Blogs from Caithness County, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Geo: 58.5949, -3.51911Lot of driving today, but again in beautiful weather and fascinating countryside. We loved seeing the mirror-like lochs reflecting the grand mansions, then bare hills and ranges followed by woodlands and green pastures, and heather-covered lands further north. The scenery is all that we'd hoped for!First to Oban Distillery, then to Fort William at one end of the Caledonian Canal, then along the fault line to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, then Thurso via Inverness and the top end of Scotland - John O'Groats.... read more

Today's trip is taking us around the northeastern part of the mainland. The weather is overcast & 10 degrees. Some slight sprinkles of rain. First stop was Dunrobin Castle, home a the Earl of Sutherland. Sadly they were closed for the winter. Winter? Really? The flowers are still blooming for crying out loud.. As we follow the highway we were able to find a few spots that had awesome vistas and photo op's. The first one was cemetery marked as Commonwealth war graves just outside of Helmsford. We drove down a laneway beside a country cottage where there really was no parking. BUT what a view! Further along we went for a walk towards the cliffs to visit Badbea a "Highland Clearance village". This was where people were forced to leave there homes that were in ... read more

I angered the Scottish weather gods when I mocked their misty rain yesterday. I angered them big time lol. I headed up to John O'Groats today - the most north-eastern tip of the UK mainland. It's common to do the trek from here to Land's End in the south-west, crossing the full length of the UK. I figured I was up here, so it's def worth the journey. The bus ride was rather lovely - as you could guess, I saw mainly sheep mixed in with the occasional lone house. I debated going to Dunnet Head which is the most northern part of the mainland but it was a 2.5 hike and busses come only every 2 hours... so... I didn't fancy waiting almost 2 hours in the middle of a field when it's raining. Ok ... read more

I wont write too much about today bar to say after a lovely breakfast it was almost sad to leave ''The Crask Inn'' - and after chatting over breakfast we didn't get away again until about 11am - the first few miles along the rest of the A836 were again superb - hugging a river and a loch again - all too good. The weather was A1 again as well. So all good and relaxed as we ambled along. In short good riding again and we got to the North Coast of Britain - lovely beaches and viewsbut no people to speak off and pretty hilly plus the wind was right at us so progress was slow. We went past the nuclear power plant Doonrae and arrived in Thurso about 7.30pm. It was getting cold and ... read more

It was grey and drizzly when we boarded the small boat to take us to the Isle of Noss, a natural preserve. Our Captain, Jonathon, was trained as a geographer at the University of Edinburgh and his future son-in-law was crewing today. There were fifteen aboard including Jonathon and Kevin so it was cozy in the cabin. The boat was specially designed for working in these waters. It has no propeller and can turn on a dime and has a very shallow draft. Our first stop was a cave on the island of Bressie. Once inside the cave, Jonathon deployed a robotic underwater camera and we explored the sea life beneath us. The upper zone had kelp, yellow near the surface and red the further away from the light we went. The water is cloudy with ... read more