Featured Touring Scotland Here We Come

How many towns could you pull up on a hot sunny day and think, I need to get this helmet and jacket off but I aren't carrying them around?



You could, as I did, in Stromness!
Gloves under the bungies, helmet on the mirror and jacket draped over the bag and panniers.

And off I went for a can of pop and a look around the shops

 

A-Hoy, I see a man!

 

The run down from Bettyhill to Altnaharra, the B873 and trying to beat the loss of daylight.

 

Where do "we all live?"



Ok, own up, who started singing?

 

Is this a "Monster Truck"?

 

A few more from Steall Gorge









And is this car unreliable?

 

Last night, I was attending to remedial work ready for the next time

A wash and scrub up, then re-lube.
Usb port resolved.
New front tyre fited.
Prompt efficient service from Demon Tweeks and Parcel Farce for me to receive parts yesterday.

 

The picture in question was taken on a quiet uphill country lane and the view was over open water to my left, nothing really special initially, but what did get me was the light conditions looked to be ideal.
I took a few pics, and then suddenly the sky and clouds noticed my attention and appeared to perform in response, like someone had turned up the contrast button.

 

Yes nice place and although I feel I've now completed the mainland, I too want to go back and take in some of the islands, Eday, Sanday, Hoy etc.

 

So here is my first wife and our tent, back in around 1991.



Now I was fortunate that an old couple came passed as I was eating breakfast one day. He had previously had bikes so was admiring the 900.
She was an archaeologist hence the reason why they first came from Manchester (600 miles or so south).
I explained how I must have got my memory crossed up with ship wrecks and the sea being nearer to the road.
She went on to explain that I hadn't and this was one of the beaches where strangely it gets bigger i.e. opposite to coastal erosion.


The exact bearing is hard to define but it looks something like this today, 2024;



She went on to say really high tides bring in seaweed. This gets deposited and acts like a grounding mat. The wind follow after driving the sand into the pockets and eventually builds up into dunes.
She stated that none of the wrecks had been removed, just simply covered, then she also went on to add, some of the really old locals remember when they were children using the wrecks as diving boards.