We started back out at a more respectable 09:30, and headed north again. The A9 has a bad reputation for accidents and for getting held up, but we had good luck and made good progress. by 1pm we’ve made it to Lybster, even with the fog (in June).

Lybster isn’t picture-postcard: it’s a bit run-down in places but still OK: put it this way, I’d visit again. We’re stopping in a converted church hall, handily opposite the rather nice Portland Arms hotel. There’s other pubs/hotels in town, but this is the nicest.

edit: scrub that. If you’re a non-resident, they don’t give a shit. Cue 4 days lost business :-). Commercial Hotel wins, Portland Arms: all aboard the failboat [edit: it closed some time afterwards and is now a different business, capitalising on the NC500). Oh, and Aviemore is shite, and the roads and scenery up here are fantastic.