The sky is falling .... ‘ said Henny-Penny (with apologies to all fairytale devotees). And that’s exactly what happened.
Going back a couple of days .......
After over a week of warm sunny weather we have had low cloud, misty, drizzly, cool sometimes windy weather the last couple of days. Wonderfully moody! and exactly how I pictured Scotland. Last night we camped on the cliffs of Sango Bay, Durness in the Northern Highlands, overlooking a gorgeous cream and pink sandy beach. It is breathtakingly beautiful here .... and that’s true of most places we’ve seen along the north coast. Forget Edinburgh, St Andrews and Inverness, the country seats, the castles and forts, this is what I was really after! We’ve following the iconic North Coast 500, an 800 odd km scenic route around the north coast of Scotland. It’s quite stunning in parts!
After camping overnight near Dunnet Head, mainland Scotland’s most northern point, yesterday we drove from Duncansby Head, the mainland’s most north-easterly point to Durness between the Kyle of Durness and Loch Eriboll - stopping of course at John o’Groats, goes without saying. The scenery was wonder-filled and indelibly romantic - to me! Sandy beaches, wee hidden deep harbours, and heading a little way into the highlands, huge granite and limestone rocks, pink gneiss protruding through peaty grass and the soft cloudy brown of heather just starting to turn purple punctuated with fat white sheep trailing clumps of wool as they picked their way through the lushness of the hillsides. And the flowers! They are glorious. Oh the bonny roads of Scotland .....
This is Dunnet Head the most northerly point on the mainland. The light house is one of the many designed and built by the Stevensons.
Way down below we saw a seal and lots of birds- but of course.
This is at John o’Groats. Super tourist spot but some interesting views over Pentland Firth which rips through the Straits between mainland and the Orkneys. The current is so strong it moves huge boulders along the sea floor. Mighty!
A Stevenson’s lighthouse at Duncansby Head
While sheep gently graze - among the cotton grass!
The remains of a fishing port along the NE coast. Way below in the grey of the afternoon a family were picnicking - in their parkas!
I just love these fishing ports. Not much in the way of fish left in the area but crabbing seems to keep them going.
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