LEJOG Day 10 - To Helmsdale

This was by far the toughest day of the lot as I woke with no energy what so ever. It was a beautiful morning in Fort Augustus and the sun was shinning. I woke early again after a better than average sleep. Well before 6am. 

A couple of coffees and again the porridge, half of which got binned was consumed. Left at 615am into blazing sunshine and onto the A82. 

Reason I left so early was that I knew this was going to be a long day and that I would need to pull off around a ton to keep my return travel plans on track. 

Loch Ness was cloudy and there was an eery mist hovering over it as I mowed down the first 30 or so miles on the run up to Inverness. 

First village was Drummnadokit, where I stopped for a quick piddle lol... and chatted to the girl in the service station. The only advantage of the A82 at this time is it is very quiet. Most of my devices hardly had any power like my mood, as I forgot to charge the spare battery pack. 

Very quickly I found myself in Inverness, with the sun shining, and then a coffee stop... Oh and cake. 

Quickly over the Kessock bridge which I found myself on familiar territory and my legs seemed to regain some energy. 50 / 75 miles was achieved into the mid afternoon when I stopped just north of Tain for a late lunch. 

The last 30 miles seemed to be the longest of this trip as I limped into Helmsdale for digs, dinner, and as self reflection of a hard, baw crunching day. The end was insight and I knew I would need to start earlier if I was to get back to Wick for my afternoon train to Wick... 

Not much to report on but day was delivered.... Just.