From the Mull to the Cape: A Gentle Bike Ride on the Edge of Wilderness

by Richard Guise

The tale of a 600-mile biking adventure through Scotland  Like many middle-aged baby-boomers, Richard Guise yearned to take on a physical challenge before he reached the age where walking across the kitchen would fall into that category. This is the tale of his 600-mile, 16-day bike ride through the Highlands of Scotland, from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to Cape Wrath in the north, taking in long sections of the dramatically beautiful coast along the way. Guise fills us in on the history and geography of this unique part of Britain, often taking a wry view at odds with the traditional guidebooks. He is the classic observant outsider, picking up on the oddity and beauty that locals or tourists might not see and telling it all with gentle humor—even amid severe bouts of traditional Highland weather.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Ape · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a bit Scotland mad, and will read most things Scotland related. If I can't be going on holiday up there, I might as well be reading about the wilderness and the scenary. I also enjoy travel books, especially the slower modes of transport such as cycling and walking. So really, this book ought to have been right up my street. It's the tale of Richard Guise, recently retired, going on a two week cycling holiday in Scotland travelling up the west coast.

I am now three chapters in and it is making me angry and bored so I'm quitting here. There is no sense of place or experiencing Scotland beyond the sparse photographs in the middle of the book. Scottish people he has met so far are twee characateurs, all speaking in his version of Scots. And his writing style is really, seriously not my cup of tea. It sounds like a middle aged, middle class man of suburban Southern England (if he does stereotypes, why can't I?) who is attempting to be down with the kids by writing in a "cool" way. But in the proud tradition of embarassing dads, it just leaves you feeling uncomfortable. Or at least that's the vibe I get. I really don't want to read any more. Here's one of his jokes: what do Robert the Bruce and Winnie the Pooh have in common? The same middle name!!!

Nope, really not my thing, and it reminds me that travel writing is a talent. Never underappreciate Dervla Murphy.

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite disappointed in how the narrative panned out. What started out as a potentially exciting personal project turned out to be a whirlwind of neutral observations and literally going through the places, without much interaction. Moreover, there were many site-specific facts and place-names that sometimes it becomes too much to read and process.

Overall, the tone was icy and leaves no room for any sort of connection. Based on other accounts regarding Scotland and the British Isles, the place is not that desolate. The weather may be depressing for the most part, but the people are not as cold, I assume. But this book has made it appear as though locals avoid tourists (specifically those on bicycles) like the plague.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word: disappointing - not bad, but not great either. Just sorta ... there.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely meander of a book. Guise writes tenderly and amusingly about his Scottish bike ride from the Mull of Kintyre (of Paul McCartney fame) to Cape Wrath in the far north. He captures something of the bleakness of cycling in Scotland, as well as the more sublime moments.
Well written and engaging, funny without being laboured and includes well researched and neatly explained snippets of history, geology, engineering etc as they come up on Guise's journey
A few moments of disappointment — one town is dismissed as 'Council Estate on Sea', for example.
Even after reading Guise's accounts of having to get off and push his bike up the hills and eating soggy sandwiches is leaky bus shelters, this book still makes me want to get back on my bike and ride some of the roads taken.

[Brian Gowthorpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting journey with some excellent stories, not least of geology. Assynt: 3,000 million years old. But RG has an irritating personality, at least in print, and his repeated attempts at humour reliably fall flat; it would have been a better book without them. He mentions Bill Bryson but Bryson he is not.

[Lisa Regan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - it's not badly written, but it's not very engaging either. It's just some older chap (with older-chap-views, ahem) cycling in a part of the country that I don't know and writing about it in a way that doesn't make me particularly want to visit. Too many other books to read for me to spend any longer on this one.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, I felt every mile of the ride and it reminded me of places I had visited many years ago.

[Julian Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

n a slightly Quixotic quest to travel up the west coast of Scotland on two wheels, lycra-clad Richard Guise leads us on an amiable adventure.

Bringing strange historical facts to bear, with keenly observed character and scenery descriptions he also introduces us to his scale of remoteness, as it pertains to out of the way places he visits.

This is a gentle read, with fun characters and a pace which steps consciously away from the motorway of the rat race and onto a meandering byway. Great escapism and a nice read.

[Hermine Biasci · Rating 3 out of 5]

While freewheeling along isolated roads, encountering fluffy and friendly sheep and meeting interesting and unique people, Guise takes his time to contemplate the spectacular sights and ponder on historical facts and Scottish traditions. The geographical information and the historical facts that he includes in his narration are good enough for winning a trivia game on Scotland at the pub! His narration is a good mixture of humor and serious thoughts providing an entertaining narrative.

[Laura (Reading is a Doing Word) · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the route the author takes its interesting and his observations peppered with historical information, his tone is supercilious and annoying.