Northern Highlands

Our first stop after getting off the ferry at Scrabster was to back-track a bit to see a couple of sights we had to miss. Our first stop was at Dunnet Head, which is the northernmost point on the Mainland of the British Isles. Though it was cold and windy it was noticeably warmer than the Orkneys!

Our 2nd stop was at John O'Groats, the northeastern most point on the British Island Mainland. John O'Groats is basically this sign with some restaurants and souvenir stores nearby. We took pictures, bought some lattes to warm up, and then hit the road for stop #3.

Stop #3 was the Castle of Mey and gardens. Castle Mey was purchased by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother after the death of her husband King George VI. It was abandoned and in bad shape, but not in ruins. She used her personal funds to fix it up and spent 2 months here every year until she died. Before she died she created a Trust to take over the care and maintenance of the Castle. It is open for tours 5 days a week for only 4 hours a day. Fortunately for us, it was open today. We were not allowed to take pictures on the inside.

Our next stop was to hike to Castle Varrich, near Tongue, Scotland. The hike was pretty easy, though there were a lot of rocks on the path and loose gravel higher up. The view was beyond believable and it hit home to us that we were now in the Highlands. Not much is known about Castle Varrich, they aren't even sure when it was built or who built it. All that is left is 1 tower and they have built stairs and a platform in it to look over the top to see the surrounding countryside.

On our way to Durness we passed this beach and decided to stop & stretch our legs. Though they are hard to see in the pictures, there were a couple of people in the ocean surfing. I put my fingers in the water and it was crystal clear, but frigid. More power to these guys! Jeff set up the tripod to get some pictures of the surf. While he was shooting pictures I did some "adventuring" around the beach, looking for shells or anything interesting.

This is our home for the next couple of days. We believe they've modified a shipping container. It is cozy, but a bit chilly. We can't seem to get the radiator to go higher than 19 Celsius (that's 66 Fahrenheit). Jeff and I have started calling it the Black Box. We enjoy having a place of our own where we don't hear people walking down the hall, doors slamming, or the TV next door.

We've just returned from our adventure to the Cape Wrath Lighthouse. The most northwestern point on Mainland Britain. The Lighthouse was built in 1828 by Robert Stevenson (the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson). I'm pretty sure the road we were on was the same road used by them in 1828 as it was incredibly bumpy. Also, the road traverses a Ministry of Defense training area which is sometimes used by NATO for live firing exercises...fortunately for us they weren't doing that today. However, we think the road my have been bombed a time or two as it was so bad. Not to mention we were riding over the rear wheels of a 16-passenger van with very questionable shocks for 11 miles (1 way). The cold and wind rivaled what we experienced on Shapinsay a few days ago, minus the misty rain.

There are a couple of permanent residents at the lighthouse. They run a hostel for backpackers who walk the trail from the Scots border with England to where it ends at the Lighthouse. They also operate a small store where Jeff and I bought hot chocolates (it was-you guessed it - cold and windy). They are re-provisioned once a year by helicopter so the residents have to be aware of what supplies they have. Also, since Scotland is in a drought they had a sign on their restroom saying not to flush unless absolutely necessary.

Oh, almost forgot to mention, we had to ride in the ferry to get across the lake to get on the aforementioned 16-passenger van. I thought it would be really windy & cold on the boat but it was actually quite pleasant. Though we didn't know it at the time, this would be the last day we'd wear our heavy coats.

Jeff and I took the inside tour of Smoo Cave this afternoon. We learned how it was formed and that at some point in its past a great number of people lived in it. They know this because when a lower chamber floods it pushs out bits of charcoal which has been carbon dated back several thousand years. They are currently excavating a new chamber and, since the organization gets no money for it, that's what our 10lb entrance fee funds. At least it's going for a good cause. We had to wear helmets because we were on a raft which went under the footbridge and into another section of cave, both of these were rather low so to prevent concussions we had to wear these stylish pieces of headgear!

Normally there is a waterfall into the cave, but again, due to the drought there was just a small trickle of water down from the surface. We were told that in times of heavy rain the caves flood quite quickly.

Our last walk took us to nearby Durness Beach. Today is an absolutely gorgeous day, with a light (but chilly) breeze and a high in the mid-50s. If we had lawn chairs we probably would have stayed at the beach until late, as the sun doesn't set until about 9:00. There were a couple of brave souls in the water and one family was focused on diverting the stream that naturally flows into the ocean (see the trench in the foreground). Jeff and I watched as they tried to dam up the stream to force the water into the trench; however, they were only marginally successful.

It was so relaxing to sit and watch the waves crash against the rocks. I think this was the first day I realized that I hadn't thought about work or home in several days. Europeans traditionally take all of their vacation (usually a month) all at once. I see some benefits to this as Jeff and I have been truly able to let ourselves forget our worries at home...

Here's our walk to Sandwood Bay Beach. It was 4.5 miles each way from where we had to park to the beach. We traversed through fields that had sheep & cows. We didn't see any cows, but there was plenty of evidence they had been nearby recently. The beach itself is pristine and beautiful. We spent about 45 minutes there, eating the snacks we brought & taking pictures. On the hike back we caught up to a farmer & daughter with their dogs herding their sheep from one field to another. It was interesting to hear their verbal commands to the dogs & see the dogs run around to keep the sheep together & going in the right direction. We finally managed to get in front of the herd and, I must admit, the air smelled A LOT better.

Jeff took a short snippet of video of the sheep. Sheep Herding

Possibly one of the last unspoiled stretches of beachfront property in the world...of course, the water is much too cold here to actually go in it for very long, so that might have something to do with it. Also, the Scots are very committed to the idea that public areas are available to everyone so even getting here we had to traverse farmland. The farmer we met said that we were "entitled" to be there. We were mindful and respectful and kept to the well-worn trail (and avoided as much sheep droppings as possible).