Day 2. Helmsdale to Beauly. 66 miles

Aloha ggd joggle blog fans - a quick update on mine and Gandhi's pleasant night's camping last night in Helmsdale. We basically put up our tents in a small park that was reached down some small steps from a car park/local toilets/kids hangout. We were in bed by 8.30 because it had started to rain. Well, the heavens opened and we're in our tents when we realise that we have become the target for the local disenchanted youth, as besides the weather we had bottles, old bike wheels and other junk raining down upon us from the car park above. Needless to say, the next couple of hours we spent wondering when the next item was coming and what it would be - a concrete block perhaps? Anyway we survived and decided this morning to choose our camping spots a bit more carefully from now on. And never to go to Helmsdale again. So, on to today... After drying everything out, removing items from the surrounding area etc. we met the bed and breakfast man and plodded up the A9, climbing about 100 metres from the coast. We stopped in Golspie for a poached salmon pie (yes!) then onto Tain. From then on it was forest all the way until we got back on the A9 and did battle with the HGV drivers until we crossed Cromarty Firth. Gandhi then took us on another of his famous detours where were presented with our first challenging hill. All the previous hills had been long and steady in terms of incline. This one was long and bloody steep! We then had a 2 mile descent into Beauly. After a quick pint on the house from a lovely landlady, Garfy once again bravely opted for a B&B whilst Gand and I actually found a proper campsite with showers and no threat of incoming projectiles. Swift Ruby in the evening - marvellous! Darrin