtaking scenery, in beautiful weather, we arrived in Ullapool where Linda refueled to lay the ghost of her last visit where the car overheated due to a dead radiator fan.

We set off again over the final section of brilliant road, slowly Linda & I drew away from the others & eventually arrived at the Muir of Ord petrol station, I stopped, Linda rolled along side, we looked across at each other & both said together "THAT WAS EPIC!!"

And it was.

Back at the hotel we arranged the cars neatly for some photos for the hotel website, ordered up pizza & retired to the bar.