Trip to Tongue

Our first opportunity to get away since the outbreak of Covid-19: This was supposed to be the week that we did our cycling holiday, but given the uncertainty, with lock-down at a moments notice, we opted to spend our week in the Tongue Hotel – our second visit to this area.

 

Below are a series of photos of our trip.

 

Day-1: we cycled into one of the most remote parts of the British Isles. We cycled to Altnabreac, in the center of a area of land accessible only on dirt tracks.

 

Only a few gravel tracks pass through this part of Scotland

 

River Thurso and Morven, the high summit on the horizon

 

The bridge at Loch More with Ben Alisky in the background

 

On our second day we opted to climb Ben Loyal, the most picturesque mountain in the area.

 

Not the best weather day, but at least the summit was clear of cloud

 

An 11-miles round trip, our route to the top was via the saddle to the left of the summit

 

Bits of a Hampden P2118 aircraft that crashed 25 August 1943, it was itself on a search and rescue flight.

 

The view east towards Loch Loyal

 

The following day it was back on the bikes for us

 

We cycled The North Loop from Tongue <Click Here> for gpx and kml files

 

This is a very quiet part of the North Coast: impressively isolated hamlets

 

Torrisdale Bay

 

The village of Borgie

 

A little off the loop, to the south-east, the is The Unknown

 

Julie feels she had a connection – but he is a rather quite soul

 

The next day: more cycling :-)

 

We cycled along Glen Hope. Great views of Ben Hope as we head south

 

We saw only two cars during the day

 

Our turn around point was the broch Dun Dornaigil

 

The broch, not the best preserved of its type in Scotland, is around 2500-years old

 

Our return back down the glen, towards Ben Hope

 

The river Strathmore flows towards Loch Hope

 

Loch Hope

 

As we drove back to Tongue we stopped briefly to visit Moine House on the old road

 

In the 19th century Moine House was a refreshment stop on the long north-coast road

 

Left deserted for many years after the new road bypassed, the ruin was stabilised in the 1980’s

 

In the evening at the Tongue Hotel, we were treated to a lovely sunset

 

Sunset over the Kyle of Tongue

 

The following day, you guessed it, we did more cycling: over the Kyle bridge and north to Strathan

 

The view over the Kyle of Tongue towards Ben Loyal

 

Strathan Bay

 

Loch Vasgo

 

On route for Talmine

 

Talmine Bay: not as sunny as when we were last here in 2018

 

The following day, our last day of the holiday, we cycled around the Kyle of Tongue

 

From Tongue we cycled over the bridge and then south towards Ben Loyal

 

This used to be the main coast road until the construction of the Kyle Bridge. John Lennon had a car crash here in 1969

 

The Kyle of Tongue and Ben Loyal

 

It was a fabulous last day of a great holiday!

 

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