Peel and Port Erin

 To the Top of the Highlands – Inverness to Thurso

Today’s ride took me from Inverness to Thurso—right up into the northern Highlands. It was a great ride, mostly on dual-track roads, though still pretty narrow, and occasionally on single-track roads. In Scotland, the road rule is that slower vehicles yield to faster ones. It’s a good system once you get used to it. Even on these tiny roads, the speed limit is 60 mph, which feels quick when the pavement’s barely wider than your mirrors.

There were a lot of campers (or “caravans” as they call them here), most about the size of a box van. Many of them were doing the NC500—the North Coast 500—a scenic 500-mile loop around the top of Scotland. Part of the appeal is stopping in the small villages along the way. Scotland is well set up for RVs, with lots of little spots that offer electric and sewer hookups. Sometimes they look like basic car parks, but they’re actually camping parks. Some only have five spots, maybe tucked behind a gas station right in the heart of a village.

Back to the ride. I was moving faster than most, passing a good number of those caravans. At one point, I passed three of them going downhill on the inside of a turn. Yeah, a little risky—but I could clearly see there was no oncoming traffic. One village had a strange sight: a duplex house where half of it was completely missing. I-beams were holding up the side that remained. I’ll say more on that later.

I arrived at the Pentland Lodge House around 3:30—perfect timing. A small bus had just dropped off a group of travelers, so I waited my turn to check in. While waiting, I spotted a laundry room (a welcome sight by this point). Lisa, my host, was a bit flustered when she got to me.

“Name?” she asked.
“Furman.”
“I can’t find Furman.”

Then I gave her my last name, and she found the reservation right away. She said she needed a beer—then asked if I wanted one too. Absolutely—yes. I also asked if she could do my laundry, but I needed it back by the next morning. She checked and said yes—£10 would cover it.

Once I was checked in and my laundry was handed off, I took a walk along the beach and into the village. Found a bar/restaurant and had some excellent fish and chips. On the way back, I walked up to a bluff overlooking the North Sea. There was a nice little park there—and a camper park too, with a few of the same caravans I’d passed earlier parked for the night.

A bench looked out across the water. Peaceful and still. I sat for a bit and left some of Nancy’s ashes there.

The next morning, Lisa served me breakfast—and handed me my freshly laundered clothes. I tried to give her £15.
She said, “No, just £10.”
I said, “£15.”
She insisted, “No, £10.”
I said again, “£15.”
Finally, she smiled and said, “Oh, yes.”

The clothes were folded too.
Back on the road—headed toward Ullapool.

https://youtube.com/shorts/2HUmCMkIj88?si=-rn97awYFDLuwthW

Just a little walk from the Pentland Lodge

Lisa told me the North Sea water temp was around 40-45f. People swim there during the summer. Way to cold for me.

On the way into to town. A Bloke who came out of his home told me the lettering was not real gold. I said I knew it was not real, I tried to scrape it off.

Good Fish and chips

This little park is where I left some of Nancy's ashes. She would of been taking pictures there.

The Duplex house with the I-Beams holding it up, I did not get a picture of it. But.... a friend told me a bout a Scottish Sitcom called "Still Game". in the first episode in a wide shot I saw that house.