Monday 12th April
More sunshine this morning, but more hazy than yesterday and with little wind. We made good time and removed the need for a trip to Dunvegan by phoning the youth hostel warden, who offered to do some shopping or us.
We were on the road by 10, and our progress seemed much more rapid than yesterday’s. We had late 11ses at the same picnic table at which we had eaten our lunch the day before.
After Bracadale we were breaking new ground and we followed the coast for a while before climbing into some seemingly deserted hills. There were no villages and few dwellings on the road towards Carbost, and we hurtled down the hill towards the junction only to find ourselves climbing again before the village.
We stopped at the pub or food, and their casserole of beef cheek was excellent. Jan had the fish and chips. Their bottled beer (locally brewed) was only £2.90 a pint, which I thought was pretty good. There was a noisy altercation between two dogs, the pub dog and an interloper, while we were eating. The interloper was banished to a car.
There was a marked change in the weather while we were in the pub: we emerged into much fresher, cooler air, the haze had gone and the wind had strengthened.
This was unhelpful a we climbed towards Glenbrittle but eventually we hurtled down the other side, reaching 43.8 mph in the process.
Staying in a youth hostel was a bit of a shock after being pampered by a succession of B & Bs. We showered, washed some clothes, put duvet covers on duvets and cooked ourselves some sausages. I helped a young chap armed with a steel-rimmed Dawes put a new tyre on his front wheel. My payment was a small portion of apple crumble covered in thin custard and a hard-boiled egg. This fellow was part of a trio who gave us advanced warning of potential problems with the sleeper trains as a result of industrial action. I had this terrible feeling of déjà vu.