Athlete Profile
Ralph Cox•Follow
Ride
September 8, 2022

Corner to Corner, Day 39: Lairg to Inverness

https://www.cycling4charity.org.uk Good route. We both chose 6A rather than 6B: more A road including A9, better road surface, respectful traffic except for one Range Rover. A lot of rain elsewhere, and a little for us near the end. Lots of interesting features. A little bit of re-routing Onto the A9 via around about required.
Distance
60.1 mi
Elev Gain
2,165 ft
Time
5h 31m
Shin Diversion Dam. Cannot confirm when commissioned; assume 1959 like the rest of the project. https://canmore.org.uk/site/5068/little-loch-shin-dam
River Shin downstream
0:06
Carbisdale Castle, viewed from the A837 just before joining the A836. Built 1905-17 for the then Duchess of Sutherland. Recently changed hands having been on the market for £1.2m. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbisdale_Castle & https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-63143835 & http://www.archhighland.org.uk/news.asp?newsid=331
Last look back at the Shin Railway Viaduct which will feature in the revised route only as being beside not on route as on Day 32, with Carbisdale Castle behind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Railway_Viaduct
The 1973 third Bonar Bridge seen from the convenience shop on a corner where we stopped for provisions. Notice the NCN direction sign on its left. The revised route for Day 32 will come via the bridge, with the orange Kyle of Sutherland Hub community centre and cafe on route. Read Lorraine's blog for an account of bridge 1 and 2. https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Bonar_Bridge & https://www.kyleofsutherland.com
1794 Spinningdale Cotton Mill - in ruins since 1806 fire. http://www.archhighland.org.uk/news.asp?newsid=331
Another wonderful Highlands bus shelter with unique bench - by the A949 turning to Achue
After we got our bikes over the locked gate. This requires a re-route staying on the A949 till a right via a roundabout onto an initially sufficient though narrowing cycle lane beside the A9 and the easiest way south via the Dornoch Firth Bridge. The alternative would be quieter, back over the Bonar Bridge, reversing parts of Day 32's route till the B9176.
Noting the bit needing re-routing
0:16
Cycle lane
Narrowing
Narrowing cycle lane. hmm...
1887 St Andrews Episcopal Church, Tain. https://episcopaldornochtain.org/tainhistory/
1892 Tain CofS parish church. http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/4434/name/Tain+Parish+Church+Tain+Highland
Arabella - sent this to my former colleague of the same name.
0:29
I saw what looked like light cream blocks of flats in the distance, but they couldn't be. What are they? (About 3.5 miles away as the crow flies.)
Video: approaching Nigg and first sight of oil rigs in Nigg Bay. Read "Hot and cold stacking of anchored rigs.." for why there are several in the bay: https://pocf.co.uk/oil-gas/
0:13
Nigg Oil Terminal used to house gas from the Beatrice field, operational 1980-2017. ABOUT REPSOL: https://www.repsolsinopecuk.com/about-us - click on "Read more about our Operations", then download "Repsol Sinopel North Sea Assets" ABOUT BEATRICE OIL FIELD, THEN READ LINK TO BEATRICE WIND FARM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_oil_field SCOTLAND'S GROWING RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION currently equates to 25% of national needs. Worth observing its progressive production and execution of its planned decline in consumption: https://www.gov.scot/collections/quarterly-energy-statistics-scotland/
Global Energy Group's Nigg Energy Park at the Port of Nigg. http://nigg.com/ Research since reveals the grey items are wind turbine parts for the wind farm near Ben Klibreck south of Altnaharra, and the yellow uprights are some of the 114 "jacket foundations" for the Seagreen fixed bottom offshore wind farm estimated to generate power for 1.6m homes. ABOUT NIGG: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigg,_Highland & ABOUT GREY WIND TURBINE PARTS: https://energydigital.com/renewable-energy/wind-turbine-deliveries-underway-at-Creag-Riabhach-Wind-Farm & ABOUT YELLOW JACKET FOUNDATIONS: https://www.sserenewables.com/news-and-views/2022/09/seagreen-wind-farm-celebrates-jacket-installation-milestone/
Well-Safe Protector- "a specialist jack up well decommissioning unit" built in 1993. Web page includes spec sheet: https://www.wellsafesolutions.com/our_fleet/
512ft/156m Gallows Hill shrouded in cloud above the Sutors of Cromarty headland.
Left/north headland: 504ft/154m North Sutor; right/south headland: Sutors of Cromarty
4 kudos
View on