A run on the scooter up Strathconon to Scardroy (75 miles).
The scooter is running again after getting its MOT last week. Before leaving I did a quick strip-down of the drive belt cover removing the variator outer pulley, the belt and clutch to grease the shaft beneath the clutch which is making a whining noise. It didn’t help!
I left home just after 11.00 and headed by the Old Evanton Road to Dingwall. I bought a pork pie and a Barratt’s Nougat bar at Tesco. I had taken a can of Pepsi Max and a packet of Potato Hoops from home. That is a most delicious meal.
I had not intended to make a web-page of the day as I find stopping to take photos or to record film just takes too much time and can spoil the day. But the scenery was too beautiful and I could not resist.
After my big shop in Dingwall I headed to Muir of Ord via Maryburgh and Conon Bridge. In Muir of Ord you take a sharp right by the station and head out to Marybank. At Marybank instead of following the road down to Moy Bridge you go straight on up following the Conon River. So I headed up past Scatwell and then Loch Meig. I stopped a couple of miles before Inverchoran for my lunch.
What a lovely spot on an amazing day. It was hot. I heard my first cuckoo! It was so peaceful and I was so comfortable that after eating I just lay in the sun for a while.
Only one car passed in the time I was stopped, about a half hour.
But you have to move on. This is Inverchoran. It is where several times I started the walk to what is called the Strathfarrar Hills, but we always did them from Glen Orrin. There is quite a high pass from Inverchoran over to Glen Orrin.
On the 16th August 1972 my cousin Martin and I camped in Glen Orrin and did the Munros – Carn nan Gobhar and Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlas.
A year later my sister Liz and myself came to Glen Orrin and did Carn nan Gobhar, Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlas and Sgur Fhuar – Thuill.
In 1975 my siblings, Liz, Billy and Roddy with our cousins Martin and Janey came back to Glen Orrin on a week long expedition and repeated the three Munros on the first two days before moving South.
Billy, Roddy and myself came back yet again on a day expedition and did all four Munros – Sgurr na Ruaidhe, Carn nan Gobhar, Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlas and Sgur Fhuar – Thuill. I don’t know why it took four attempts to do all four Munros.
I came back in ’98 on 2nd of January to do the Corbett, Bac an Eich, crossing over to Glenn Orrin from Inverchoran. The snow was very deep.
The start of Loch Beannacharain, nearing the end of the public road.
The end of the road at Scardroy. I think I have been here once before, maybe in 1984. We had an old grey Volvo 144 and came up to Strathconon for a run. I remember it because the clutch cable snapped and I had to try to drive home without stopping!
This is at the head of the loch at Scardroy.
Scardroy Lodge is just showing through the leaning tree.
I took more photos of Loch Beannacharain as I came down the road as it was so lovely.
This is Loch Meig, a lot easier to pronounce.
I walked across the dam to take some photos before heading over on the scooter.
Meig Dam is a dam across the River Meig, a tributary of the River Conon, in Strathconon. The dam forms part of the Conon hydro-electricity scheme collecting water from the River Meig. The Loch Meig reservoir feeds into the Loch Luichart reservoir which supplies Luichart Power Station on the River Conon.
As well as simply being a dam the structure also forms a crossing of the River Meig as part of the public road, connecting the U3118 from Achilty to the C1043 which runs through Strathconon to Scardroy, passing the Southern end of the dam.
This is one of few dams in Scotland which the public are able to drive across as most have locked gates to restrict access to authorised vehicles, although many can be accessed on foot.
This was a new bit of road to me. It’s always exciting to find a new road in the North here.
Little Scatwell House. This is how the ‘other half’ live!
Then you come down to this bridge over the River Conon and the Luichart Power Station.
Luichart Power Station.
The road then veers away from the Conon River and passes Loch Achility. I have often seen it signposted at Contin but have never been here.
I came to Contin and then headed home via Strathpeffer, Dingwall and the Old Evanton Road.
What a wonderful day!