Eight hours and 54 minutes was the time that flashed up on the sat-nav when I entered Ullapool as my destination. By any stretch it’s a long haul and the monotony of the A1 doesn’t immediately fill you with enthusiasm for the hours ahead.
But after a while, that dull road yields to the hills of Northumberland and then on into the Scottish Borders. The crossing over the Firth of Forth now gives a spectacular view of the old road bridge and the extraordinary feat of engineering beyond, as the famous structure of the rail bridge hoves into view. Then on to Perth, Inverness and the extraordinary road over the hills to Ullapool. It is, I suppose, a sort of sporting pilgrimage.
Stornoway bound
Ullapool isn’t the final stop though; it’s there we board a ferry and steam out of Loch Broom and past the
