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cycle touring in northern scotland. mike wells. cicerone press paperback. 200pp illus. £14.99

northern scotland - mike wells

islay's secondary school offers senior pupils the opportunity to undertake a foreign trip/expedition every two years. the frequency of these trips is designed to allow for the substantial level of fundraising required; to illustrate the necessity, the trip undertaken in july of 2019 travelled to the foothills of the himalayas for four weeks. lest you consider this a frivolous use of hard-won funding, the students are required to provide assistance with projects aiding underprivileged children, such as helping build schools, construct gardens and other undertakings that might help those less fortunate than themselves.

northern scotland - mike wells

the reward, or holiday part of the trip, is usually a trek across particularly attractive regions within the area. it's safe to say that the majority return with a different perspective on the world in which we live, allied to the realisation of just how much better off they are, both financially and in terms of education, than kids in the more remote regions of the world.

my friday afternoon drumset tutoring was delayed last week due to a meeting held to decide which part of the globe, some of the students will visit in 2021. the outcome, i was informed, was the planning of a visit to mongolia, probably about as far from the hebrides as it is possible to travel, and involving a lengthy flight from the uk before the fun begins.

while the raison d'etre behind these trips is perfectly understandable, there's no denying that the majority of those participating will probably not have explored the more remote regions of scotland, aside from the allegedly remote region in which they are currently domiciled. it is quite likely that the outer hebrides remain a mystery to many, while having set foot on either orkney or shetland is not a box likely to have been recently ticked. you and i both know that the perfect way to appraise oneself of scotland's hidden treasures is by bicycle, but the chances of persuading any of the local secondary school pupils to cycle anywhere run from slim to none at all.

northern scotland - mike wells

i'm not necessarily suggesting that there are any pockets of underprivileged children across the highlands of scotland to which assistance might be offered, but i figure it would be something of an eye opener, were a future trip to be centred around cycling through the more remote regions of the country. and should this fantasy ever come to pass, i have the very guide book that ought to feature under the clear plastic covering of their handlebar bags: mike wells' cycle touring in northern scotland.

the author has neatly packaged this 528 mile (855km) northern route into fourteen stages, leaving from inverness, the capital of the highlands, and returning to the same town. this makes it remarkably convenient if you intend arriving by car, train, bus or aeroplane. though the daily stages never exceed 50 miles (80km), if you're possessed of the honed physique to which we'll all gladly admit, it would be simples to combine a couple of stages in a single day if you so desired. in fact, should you be restricted to a week's holiday rather than two, undertaking the tour over a mere seven days would extend your daily mileage to a relatively easily accomplished 75 (121km). the choice, as they say, is yours.

northern scotland - mike wells

in common with all the excellent cycling guides from cicerone press, the introduction covers all the basics such as a concise history and geography of the area covered by the route, the wildlife that can be observed when not puffing and panting over the 'bealach na ba' (an alternative route is also described), where and when to eat and, perhaps most importantly, the weather likely to be encountered as you wend your merry way back to inverness. the routes followed include the wester ross coastal trail, the north and west highlands tourist route, and part of the national cycle network.

northern scotland - mike wells

along the way, the author has inserted snippets of information relating to aspects of the relevant parcours:

"Until the mid-1970s, the only approach (to Applecross) was by sea, or via road over the Bealach na Ba (pass of the cattle). Originally a drove road the Bealach was cnverted into a parliamentary road in 1822, although it remained dirt surfaced until it was asphalted in the 1950s."

the image atop the same page informs the reader that the pass has a maximum gradient of 20%.

northern scotland - mike wells

ever the armchair tourist, the chances of me getting my act together and actually heading into the northern regions are disappointingly slim. however, one of the finest aspects of cicerone guides is their eminently readable nature. aside from the turn by turn instructions, the images and the sidebars provide a potted history of unvisited scottish regions, though i should admit at this point that i have actually been to smoo cave near durness. but i didn't know there was a nato refuelling base near drmchork, nor that there's a town called tongue close to achuvoldrach, the latter sounding like a character from a harry potter movie.

this may be the wrong time of year to consider heading out into the great (northern) outdoors, given the prevailing climate ("...it can be dreich one moment and bright, warm sunshine the next. In northern Scotland, winds can blow from any direction..."), but it's never too early to plan a spring or summer break for 2020. let mike wells and cicerone be your guides.

cycle touring in northern scotland by mike wells is published on 15 october. it is currently available for pre-order at cicerone press

thursday 3 october 2019

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