In the morning I have a nice english (scottish?) breakfast (porridge, sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding) together with one of the other cyclists. (the other one already left early)
I'm still tired from yesterday's exertion. Luckily the first 20 kilometers are slightly downhill: now I'm glad about the 200m height I made yesterday to reach the inn.
The first town I pass through is Lairg. Here I try to find some maps. At the tourist information I buy a Ordnance Survey map. A nice map, and the cycle routes are marked. No luck with the Sustrans maps though, which would be even better.
A few kilometers behind Lairg it starts to rain. I take a rest at the Falls of Shin, and change into my rain gear. Of course the rain stops after a while, and I start to sweat in the waterproof clothing. I have to stop and change again.
The route is rather flat, which is nice, since I still don't feel too good. Shortly before I reach Tain I study the map, looking for a place to stay for the night. In Tain is a camping site, then nothing for a long while. I decide to stay in Tain.
The camping site is on a narrow stretch of land along the road, a few kilometers outside the town. I check in and get assigned a spot for my tent. Just after my tent is standing, and I'm unpacking my luggage, my neighbor starts arguing that I'm not allowed to use that spot, since it is for campers only. After a while we take our disagreement to the reception, where the clerk apologizes, and assigns me a new spot. I have to tear down my tent, and pitch it again a few dozen meters further down. At least there is a table with benches right beside my tent.
Early evening is starts to rain, and rains through the night. As I lay in my tent, I hear a roaring, shattering noise, and suddenly my tent shakes in a gust of wind: just behind the hedge, not 5 meters away, is a railway track...
