The rain and strong winds persisted at Durness throughout the night but we were snugly wrapped in our blankets and enveloped in our comfy beds. When we arrived at our breakfast table, wow what a spread!
Today was meant to be mostly driving - eastwards towards John O Groats which is the most northernly tip of the United Kingdom. We started driving in that direction along the coast but the strong winds and poor visibility was making it rather difficult. I suggested to the group that I didn't mind giving it a miss because I could foresee us making that 2h drive in the bad weather to arrive at John O Groats, only to scramble out of the car to forcibly take some photos before scrambling back into the car. Hmm not sure if it's worth it. We discussed and decided to drive south down to Dunrobin Castle before ending our day at Dornoch where our last night B&B was. Finally that was the consensus.
Halfway through the wilderness a few of us needed a toilet break. And looking around us, it would probably mean that the nearest toilet was in the town of Golspie where we were headed towards, probably an hour at least. Suddenly in the middle of nowhere I spotted an inn and I shouted excitedly for K to stop. We could ask for permission to use their toilets? There was no one in sight - a bit spooky although it was broad daylight. K ran in to find the owners and soon he beckoned the rest of us to come through. There were two women, probably in their 50s who smiled and said to come in. Oh how kind of them! We did a quick scan of the inn and noted it was very dated. In fact I remember seeing a "For Sale" sign right outside. They must be tired of running this inn in the middle of nowhere. One of the ladies told us many travellers use this as a stopover and this morning they hosted a group of cyclists who needed a coffee break. Wow it was like stepping back in time for me. Time has stood still in this place. I wondered how far they were away from the next town - what about groceries? What about seeing a doctor if you need one? Anyway I mentioned this because very interestingly if you have a look at Google map now, in that entire route you can spot the one and only "Crask Inn" embedded on the map. So yes if anyone is keen to run a B&B with no competitors nearby...
Dunrobin Castle is one of the most beautiful castles I've visited. I thought it reminded me of a chateau in France, perhaps because of the conical roofs. The gardens ended where the sea was and was well manicured. Above all, it was quiet and not touristy such that we could walk around freely and enjoy as much as we wanted.
Dornoch in case you didn't know, was the town where Madonna christened her son and she married Guy Ritchie in Skibo Castle not too far away from this village of Dornoch. But above all, this place is known for their world class golf courses. Apparently they have two top notch golf courses and there are plans to build a third one but a lot of locals are protesting against it. Our B&B owners Kerensa and Michael apologised for not being to cook dinner for us because they needed to attend a town hall that night to hear about the proposal for the 3rd golf course. How interesting.
That last night was spent with this ultra friendly couple in Dornoch. They invited 6 of us into their cosy lounge and even introduced us to a variety of local whiskies. I'm not a fan but I tried a few sips. Later she would swap it with a glass of white wine for me whilst K gulped down a glass of vintage whisky much to Kerensa's dismay. We chatted non stop, about how they used to be restaurant owners and decided to move to the highlands. Took a couple of years to refurbish this current place. Then Michael worked for one of the golf courses as the head chef before they decided to do this B&B full time. We spoke about Brexit and touched on politics. It was all very interesting to hear their views. They asked what we all did in London and also asked our views on certain issues - mainly Brexit really - as professionals working in London. Finally someone commented it was past midnight and Lolly was nodding away in dreamland. We needed to wake up early the next morning and head toward Inverness airport for our flight back to London.
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| All organic and homemade. And this was even before ordering our cooked Scottish breakfast. |
Today was meant to be mostly driving - eastwards towards John O Groats which is the most northernly tip of the United Kingdom. We started driving in that direction along the coast but the strong winds and poor visibility was making it rather difficult. I suggested to the group that I didn't mind giving it a miss because I could foresee us making that 2h drive in the bad weather to arrive at John O Groats, only to scramble out of the car to forcibly take some photos before scrambling back into the car. Hmm not sure if it's worth it. We discussed and decided to drive south down to Dunrobin Castle before ending our day at Dornoch where our last night B&B was. Finally that was the consensus.
Halfway through the wilderness a few of us needed a toilet break. And looking around us, it would probably mean that the nearest toilet was in the town of Golspie where we were headed towards, probably an hour at least. Suddenly in the middle of nowhere I spotted an inn and I shouted excitedly for K to stop. We could ask for permission to use their toilets? There was no one in sight - a bit spooky although it was broad daylight. K ran in to find the owners and soon he beckoned the rest of us to come through. There were two women, probably in their 50s who smiled and said to come in. Oh how kind of them! We did a quick scan of the inn and noted it was very dated. In fact I remember seeing a "For Sale" sign right outside. They must be tired of running this inn in the middle of nowhere. One of the ladies told us many travellers use this as a stopover and this morning they hosted a group of cyclists who needed a coffee break. Wow it was like stepping back in time for me. Time has stood still in this place. I wondered how far they were away from the next town - what about groceries? What about seeing a doctor if you need one? Anyway I mentioned this because very interestingly if you have a look at Google map now, in that entire route you can spot the one and only "Crask Inn" embedded on the map. So yes if anyone is keen to run a B&B with no competitors nearby...
Dunrobin Castle is one of the most beautiful castles I've visited. I thought it reminded me of a chateau in France, perhaps because of the conical roofs. The gardens ended where the sea was and was well manicured. Above all, it was quiet and not touristy such that we could walk around freely and enjoy as much as we wanted.
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| Beautiful gardens with the sea behind |
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| Giant rhubarb leaves! |
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| Can use as umbrellas! |
Dornoch in case you didn't know, was the town where Madonna christened her son and she married Guy Ritchie in Skibo Castle not too far away from this village of Dornoch. But above all, this place is known for their world class golf courses. Apparently they have two top notch golf courses and there are plans to build a third one but a lot of locals are protesting against it. Our B&B owners Kerensa and Michael apologised for not being to cook dinner for us because they needed to attend a town hall that night to hear about the proposal for the 3rd golf course. How interesting.
That last night was spent with this ultra friendly couple in Dornoch. They invited 6 of us into their cosy lounge and even introduced us to a variety of local whiskies. I'm not a fan but I tried a few sips. Later she would swap it with a glass of white wine for me whilst K gulped down a glass of vintage whisky much to Kerensa's dismay. We chatted non stop, about how they used to be restaurant owners and decided to move to the highlands. Took a couple of years to refurbish this current place. Then Michael worked for one of the golf courses as the head chef before they decided to do this B&B full time. We spoke about Brexit and touched on politics. It was all very interesting to hear their views. They asked what we all did in London and also asked our views on certain issues - mainly Brexit really - as professionals working in London. Finally someone commented it was past midnight and Lolly was nodding away in dreamland. We needed to wake up early the next morning and head toward Inverness airport for our flight back to London.
And this wraps up our 5 day highlands tour. Overall an enjoyable trip with good company. It's always K and me traveling so it was nice to have some company this time round. We were organised and there were no last minute hiccups. We didn't plan a rushed trip and I thought it was well paced. We commented that children growing up here moving to London (or any big cities for that matter) to work or study will definitely get a huge culture shock. We would too. It's all one country but yet so beautifully diverse to me. We experienced the scenic wilderness of what the highlands had to offer; we survived the midgies; we learnt what a coo is; we did kungfu kicks down at a beach; chatted with locals over Scottish whisky and got their perspective on things; found out our two trusty drivers are good dancers (I know, random but we witnessed it) and we brought back some Scottish currency notes as keepsakes.
Interested in the NC500 route? Check out http://www.northcoast500.com
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