Cape Wrath

In a lifetime on two wheels, it has not been easy to pick out the most memorable ride, but after due consideration, this is it.
I have had no desire to climb Everest, swim the Channel, nor cycle from Lands End to John o'Groats, but I rather fancied cycling to Cape Wrath, which lies on the North West tip of Scotland.  Sounds reasonable, but there are no roads to it, and it is separated from civilisation by an inlet of the sea - the Kyle of Durness. It has been described as "The remotest place on the British Mainland".
The unsurfaced track to the lighthouse, though only 11 miles long, is bounded by an RAF bombing range and an Army firing range.
As if that weren't enough, it is 620 miles from Derby, but you don't have to cycle all that way to qualify as a member of the Cape Wrath Fellowship. However, you do have to cycle from the Kyle to the lighthouse. Over 2000 people have survived this journey, each being rewarded with a certificate and a badge, but most of all by the memory of such a wonderful experience.

Since our annual holiday was usually spent on the West Coast of Scotland, and we always took our bikes, I had a flying start.


To get across the waters of the Kyle you take your bike on the tiny ferry (which actually has no provision for bikes), with it precariously hanging on the side of the little craft as the asthmatic two stroke out-board labours against the wind.  Just noticed that there are more passengers than there are lifebelts (shades of the Titanic?).


It was May 8th 2006 and I was lucky to pick a good day with perfect weather, taking my Claud Butler mountain bike, by an amazing coincidence it being the Cape Wrath model. My deathly white legs had just emerged from Winter-long hibernation in long trouser tunnels, but soon assumed a golden tan in the sun's glorious rays.

                       What a day to be in such a place!


    A delight for photographers, cyclists and human beings of all kinds.


                        A few hills to climb but well worth the effort.

                            Stunning scenery on all sides.
       

                              At last, the lighthouse in sight.

                                        And here it is.

And to prove that it wasn't just a wonderful dream - here's the badge . Can't find the certificate.

Having chosen this as my No.1 Best Ride, I suppose that I should choose a No.2, and again this is not easy, but I have chosen the Mawddach Trail which runs from from Barmouth to Dolgelleau in Wales. This is already written up on this blog so take a look at August 2015 following after the Carsington post.