I’m a cyclist doing a 4,500-mile tour of Britain. The best part so far? Scotland – and here are my seven favourite routes there, from Loch Ness to one of the toughest climbs in the UK

I am currently cycling through Cornwall and am already three quarters of the way through a 4500 mile cycle tour The best bits of Britain.

When asked what the most memorable moment of my trip so far has been, I say: Scotland.

During my trip, which would eventually last three months, I enjoyed the rugged Yorkshire coast, the thatched cottages of East Anglia and the stony chalk paths of the South Downs. But despite one of the bleakest summers I have ever experienced, I can say without hesitation that the Scottish leg of my mammoth journey was the most spectacular.

Below are seven of my highlights from the Highlands.

APPLE CROSS

This drone footage shows Carlton climbing the Bealach na Ba, or Cattle Pass, which the cyclist describes as a ‘beast’

The climb up the Applecross Peninsula is a beast.

Cyclists who enjoy steep climbs flock to the Lochcarron climb. The narrow road over the pass, known in Gaelic as Bealach na Ba or Pass of the Cattle, is famous for its hairpin bends and is one of the toughest to ride in Britain, reaching a height of 2,053 ft (625 m).

The 50-mile ride around the peninsula describes a square, meaning there was a tailwind on at least two sides of the square. At times I didn’t even have to pedal, allowing me to gaze at the incredible views of Raasay Island and the jagged peaks of the Isle of Skye.

CORRIEYAIRACK-PASS

The top photo shows Carlton descending the Corrieyairack Pass, with Loch Ness in the background. The image above shows him tackling the gravel bends of the pass

This zigzagging gravel road between Dalwhinnie and Fort Augustus in the Great Glen is historic and was built in the 18th century by General Wade as part of the English campaign against the Jacobites. General Wade’s Military Road over the 2,526 ft (769 m) high Corrieyairack Pass, built in 1731, is now a walking and cycling trail.

Riding over the pass in a storm, I reached the Black Burn bothy halfway down before dark. Bothies are simple but free places to stay overnight.

By morning the storm had passed and on the descent I had a wonderful view of Loch Ness.

WATERFALLS OF TARF

The top photo shows Carlton riding over the suspension bridge in front of the ‘stunning’ Falls of Tarf. The image above shows him riding away from the falls on a Land Rover track in a ‘seriously scenic’ landscape

The Falls of Tarf are 12 miles from the nearest tarmac road in scenic Glen Tilt and are difficult to reach. I drove there via sheep tracks from the more difficult direction.

The breathtaking series of waterfalls, a favourite of Queen Victoria, is spanned by a suspension bridge.

THE LIGHT

The above two photos show Carlton going up and down the ‘super steep’ A939 in the Cairngorms, which skiers use to reach the Lecht Ski Centre

The Lecht Ski Centre in the Cairngorms, reached via the super-steep A939 between Cock Bridge and Tomintoul, is one of Britain’s highest main roads, reaching an altitude of 637 metres.

I did it in the pouring rain. Grim, yet satisfying.

GLENTRESS

Here Carlton climbs Dunslair Heights north of the nearby Glentress 7Stanes mountain bike (MTB) trail centre

As well as braving the hairpin bends of the Newcastleton mountain bike (MTB) trail, I also made my way through the scrub of Dunslair Heights, north of the nearby Glentress 7Stanes mountain bike (MTB) trail.

Then I trudged across the Minch Moor, which Sir Walter Scott mentions in The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, a collection of border ballads first published in 1802.

He writes about a spring on top of this moor, close to the old Minch Moor road.

“It is sometimes considered unlucky to pass by such places without performing some ceremony to avert the displeasure of the elves,” Scott wrote.

‘There is, on the top of Minchmuir … a spring, called the Cheese Spring, because those who passed by that spring used to throw a piece of cheese into it, as an offering to the fairies, to whom the spring was sacred.’

If you do not make such an offering (today it is coins, not cheese), the fairies/elves/little people fear that they will harm you on the heath.

I camped wild on the moors, left no offerings and escaped, ahem, unscathed.

HERMITAGE CASTLE

In this drone footage, Carlton drives past the ‘seriously creepy’ Hermitage Castle in the Scottish Borders region

Hermitage Castle was built to defend against, and often imprison and torture, the medieval Border Reivers. It is downright terrifying and probably one of the most terrifying looking fortified houses ever built.

The Border Reivers were feuding cattle raiders who lived and fought between England and Scotland, from whom we get the words ‘bereaved’ and ‘blackmail’. The reivers – or riders of stocky horses – plundered and raided each other for 300 years, until the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603.

Hermitage, in the Scottish Borders region, was remote in Elizabethan times and remains so today.

MELROSE

Carlton rides in his bright orange jacket under the ‘spectacular’ Leaderfoot Viaduct

Carlton prepares his Outdoor Research bivvy bag and Thermarest sleeping mat and quilt at the Blackburn bothy

The 4 Abbeys cycle route links the four abbeys of Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh.

But it’s not just church ruins. There’s also Trimontium (‘three mountains’), a Roman garrison town beneath the three Eildon Hills, near modern-day Melrose.

There is nothing to see above ground, but the finds excavated here are so spectacular that they are in the British Museum in London rather than the impressive local museum.

There is also the spectacular Leaderfoot Viaduct, a railway crossing over the River Tweed. Further along is Scott’s View, said to be a favourite of Sir Walter Scott.