Winton Massif - Spit the Dummy 2013

A couple of months back in August the 'Massif were heading north once more.
Accompanied by Aidan on his Triumph, HB and I headed up the A9, stopping in Inverness for food and fuel before following the A835 to Ullapool. We met up with Ferg and grabbed a chippy for dinner. If you ever find yourself in Ullapool and want a chippy, go to the Deli-Ca-Sea on the front street, they cook fresh fish and its much better than the other chippy. We ate our chips and had a wander around Ullapool looking in the shops and checking out a tall ship that was in the harbour.

Meeting Ferg in Ullapool.

Big Boat

Ullapool.

This wee journey was going to be a bit of a tester for me and HB's trip to Germany (more of that to come) and the intercom system we were using was proving to be a fucking nightmare. We tried and tried to get the speakers that fit inside the helmets to sit comfortably but had to give up in the end. They were digging  into our ears quite badly so we decided it would be better to be comfy and shout to each other instead of feeling like that scene from Reservoir Dogs.
Fed and watered we carried on the last 22 or so miles to Achiltibuie where we met up with Euan and Liam on the Port a Bhaigh campsite at Altandhu.

Once the tents were up we had a few beers on the Campsite. Smillie and Brian arrived and we had a beer before heading up to the Furan for a couple more and a couple of games of pool. The plan for the following day was to head around the coast to Applecross via Gairloch but some of us wanted to head up to Lochcarron to get a pie from the shop there.

Port a Bhaigh views.

Aidan

In the Furan

The next day we had a plan. Liam, Euan, Brian and Smillie were heading to Lochinver then on to Applecross. Aidan, Ferg, HB and Myself were heading straight to Applecross via the coast road, the A832 through Gairloch and the A896 through Torridon. We were packing up and I was cooking some nice Altbea black pudding when a movement caught my eye.

TIMBER!!!!!

OH FUCK!!!

The movement was my brand new GS taking a dive. I had put my wee metal plate under the stand and had even left it in gear, but the rain over night had made the soft ground even softer. Luckily the soft ground meant there was absolutely zero damage to the bike. Not a scratch. Unfortunately the panniers were open and the rivet popper out the catch on the lid. Liam had the idea to fix it with a tent peg and Smillie assured me he knew a man who could fix it.

I finished cooking the black pudding for Ferg and myself, once the bike was back up of course, drunk some tea and packed the tent away while Euan was having a swim in the sea. Everyone sorted, we headed off.

The weather was good for our run over to Applecross. The road take you past Anthrax Island and I was waving and pointing stuff out to HB all the way along. The scenery on the road is outstanding with amazing views along Loch Maree, Loch Ewe (near Altbea where my black pudding was from) and of the Torridon hills.

HB in the tent.

Can you see him?

Euan in the sea.

On the A832

This pair of fuds tried to take me out when we pulled in for the photos.

At Kinlochewe. Aidan looks concerned.

Ferg loves my helmet.

The top of the Bealach Na Ba

We met up with Ben and Kirsten who, had been on their Honeymoon on Orkney in the car and Kely and Rob on Applecross Campsite. A few hours later the rest of the guys turned up. Beers were drunk and we headed to the Applecross Inn in wee groups, as the place was heaving and it would have been hard to get a seat for everyone in the pub. I had a massive steak which was braw and we enjoyed the views till the temperature dropped and we retired inside the pub where we spoke to Mark Newton who is riding a mobility scooter around Britain for charity. Mark's joined by his two cats who were in the pub with him! It was pretty cool to see two cats sitting in the pub quite happily. 

Aidan's enjoying himself.

Mark's cats.

Dunno what Brian is up to. Leave a caption in the comments.

Time for bed? Na...

The plan for the following day was to ride to Skye and get the ferry to Raasay. We said our goodbyes to everyone and set off. Brian and Smillie were heading for home for work, Liam had caught a sickness bug and had to head for home too and Euan joined Ben and Kirsten further south.

That left Aidan, Ferg, HB and Myself, stopping in at the Waterfront Cafe for another Challenge Breakfast. Ferg and I figured that was the cheapest way to stay full for the whole day.

HB went for a wee breakfast.

Ferg and I got the mighty Challenge.

Aidan struggled to get his head out of his arse.

The drizzle turned to rain as we crossed the Skye Bridge. We stopped in Broadford for supplies and fuel and the rain continued to pish doon. After some deliberation and debate we decided not to head for Raasay. We studied the map and seen there was a wee campsite at Morvich, just along from Elan Donan Castle. Destination chosen we set off.
Not long after we were at the site, it was a Caravan Club site, something I'm often wary of due to the horrific amounts of rules and regulations they usually have. Luckily this site was ran by a frienly bloke who showed us the good facilities, and in the area for the tents they had a shelter for us to hide under. Even the sun cam back out for a bit with the help of Aidan's Sun Dance. Sorted.
The supplies we bought back on Skye included the ingredients to make a Chilie Con Carne as well as some drinks, so we got cooking. The whole lot managed to fit in the big pot of my old Swedish Army Trangia, just. It was full to the brim. Ferg fired his up to do cups of tea then rice and soon wee had our meal. It was supposed to be four portions but it could have fed six! The rest of the evening was spent hiding from the rain under the shelter. Sometimes it was fucking belting doon like being in a shower, so much that my trusty Vango tent started to leak slightly. The sleeping compartment was OK but there was a few drips in the porch, or "bell end" area. Hopefully it only leaked because it was all ready wet and had been packed away wet from the overnight showers we'd had before in Altandhu and Applecross.

Aidan liked the site.

A helpful person came along and gave Aidan a better pump for his daft lilo.

Sun Dance. It worked!

Food nearly done!

A good night.

We awoke to decent weather packed our gear up and said our goodbye's to Aidan. He was heading home whereas Ferg, HB and I were heading to The Lazy Duck. I last stayed here back in 2005 when I was on my first tour of Scotland. The Lazy Duck has had some improvements since I was last there but still has its eco hippy sort of feel about it. One of the improvements was a wood fired hot tub which we had booked. Having had food in Aviemore before we arrived at the Duck all we had to do was pitch the tents and get out shit together for the hot tub, awesome! I gave the tents a quick spray with Nikwax too after the previous night's leaks.

The hot tub was amazing. We stayed in it for a good few hours watching woodpeckers and enjoying a few beers before heading to the camper's shelter and keeping warm around the chiminea.

An awesome end to and awesome trip.

Can you see the hot tub?

Ferg and HB in the hot tub.

HB and I said our goodbyes to Ferg. He headed north and we headed south down the A9 with the sun.

Great trip.

Oh, and Smillie's guy came through. My pannier lid was repaired so well you couldn't tell which end was broken. Master craftsman.