Last night we camped HERE
A beautiful site bang smack on the edge of Nessie’s home.
Ignoring Mr Foggs previous blog. Today we had a trip of 103 miles down the coast to Evanton which is just outside Inverness. Although there are a load of campsites this way many of them are closed due to COVID or fully booked. We found a little recommended site next to Black Rock Gorge which is very peaceful and sheltered.
On the way today we visited Latheronwheel Harbour. A tiny fishing village created as part of the clearances where the natural harbour was extended and built in 1840 first to support Salmon fishing then the boom of Mackeral fishing. Today it is a quiet little place with no boats and a steady stream of tourists making their way down a tiny lane.
The villagers are clearly proud of their harbour. It has a picnic area and flowers and a decent size car park. Most of all it has otters and seals. We didn’t spot any otters but watched grey seals in the harbour mouth
The bridge was built around the 1700s initially and was the pony route for post services.
A beautiful place
So when we started this trip we visited a campsite near Eilean Donan Castle and on that site we met a young couple who had hired a camper and had no idea how to hook up electric, that you had to empty the “crapper” cassette or that if you have a shower the onboard water tank runs dry if you don’t fill it. Whilst showing them everything about their camper the girlfriend came running out screaming she had spilt oil all over the carpet and as boyfriend was filling the water tank she was emptying it as fast to try and contain the Exxon Valdez style of spillage (bear with there is a point here).
Later that very evening we and the entire campsite outside were treated to a rather loud and lengthy conversation from inside their camper van where the boyfriend obviously kept asking her a question because she kept shouting “YESS” over and over (ask her a different question for god sake) and he obviously wanted to go for a long walk and was getting impatient cos he must have been asking if she was ready as she kept shouting “I’m coming!”
So move forward to this evening as Mrs Fogg opened the cupboard above the hob and the garlic oil dropped out spilling all over the floor and carpet. Mrs Fogg spent ages cleaning it up, so based on that logic it looks like I might be going for a long walk later tonight and will have to keep asking her lots of questions!!!!
1. Get BBQ out and find least windy location and spot the “between downpour moment”
2. Find big brolly
3. Hope for best
4. Watch from inside
The weather is poor today. Windy and heavy rain showers means it’s not a great day for sightseeing. The drive over the bog (yes endless boggy barren landscape) to Thurso was pleasant but due to such low cloud there’s not been much of a view. Contrast that with the setting sun last night.
Onwards then and past some bleak cliffs, an old church which houses a Pictish stone and a quick stop for refreshments
To Dunnet Bay. Our original planned stop was due to be a remote farm campsite. On the top of a cliff. We did turn up, it looked very barren and literally a farmers field so we scarpered and went back 2 miles to a Caravan and Camping Club site. It’s right on the edge of Dunnet Bay, a very long beach about 2 miles in length and has a number of Viking settlements found over the years.
So, a quiet night in tonight to stay warm and cosy. Then tomorrow it’s on to John O’Groats
Lovely night in Tongue, now onto Dunnet Head and John O’Groats tomorrow
A wonderful drive from Scourie to Tongue (yup, how cool is that and it’s at th mouth of the sea!). Maximum speeds of 30mph through the single track roads up via Durness and Europe’s largest live bombing range, you could hear the booms every few seconds Read this
Mrs Fogg even found the “worlds best chocolate drink” shop which we had to hike a mile to. Also en-route was the Smoo Cavern, a funky waterfall that has turned a cave into a very wet cavern
Oh and while emptying the “crapper” this morning, which involves opening the side of the camper, removing a 20litre full cassette and wheeling it to the chemical waste point (a bloody big hole in the ground), as I emptied it the process went into slo-mo as one wheel and axle dropped off and slipped into the slime, never to be seen again! you couldn’t make it up. Do I stick my hands in to retrieve it, err not a cat in hells chance!
Travelling from Ardmair after a gusty wet and chilly night onwards then via Lochinver
And tonight we will mostly isolated here
Lovely drive today up and down the highlands to the windiest point so far. Ardmair Point is on a windy headland and it’s sideways rain howling at us.
We stopped at Mungasdale bay to wander along the pretty beach and to use Mr Foggs giant binoculars.
We visited the Falls of Measach today at the Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve. At 160ft falls the water plunged a mile long down through the gorge. Very spectacular and especially so after all the rain
Now we are chilling in the warm camper watching the rain
