Woke early again and sneaked out of my dormitory for a morning walk up a road past a farm. No cooked breakfast but we were all full of burgers and sausages from the night before anyway, so just had cereal and toast. It was Eddy's 60th birthday today and the plan was for everyone to not mention it so he thought we'd forgotten, then present him with a cake during our briefing/stretching.We cycled up the Great Glen alongside Loch Ness, and didn't see the monster, although I did see 2 enterprising blokes dressed in furry monster suits offering to pose next to a coach party of Germans - for cash I assume. We had a coffee stop by Drumnadrochit then turned left towards Beauly up a steep hill, walking the last bit. Why struggle cycling up a steep hill when it's much easier to get off and walk and enjoy the scenery?
We eventually stopped for lunch in a rather exposed spot north of Dingwall with no toilets. So we after lunch with The Famous Five in need of a loo stop we decided to call at the next pub to use the loos. It was very cold and exposed at this point, so I suggested we had a quick whisky - which we did. We weren't sure where to put the bikes but the landlady encouraged us to bring them in and put them by the pool table. 4 Highland Park whiskies, a half of Guinness and a Baileys were consumed before we went on our way.
That night we stayed at Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel, a rather grand place, where we had a bit of a party for Eddy, with his wife who had flown up to Inverness and hired a car to join him on the last few days - or nights.
We found a quite reading room and had a sing song. Eventually the some puzzled Americans and a bloke with a fringe and bald head left the room!
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