From Ullapool I headed East to Lairg, changing my initial plans which would have taken me North to Tongue then East along the North coast road to John o' Groats. I had decided on this course of action following a very close encounter with a vehicle on the way to Ullapool. Facing the oncoming traffic (as you do), means that one is not always aware of vehicles heading in the same direction that perform overtaking manoeuvres without consideration. Just inches away from serious injury or death, I believed the coast road might have too much traffic and reworked my route accordingly.

From Lairg I would be spending the last week camping wild, finding a spot to pitch with suitable shelter from the elements as well as a supply of water. This turned out not to be the case, a good look at the maps indicated a couple of buildings, and although there was nothing to indicate exactly what they were, I sensed that they were bothies, well placed on my route to have short walks for two consecutive days with time to stop and listen to the England v Wales World Cup Qualifier on the wireless. (cont.)