After nearly giving up at the end of North Coast 500 Day 3, I decided to keep going on North Coast 500 Day 4 on a mile-by-mile approach. The route, Gairloch to Dundonnell, was much shorter than the previous day, so hopefully that would help.

Of course … it was still wet and windy!

After leaving the Millcroft Hotel and briefly cycling along the coast, our journey began by climbing away from the sea along the A892 in the direction of Poolewe.

This took us past Loch Tollaidh.

From Poolewe we skirted the edge of Loch Ewe.

Then, a little further on, we took a short break (and a chance to dry off and warm up) at the cafe at Inverewe, a National Trust for Scotland garden.

Continuing along the NC500 route we headed for Aultbea.

We had hoped to stop for lunch in Aultbea but the eatery was closed. So to avoid getting too cold we kept on moving.

The next stop when looking for a lunch break was Laide Post Office. This too was closed. It was also increasingly looking as if it was going to rain again. So, we decided to keep cycling in the hope of reaching our destination before another soaking.

Our journey took us past Gruinard Bay.

Unfortunately, increasingly it was clear we weren’t going to beat the rain.

There was one final hill to climb between Mungasdale and Badcaul. Followed by a long downhill. The wind and rain made this a treacherous descent!

Just before we reached Dundonnell, however, we just had to stop and enjoy the bottom of Ardessie Falls … even in the rain. It was spectacular.

We were staying at Wilma’s Guest House. Once again, everything we were wearing was soaked through. We had a view out over Little Loch Broom, but as you can see there often wasn’t much we could actually see.

Later on, we headed over to Dundonnell Hotel for our evening meal.

I had thought about giving up at the end of North Coast 500 Day 3. However, I had stuck with it for North Coast 500 Day 4, despite the wind and the rain. I had taken one more step on our North Coast 500 journey.

As always the scenery was fantastic.

You can view our North Coast 500 Day 4 route from Gairloch to Dundonnell below:

Tomorrow we are off to Ullapool.