Invergorden

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27th September

First Port of call - Invergorden

We hadn’t made up all the time lost following our late departure from Dover but we finally dropped anchor at 9.45am, which meant some of the early tours were late leaving but our Scenic Highland Drive went as scheduled.

As expected on a tour of passengers aged 50+ the tours are described as Panoramic, Easy, Moderate or Strenuous. Our days of strenuous tours are long gone !!

The morning was a mixture of weather, mist, cloud, drizzle and sunshine but that didn’t spoil the tour which was very scenic.

We left the dock area and followed the banks of the Cromarty Firth.

Our guide was full of interesting snippets about the area, as well as historical & geographic information we learnt of the connections to the area with Mohamed Al-Fayed, Madonna & Guy Richie’s son Rocco, William Henry Perrins (Worcestershire Sauce) and several other familiar names.

We had a short stop at Dornoch with its small but beautiful cathedral. We passed through the Ardoss Forest with it’s spruce, larch and pine trees. The larch were covered in lichen.

Just two weeks ago the moorland was a picture of purple heather but today only autumn shades of brown.

Unfortunately by the time we reached Struie Hill view the mist had appeared but it was still a nice view.

Back in Invergorden we passed several of the public art murals which certainly brightened up the streets.

Back on board, the sun was shining now so it was time to enjoy the warm sunshine sitting on the balcony. All cabins on this ship have balconies which is so nice especially on a sunny afternoon enjoying the view across the Firth.

Tonight’s dress code is formal, it’s been a while since we dressed up for a formal night, thankfully David remembered how to tie a Windsor knot (His grandad showed him years ago and it always looks so neat.)

Tomorrow the original port of call was to be Scrabster/John O’Groats but northern winds will make docking unsafe so we’re off to the Orkney islands instead and now look forward to visiting Kirkwall.

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Comments

[Ruth Haley]

Orkneys
You will love the Orkneys. I'm sure Scara Brae will be on your itinerary along with the Churchill barriers and Italian chapel. Our farm is up there , 17 miles from John o Groats between Wick and Thurso. Scrabster is the Thurso port. We now grow windmills on our farm though. Not Christmas trees! Wishing you a great day Ruth xxx