BURKEYS END 2 END : Day 2: Heading South

Bettyhill to Bonar Bridge: 56.77 miles

Time spent cycling: 4 hours 47 minutes

Average Speed: 11.8 mph

The day began after a full breakfast in the window seat of our hotel overlooking the bay. Rob took the opportunity to practise his German as the Landlord's wife's English accent gave away her Germanic origins. It worked as the staff sure looked after us well.

The ride along the shores of the River Naver was extremely beautiful along gently rolling roads. The JOG > Lands End book I have at home describes this stretch as some of the best cycling terrain in Europe! It was hard to disagree. We rode past our new Canadian friends from yesterday just before the river turned into Loch Naver and I stopped for a quick chat. We posed for photos before beginning the long climb up to the Crask Inn and our intended lunch stop for the day. I got on Georgia's nerves on the climb by playing a game of 'ring the bell' everytime we passed a passing point marker.

The Crask Inn is legendary amongst End to Enders taking this route. Everyone visits it as it's the only building for miles around. And everyone has a story to tell about the place. We had visions of it being a booming pub serving bar meals with Sky TV, the works. We walked in the place and it was in total darkness. We had to ring the bell on the wall next to the bar to alert the landlord. We took our seats, the only people in the place, and were greeted by a completely eccentric barman who took our drinks order and told us the only thing he had on the menu for the day was partridge soup. That'll do. This pub has to be seen to be believed. The one room in the place has not changed its appearance since about 1960 and neither has the landlord!

Thankfully the exit away from the Crask Inn was all downhill and Georgia set off like a woman possessed buoyed on by the consumption of a Mars Bar. The 17 miles or so to Lairg were completed in next to no time and were a joy to cycle. A quick brew and some shortbread fingers were secured on our arrival there and we headed off to view the Falls of Shin .

The Falls of Shin at this time of year are a must-visit because salmon can be seen leaping up them. We weren't to be disappointed. Three or four salmon were seen making the leap back upstream to their spawning ground. A great sight to see. Infact, it was fantastic and a truly wonderful end to our day's cycling.

We rolled into Bonar Bridge at 5pm and our guest house was a self-contained two storey house! The day was getting better. We did a full wash of our clothes and headed off to the pub to watch the World Cup Final. Happy days.