And WE’RE BACK!
SO – if you read the last installment .. Jenny and I have just cycled over the beautiful Glen Ogle viaduct.
Carrying on the route 7 we sped down a steep hill …which then turned into a muddy track into the woods … 10 minutes down this I thought we should maybe check google maps ….. LUCKY WE DID! We were headed down to Killin – the opposite direction we needed to be going in. So back up the hill we went … haha! This was a bit of a slog mentally – but once up it we hopped onto the main road and this was beautifully downhill and pretty flat 🙂
On the way down…
and on the way back up…
Now the rest of the trip was main roads – we were headed past Auchlyne. The cars were courteous and we had no issues… Just a few cars driving a bit too close. A wee patch of rain – but nothing our waterproofs couldn’t deflect! We were starting to get hungry again … no wonder! So we pulled over to a place – I cannot remember the name of … and I also don’t want to shame….. Here comes the story. So – we arrived, pretty chilly from the flatter part of the road (uphill was nice to keep us cosy) – we rocked up like two cowboys out of a western … parked up our bikes ( should have been horses) and waddled in. We were the only people there but were greeted by a lovely lady who ran the place and her man! Desperately asking for one pot of tea for us to share and 2 soups, we then sat down. The tea arrived – yum .. then the soup. Which being in our hungry states we ate – but it was a Heinz tomato soup with some red pepper chopped into it. No worries – we ate it. Jenny stepped out for a min so I went to to bar and asked to split the bill – so she did. I paid £9.50.
I went out to the bikes and Jenny followed a few mins later. We hopped on and cycled off! About 5 mins into the cycle .. Jenny asked – ‘Ana, how much did you pay back there?’ … ‘£9.50?’ Jenny burst out laughing and said ‘I also paid £9.50.’ We were both pissing ourselves laughing for a few miles. We had been FLEECED! £19 for ONE pot of tea and TWO heinz soups …. haha! What a riot. In our cycling delirium we hadn’t even questioned it.
ONWARD! The main roads were kind and mainly flat – some beautiful straights and winding slopes – our thoughts were set on The Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum! We both needed a hot drink for the last push on to Glen Coe. When we arrived at the good ol Welly we both had a warming hot chocolate – me with a pile of marshmallows on top and a dose of electrolytes from a good ol Lucozade sport. We made this a snappy stop as daylight was starting to fade.
After a small section of incline we flew down the hills – passing the beautiful snow capped peaks. Lights blazing and high vis shining – the dark was really setting in. Such a beautiful light to be cycling through as the sun started to go down.
Stylish high vis from us ladies!
I really enjoyed cycling through the darkness – definitely heightened the senses and it felt amazing when flying downhill! We arrived at the ‘Welcome to the Highlands’ sign! Just before Bridge of Orchy I believe .
WELCOME TO THE HIGHLANDS!
THE DARKNESS!
Obligatory photo done – we pedaled on into the night – very few cars which was great! We pretty much had the road to ourselves. The darkness was weirdly motivating, especially when creeping up that biiiiiig hill after Bridge of Orchy! If you know this hill, you’ll know what lay ahead. This was a tough one but it kept us warm in the freezing night. Jenny pulled out some yummy nutty snacks – we were both craving salt! With the worst of the hill over … we looked up. Above us shone the beautiful and other wordly Milkyway!! I must admit I was tearing up …. the clouds had cleared and we were treated to a huge cloak of stars above us for the rest of our cycle. We were still smiling!
This is what was above us (photo credit David Fowlie Photography) He was out taking the photo the night we arrived – and the David we were to meet later on that eve 🙂
We could now see Glencoe!! Sadly didn’t get to see any of Rannoch Moor in the dark but the Milkway made up for it. We then saw the encouraging light of the Kingshouse Hotel! WE HAD MADE IT TO GLENCOE! We were howling like wolves haha and screaming with joy! With our lights also about to run out of battery ….we were so happy to bolt down the road. Huge smiles and hugs we walked into the very cosy reception to be greeted by the lovely Tom – who we told about our adventure! He thought we were mad. I guess we are – but in a good way! We treated ourselves to a night at their Bunkhouse – which was bloody great.
We had a whole dorm to ourselves – so dancing and singing was bound to happen. It has an amazing dry room to hang all your outdoor gear in. Amazing facilities too. We were so full of energy – even after the cycle. Just pure happiness! We had a hot shower and headed over to the main building – Believe it or not .. we actually RAN and SKIPPED over to the hotel for dinner. We inhaled the amazing food – with a beautiful log fire burning behind us. A cheeky wee pint *chug a lug* to celebrate, we sat back and laughed about our cycle and talked about the beautiful roads and paths we had cycled through.
It was then time to SLEEP after some more ramblings about the trip and that laughter you get when you’re exhausted – in a good way! It was a great sleep.
NEXT TIME …
What was Glencoe like the next day – in the daylight? What did we get up to next in Glencoe? What did I do after Jenny left on the Saturday?
Stay tuned and check in soon for the next installment.
Til next time
Ana 🙂
I love reading your blogs Ana! Really inspiring. And your photos are fab – scenery is just amazing.