Its an early start this morning as our ferry departs St Margaretโs Hope at 0745. So we get up, have a coffee and plan our day back on mainland Scotland. When you roll of a ferry in a strange place its nice to know whether to turn left or right. On the road we drive the 6 miles to the ferry terminal and join the queue. Cannot overstate what a wonderful destination the Ornkeyโs has been. We could easily do another week here visiting the northern islands, but that would require more ferries and expense.
No tape measures today, we just reverse on, lockup and head for the lounge.
Apart from being a lovely sunny morning, there is no detectable breeze and the sea a millpond. Pam is happy. Off the ferry at Gillโs Bay we head east driving through John oโ Groats the most northerly village on the Scottish mainland, then up to Duncansby Head.
Another Stephenson light house here at Duncansby Head.
There is a handy little carpark up near the lighthouse. We have breakfast before going exploring.
We take the headland walk to the Duncansby Stacks, after a 10 minute walk they come into view.
We have brought the binoculars with us in hope of spotting a puffin bird. No problem finding hundred of nesting seagulls.
There are lots of people wandering about looking for Puffins…
Evenually we tire of looking at birds and continue on to the stacks. The scenery along this section of coast is spectacular.
Once we get close to the Duncansby stacks, your can look back towards the lighthouse and see Muckle stack. It hidden from view until this point.
The clear and sunny morning add to our enjoyment of this wild and rugged coastline.
A last picture as we walk back to the Hymer.
UK
We continue on down the east coast of the northern highlands for another 40 miles, still on the NC500. Stopping at a big Tesco in Wick we do a quick shop. Then look for somewhere nice for lunch.
The Castle of Old Wick, looks as good a place as any. So Pam warms a soup for lunch as we look across the North Sea. We can see oil platforms out on the horizon, past that, thereโs nothing till Norway, but we cannot see that far.
Old Wick was built by the Earl of Caithness in 1160โs, making it one of the oldest in northern Scotland. The walk out and back with a bit of exploring takes about 40 minutes, then we continue south.
Another 40 miles further south on the NC500, itโs time for a stop. The road is fairly slow due to the traffic and lots of bends. So we decide to stop for a quick nanna nap. Lybster will do nicely.
We drive the Hymer out onto the sea-wall and chill. Its a beautiful spot but there is no phone service here, so we will move on after we have a leg stretch.
We chat to the fisherman who has owned this boat for ages. He tell us his catch is crab or lobster, depending on the season and quota rules. He really liked to talk !
We continue on to Golspie arriving in the late afternoon. We plan to visit Dunrobin Castle in the morning and Golspie is only a mile or so from here. After a couple of false starts we find a suitable car-park behing the Co-op and have a drink. Only a few minutes later another motorhome joins us.
