Day 02 - Mid Clyth to Helmsdale - 27.5 Miles

We decided to make an early start this morning, so were ready to hit the road at 6am.  The rough camp turned out to be very comfortable and I slept well.  Even the tent got dried out from the previous nights soaking.  As we set off, literally around the first bend was a sign for a B&B! Had we carried on yesterday, this would have been perfect.  As it was, we were starting with no breakfast and just two sausage rolls for the previous evening's meal.
Today was completely on the A9 again, only today it started to rain and never really stopped. Despite this being a main road, there is not an aboundance of well stocked shops or petrol stations to get food, so we continued on to just before Dunbeath where we found a good cafe to catch up on last nights missed meal and this morning's missed breakfast.
For the first 4 hours of this walk the traffic had been very light as it was early Sunday morining, but as the day drew on, the traffic got heavier, as did then rain.  We passed through Berriedale, which is famed for steep hills either side that old cars struggle to get out of.  This was the biggest hill we'd seen since starting from John o'Groats, but it didn't take too long to get over. Of more concern was the state of Tim's feet which needed running repairs every hour or so.
Finally after what seemed an eternity on the A9, Helmsdale arrived and we checked into a B&B.  Sofas and hot showers seem like incredible luxury after the last few days.  Just a good meal to sort out now.

Rough camp near Mid Clyth.

Statistics

Distance: 27.44 Miles

Moving Time: 8 Hours 26 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 54.54 Miles

View the route for day 02 here.