North of Scotland Trip (part 2)

 Finally sat down to write the second half of our trip around the North of Scotland, which we completed way back in August. Had lots of photos and videos to go through so I apologise if it's more of a slog than a blog. I am sure you will enjoy it and I'll try not to ramble on too much.

After we left Rosemarkie we headed right up North to Dunnet Bay. We stopped a couple of times on the way up for a cup of coffee and a snack in the van and at our last stop, just before Thurso we stopped in a layby overlooking this small loch:

Ducks on Loch Rangag

I think they might be Gadwall

After a slight detour into Thurso to stock up on provisions we arrived at the Caravan Park situated on the shoreline of Dunnet Bay:

View across Dunnet Bay to Dunnet Head

The sands at Dunnet Bay

Moira at Dunnet Bay in August?

It had been a bit wet and windy on the drive North and it remained like that when we reached Dunnet Bay (if not worse):

After a brisk walk along the windswept beach we returned to the van for our dinner, then stayed indoors for the rest of the evening, looking forward to exploring the area in the following days.

The next morning started with a short walk around the area local to the caravan park:

Dunnet Bay from road next to Caravan Park

Dunnet Bay

Rock Doves in field beside Caravan Park

Rock Dove (not a toon pigeon)

As the weather had improved slightly (a bit less wet and windy) we decided to take the van out for a run along the North Coast to John O'Groats and then on to Wick:

First stop John O'Groats (which you probably know is the most Nort-Easterly point on the British Mainland) 

Moira at a windswept John O'Groats

John O'Groats Harbour

Nomadic Borders Art Installation

Ferry Terminal on Harbour

End of the Road

Where to next?

After a bite to eat in the Northern Point cafe we headed for a walk along the coastal pathway:

View from Coastal Pathway

Coastal Pathway from John O'Groats

Nice Bunnets

A little way along the coastal path I was amused by this contraption someone had obviously made. It was an Orca, sitting above a storm water drain it had a bypass valve which meant it could spew water out its mouth during heavy rainfall (very amusing!)

Local Killer Whale (Orca)

Moira also made a new friend on this trip (he didn't share his jeely piece though):

Moira and Paddington

And onwards to Wick, where the parking for larger vehicles was a bit limited, so we parked the motorhome on River Street and had a walk around the harbour area:

Vannie parked on River Street in Wick

Bridge over the Wick River

The Wick River heading out to sea

Wick Harbour was historically home to one of the largest fishing fleets in Scotland, but now it is mainly occupied by oil rig support vessels and such like:

Boats in Wick Harbour

Wick Harbour

Modern Support Vessels

Next to the harbour was an interesting cafe called Wickers World. The name will mean something to people of a certain age, and they do make nice grub.

Wickers World Cafe on Harbour Quay, Wick

Harbour Quay looking towards Bank Row steps

Now here is another interesting fact about Wick; the artist L.S. Lowry (him of matchstick men fame) use to have his holidays in Wick and he did some paintings there.

One such painting was of people at the foot of the steps at Bank Row, and there is a plaque on a nearby wall to commemorate this:

Steps at Bank Row Wick

L.S. Lowry Plaque

and here is a copy of the original painting by Lowry:

Painting of Wick Steps by L.S. Lowry

There is a great little heritage museum just along the road from these steps and it is a must if you are visiting Wick. Lots of great exhibits, well worth a visit, only took one photo though:

Super Kreemy

A very enjoyable trip and the weather hadn't been too bad, worth taking the van out for the day. By the time we got back to caravan park the weather was starting to change, the wind was getting stronger and the rain was on its way.

We did go out for a short walk after teatime; we watched the House Martins flit in and out of their nests under the eaves of the caravan park reception building:

House Martins Nests

Close-up of nests

and we walked to the edge of the bay to watch the storm rolling in:

Storm rolling in over Dunnet Head

Choppy Waters

Crashing Waves

Wrapped up for a Scottish Summer Storm

We didn't stay out too long and headed back to the van for a cosy night inside.

It was cosy in the van but it did rock a few times with the gusts of wind and was pelted by the rain.

The next morning however was much brighter and calmer. We had our showers and got our chores done before heading out for a walk to the nearby Dunnet Community Forest (one of the few woodlands in this sparsely wooded area):

Entrance to Dunnet Community Forest

Mushroom Picnic Bench

Pathway through woodland

The woodland is a very important habitat for birds, mammals, insects and other wildlife. Small clearances in the forest are great for wildflowers and in turn attract plenty of bees, butterflies and other insects:

Wildflower patches in the woodland

Wildflowers in Dunnet Community Forest

Red Admiral Butterfly

Red Admiral on Lesser Knapweed

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

Hoverfly on Lesser Knapweed

Speckled Wood Butterfly

Speckled Wood

Green-veined White Butterfly

Green-veined White in Dunnet Community Forest

 and finally, some Rowan Berries, just waiting for the Waxwings to visit:

Rowan Tree full of Berries

It was a very relaxing and enjoyable trip despite the fact we did quite a bit of walking, some of it over rough ground. 

Before teatime we headed back out for a short walk on the beach; the tide was out and was starting to makes its way back in:

Low Tide at Dunnet Bay

Some people on the beach

The tide is rolling in

Common Gull on the shoreline

I did think about going for a paddle, but it looked a bit cold .................. the tide tried its best to get me in the water though:

The following day the weather had improved, it was still a bit breezy but the sun was shining and it felt very pleasant. So we decided to take the van out again, this time we headed to the most Northerly point in Scotland, which is Dunnet Head:

The cliffs at Dunnet Head

Seabirds nesting on the cliffs

Views across the Pentland Firth

Crashing Waves

Moira at Dunnet Head Cliffs

A prominent feature on this headland is Dunnet Head lighthouse, which you can go up, however it was closed on this occasion:

Eddie at Dunnet Head Lighthouse

Plaque showing layout of the Orkney Islands

The misty Orkney Islands across the Pentland Firth

Pity about the low cloud over the Orkneys, but we could just make them out. We then walked further along the headland until we could see the views to the South and East of Dunnet Head:

Looking South from Dunnet Head

The lochs to the South of the headland

Looking Southeast towards the sea stacks at Brough

Moira on the bench

Some Devil's Bit Scabious

We then climbed the hill to the highest point of the headland for spectacular all round views:

View towards the East

View towards the North

View towards the South

Here is a little video of some of the spectacular views at Dunnet Head:

What a lovely place to visit.

Later on that same day we took a trip into Thurso to pick up some more provisions and have a wander around the riverside and harbour area:

Where the River Thurso joins the Pentland Firth

The ruins of Thurso Castle

Geordie Boy on Thurso Harbour Wall

Banksy-style artwork on the Storm Water Pumping Station

Some say it is an original Banksy on Thurso Harbour, but I don't know for certain.

Just round the corner from the harbour you find Thurso Bay, with a nice esplanade walk:

Looking across the bay to Scrabster Ferry Port

Thurso Bay

Looking East towards Dunnet Head

The Esplanade at Thurso Bay

We had a stroll along the esplanade to the far side of the town before heading for a cup of coffee then to Tesco (what fun!)

On our last day at Dunnet Bay we did actually brave the waters (well sort of); we went for a paddle in the sea.

What a lovely beach at Dunnet Bay

Let's go for a paddle

Come on the water's lovely!

Okay I'm coming

It's freezing!

It was very invigorating, socks felt really warm afterwards.

After our bravery we decided to treat ourselves with an evening meal at the Northern Sands Hotel, which was a mile walk along the road from the Caravan Park:

Looking back at Dunnet Bay

Dressed up for dinner

Lovely evening for a walk

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the Northern Sand Hotel, the restaurant was very well presented, the staff were great and the meal was delicious. I wish we had known that before our last night at Dunnet!

Back at the Caravan Park we enjoyed a peaceful evening watching the sun going down over Dunnet Head:

View from our Van

Sunset over Dunnet Head

Next morning we were up bright and early, had breakfast and got the van ready for a long drive down to our next destination on the shores of Loch Ness.

We were staying at Loch Ness Shores Caravan Park in the village of Foyers; Lower Foyers to be precise, which is more a collection of cottages on a steep hillside than a village. The only way in and out of the caravan park is to cross this temporary metal bridge (which has been temporary for over thirty years) followed by miles and miles of single track road.

Temporary Metal Bridge at Lower Foyers

Needless to say we didn't take the van out for any trips whilst we were there, just done all the local walks. The first walk being a trip to the Falls of Foyers, which of course is all uphill:

River Foyers and Loch Ness

Yacht on Loch Ness

Heading up to the Falls of Foyers

It was a pretty steep path and you had to be careful as it was a long way down to the river, luckily the path was dry.

Steep drop down to the River Foyers

First Glimpse of the Falls

The Falls of Foyers

Might not look too impressive, but I can imagine during heavy rain it must be a sight to behold with all the water squeezing through a very tight gap:

Heading back down was slightly easier but you still had to watch your step:

Heading back down

Tree growing out of a rock

When we reached the bottom we thought we'd treat ourselves to a drink, even if it's a cup of tea. Unfortunately there are no cafes and no pubs in Lower Foyers. Only cafe is in Upper Foyers, another half hour walk beyond the falls, it was far easier to head back to the van.

After a brew and a bite to eat we had another little walk in the afternoon, this time down to the shoreline of Loch Ness beside the caravan park:

View from the shores of Loch Ness

Met this pretty girl on the way

Thought of exchanging our van for this one!

Back at our own van it was time for another cuppa and a relax before teatime:

Enjoying a brew

Nice view from Vannie

The next morning we had another stroll along the shoreline to see how far we could go and what we could see:

Looking West down Loch Ness

Some Mallards

Rough and Ready Lochside Path

Nice view of Loch Ness

Yacht on Loch Ness

We carried on along the path, followed by a band of Mallard:

Being stalked by Mallards

View across Loch Ness (no monster)

Could that be the humps of some monster near the shore?

Maybe just some boulders in a line!

That was about as far as we could go heading West along the shoreline path so we headed back towards the River Foyers. Where the river joined the loch we watched some Sand Martins feeding on insects above the water:

A walk along the side of the river took us to the shaky metal road bridge, which luckily had a shaky metal footbridge attached to it. We crossed this then headed down a path to the shoreline, giving us a view looking Eastwards down (or up) Loch Ness:

Looking Eastwards down Loch Ness from Foyers

Foyers Power Station on the shores of Loch Ness

Back at the van in the evening I enjoyed sitting outside under the canopy watching the local wildlife. First up was a large number of Swallows perched on a telephone wire; seemed a bit early in the year to be congregating ready to head South.

Quite a few Swallows gathering together

Swallows on the line

Swallows Cloe-up

They didn't seem to be in a hurry to move so I got a video of them

Then there was a small flock of Goldfinch feeding on nearby thistle seeds:

Juvenile Goldfinch

Adult Goldfinch

Goldfinch feeding on Thistle seeds

Once again I got a video, which shows the feeding a bit better:

And lastly there was a bedraggled looking juvenile Robin:

Juvenile Robin on the Fence

 Juvenile Robin (yet to get its red waistcoat)

A pleasant evening watching the world go by.

Our last walk before we left Foyers was a leisurely stroll uphill (again) towards Foyers Mains. We passed a small woodland with some strange trees before heading up to Foyers Mains Steading:

Strange (and slightly spooky) Trees

Foyers Mains Steading

As you can see the steading was a bit of a ruin, having been abandoned some years back. You were still able to make some features out, like the arched openings for horse and carts and access door to hay loft.

All the steading buildings had been reclaimed by nature, but the separate Foyers Mains Cottage was still in use:

Abandoned steading buildings
with occupied (white) cottage in background

Ruins of Steading Buildings

Round the corner from the Steading was a (relatively new) caravan parked next to the ruins:

Strange place for a caravan

Further up the hill we came across another ruin, that of a Doocot, where the steadings owner would have kept his eating Pigeons. It was a strange octagonal shape, but you can clearly see some of the entrance holes to the Doocot.

Ruins of Steadings Doocot (or Dovecote)

Octagonal Doocot

Looking down towards Steading, Caravan and Doocot

It was actually quite a pleasant walk, not just because of the interesting old buildings, but there were plenty of wildflowers and some cracking views:

Tiny Eyebright Flowers

Lesser Knapweeds (or Hardheads)

View down the valley towards Foyers Mains

Harebells

We continued onwards and upwards along the wildflower path:

Following the wildflower path

Up over the meadow (very Julie Andrews)

Looking down the valley towards Loch Ness

We went as far up the hill as we dared before turning round and heading back downhill to the caravan park:

Walk with a view

Time to head back downhill

Foyers Mains Cottage

It all looked very pretty up by Foyers Mains, but I'm sure it must seem quite remote in winter. At least they have a post box and a bus stop at the bottom of the hill:

Rural Post Box

Rural Bus Stop

However a bus was a very rare spectacle, and definitely not on a Sunday, at least there was a seat in the bus stop.

This shed was however my favourite building:

What a wonderful shed

Well that's it for our trip to Foyers and thus the end of our North of Scotland Trip. We headed back home the next day (after a good few miles of white-knuckle driving along a single track road).

We loved it really

Take Care

Teddyedward