Scotland

Scotland Tour – Day 7

Carol 3 Comments

We explored the north and west of Mainland today. Our first stop was at Gurness Beach, a beautiful beach littered with shells. I found a sea urchin

Next we stopped at the Point of Buckquoy. We would have walked across the causeway to the Brough of Birsay but the tide was coming in and covering the path.

These three left it a bit late to return from the Brough.
The remains of Earl Robert’s palace, built in 1574.
We walked round the Ring of Brodgar, standing stones thought to have been there for 4000 years.

Tomorrow we leave the Orkneys and take the ferry to the Shetlands at 11.45pm.

Take care

Carol

Scotland Tour – Day 6

Carol 4 Comments

We explored the South East of Orkney crossing several causeways. These were called ‘Churchill’s Barriers’. In WW2 ships were sunk to stop German U-Boats getting into Scapa Flow. Unfortunately, in 1939, one got through and sunk the ‘Royal Oak’ killing 834 men. Churchill ordered the construction of the barriers, which was carried out by Italian prisoners of war.

The Italian POWs also built a church.
One of the scuttled ships we saw.
From South Ronaldsay we could see Dunnet Head on mainland Scotland,
and Hoy, the second largest island in the Orkneys.
We walked out to Mull Head, at Deerness
and saw the ‘Gloup’, a collapsed sea cave.
At Kirkwall we saw St Magnus Cathedral,
the Bishop’s Palace,
the Earl’s Palace,
and Kirkwall harbour.

We ended our busy day at the Murray Arms Hotel, in St Margaret’s Hope, with a seafood platter. The hotel has their own boats and the seafood is caught fresh, daily.

We will explore more of the island tomorrow.

Carol

Scotland Tour – Day 5

Carol 3 Comments

We left Wick and drove to Scrabster to get the ferry to Stromness on the Orkney mainland.

Looking across to the ferry terminal from Thurso.
Waiting in line.
Driving onto the boat.
Leaving Scrabster.

The journey took one and a half hours. The weather was perfect. It was quiet on the ferry with less than half the usual number of vehicles.

We passed the ‘Old Man of Hoy’, a sea stack.
Approaching Stromness.
Leaving the boat.
Looking down on the boat as we leave Stromness.
We had a beautiful drive along the coast road to our holiday cottage at St Mary’s.
Glenduron Holiday Cottage
The view from the front of the cottage.
There is a small jetty and slipway.
We watched a yacht set off from the jetty.

The cottage looks out onto Scapa Flow, a body of water sheltered by the mainland and other, smaller islands. In 1919 the captured German fleet of 74 ships was scuttled by their crew to prevent the vessels falling into British hands.

The Vikings anchored their longships in Scapa Flow more than 1000 years ago. It is one of the world’s great natural harbours.

Tomorrow we will visit some of the smaller islands via causeways built by Italian prisoners of war.

More tomorrow

Carol

Scotland Tour – Day 4

Carol 5 Comments

After breakfast under the watchful eye of the stag in a mask, we left Bettyhill Hotel and continued along the North Coast 500, with amazing scenery at every turn.

We passed Dounreay Nuclear Power Station.
At Scrabster we saw the ferry that we would be catching tomorrow.
Dunnet Head is the most northerly point of mainland Scotland.
John o’ Groats is the most northerly town.
We visited Puffin Croft. Cara moved to the Highlands in 2016 and started the petting farm, after spending 25 years as a Nanny. She was featured twice on Ben Fogle’s TV show ‘Make a New Life in the Country’. We saw the programme and decided if we were ever up this way we would visit.
The animals and ‘staff’ were pleased to see us.
Wick, our stop for the night, used to be the busiest herring port in Britain. 1100 boats used the harbour.
This is the view from our bedroom window.

Tomorrow we get the ferry to the Orkneys, a short crossing compared to the distance to the Shetlands.

Wish me luck!

Carol

Scotland Tour – Day 3

Carol 6 Comments

We left Ullapool in the mist, heading north along the North Coast 500.

We saw the ruins of Ardvreck Castle on the shore of Loch Assynt.
The views were amazing – dramatic coast,
rolling hills,
lochs and heather.
We waited for the sheep to pass.
We followed the coastline.
We stopped at the Drumbeg viewpoint.
We crossed the Kylesku bridge.
The Kyle of Durness reflected the lovely blue sky.
We stopped for a picnic overlooking the ferry to Cape Wrath, the most north westerly part of the Scottish mainland.
Balnakeil beach,
where a game of cricket was in progress.
Beach near Tongue

The Bettyhill hotel, our hotel for the night, overlooking the beach at Torrisdale Bay.
We went for a walk on Farr beach, just up the road.
Jellyfish
Andy on the beach.
Looking inland from Farr beach.
View from the hotel.

Tomorrow we are headed for Wick, via John o’Groats.

Stay safe

Carol

Scotland Tour – Day 2

Carol 2 Comments

We left Hamilton and continued north to Strathpeffer.

We passed through a lot of rain.

In Strathpeffer we met up with friends Linda and Mike, at the Railway Cafe. The station has been closed for many years, but the line is being used as a walk/cycle track.

Strathpeffer was a popular Victorian spa town.

After lunch we continued our journey.

We arrived at the Caledonian Hotel, Ullapool.

After a walk around the harbour we had fish and chips for tea.

More pics tomorrow.

X

Scotland Tour – Day 1

Carol 4 Comments

Day One

We set off this morning to travel the 340 miles north on the M6 from Dursley to Hamilton, just south of Glasgow.

We stopped for a picnic at Tebay services, one of the ‘Farm Shop’ services, like the Gloucester ones, which are run by the Westmoreland Group.
We drove through the Yorkshire Dales
and on into Scotland.
The weather changed – strong winds and heavy rain are forecast!

Tomorrow we drive past Inverness to Ullapool, meeting up with some friends for lunch on the way.

Carol

Scotland Holiday 2020!

Carol 2 Comments

Many months ago we booked a holiday to Scotland, stopping off at the Shetland Isles. We have been luckier than most this year as we managed to have a trip to India just before Lockdown. Our long weekend in the Isle of Man was cancelled in May, but we have kept our fingers crossed that the Scottish trip will go ahead. All looks good so far. So, hopefully, on August 20th we will be off up north!

I will post each day, as I did from India. The posts may not be so exotic but I’m sure there will be some amazing scenery to share with you.

This is our route

Looking forward to sharing my photos with you.

Stay safe

Carol