Day 24 – Bettyhill to Lybster

Great weather on day twenty-four as we set-off to the most northeasterly point of Britian.  Plenty of lighthouses and a few castles along the way.

 

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Castle of Mey, Queen Mother
Castle of Mey, previously the Queen Mother’s Scottish pad.

 

Armadale

Coastal Road Trip, Armadale, Small bay, Reismeave
After heading east out of Bettyhill we made our first stop of the day at Armadale, where we found this small bay hidden at the end of a farm track beyond Reismeave.  There was a winch and basket down to the bottom of the steep cliffs, we assumed for fishing.
Coastal Road Trip, Armadale, Drying fishing nets, Reismeave
At the top of the cliff there were these great masts, at first we thought it was some kind of radio aerial, then we realised they were for hanging and drying the fishing nets.

 

Strathy Point

Coastal Road Trip, Strathy Point, Lighthouse, Julian, Jarno
First of many lighthouses today at Strathy Point.
Coastal Road Trip, Strathy Point, Lighthouse
Actually, no longer a working lighthouse, but holiday lets.
Coastal Road Trip, Strathy Point, Lighthouse, Rocks, Sea, Armadale Bay
The view back west along the coast towards Armadale Bay.
Coastal Road Trip, Strathy Point, Lighthouse, Rocks, Sea, Armadale Bay
Very choppy waters!
Coastal Road Trip, Strathy Point, Lighthouse, Rocks, Sea, Crashing Waves
Waves crashing against the rocks.

 

Strathy Beach

Coastal Road Trip, Strathy Beach
At Strathy Beach the waters were calm, quite a contrast from the rough waters around the corner at Strathy Point.

 

Portskerra

Coastal Road Trip, Portskerra, Bay
A small quiet cove at the far end of Portskerra.

 

Sandside Bay

Coastal Road Trip, Sandside, Bay, Beach, Dounreay
We were going to stop at Sandside Beach for a picnic, and wondered why no one else was around…
Coastal Road Trip, Sandside, Bay, Beach, Dounreay Nuclear Power Station Warning
… then we got some clues from this sign, we moved on.

 

St Mary’s Chapel

Coastal Road Trip, St Mary's Chapel Ruin, Crosskirk, Sheep, Bay
The 12th century St Mary’s Chapel on top of cliffs near Crosskirk.

 

Dunnet Bay

Coastal Road Trip, Dunnet Bay, Castlehill, Flagstone, Trail, Windmill, Dunnet Head
The remains of a windmill at the Castlehill Flagstone Trail, with Dunnet Head in the background.

 

Dunnet Head

Coastal Road Trip, Dunnet Head, Lighthouse, Most northerly point of mainland Britain
So we’ve visited the most westerly point of mainland Britain at Ardnamurchan Point, and now we’re at the most northerly point at Dunnet Head.  Plus another Lighthouse as a bonus!
Coastal Road Trip, Dunnet Head, Scarfskerry
On the way back to the main road we caught these views looking east towards Scarfskerry.

 

Castle of Mey

Coastal Road Trip, Castle of Mey, Queen Mother
A royal stop on our tour!  Castle of Mey, previously owned by The Queen Mother as one of her private residences.  Fascinating to look around.  Although grand, it also felt surprisingly homely with many grandma type knick-knacks here and there.  The guides were great, very enthusiastic and informative, clearly they were very proud to work there.
Coastal Road Trip, Castle of Mey, Queen Mother, Gardens, Wheelbarrow
Lots of colour in the walled garden
Coastal Road Trip, Castle of Mey, Queen Mother, Gardens, Flowers
Full of blooming flowers.

 

John o’Groats

Coastal Road Trip, John o'Groats, Julian, Jarno
Such tourists!  Yay, made it to John o’Groats in the northeastern corner of Scotland.  To Jarno’s delight, named after a Dutchman John de Groot.

 

Duncansby Head

Coastal Road Trip, Duncansby Head, Lighthouse, Muckle Skerry, Pentland Skerries High and Low Lighthouses
Just a few miles east of John o’Groats, we arrived at Duncansby Head Lighthouse.  In the distance you can see Muckle Skerry,  with the Pentland Skerries High and Low Lighthouses.  Three lighthouses in one picture, bargain!
Coastal Road Trip, Duncansby Head, Stacks of Duncansby
Then looking back south we could see over to the spectacular Stacks of Duncansby.

 

Ackergill Tower

Coastal Road Trip, Ackergill Tower, Sheep
We spotted Ackergill Tower whilst looking for Castle Sinclair Girnigoe.  Now a hotel, but looked very neat on the waters edge so stopped for a quick photo.

 

Noss Head

Coastal Road Trip, Noss Head, Lighthouse
Our final lighthouse of the day at Noss Head, just north of Wick.

 

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Coastal Road Trip, Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
Just to the west of Noss Head, we took a short hike down a track to the remains of Castle Sinclair Girnigoe.  Actually two castles (15th and 17th century) merged into one.  Perched precariously on rocks over Sinclair Bay, it was great that we could ramble around the remains, but it did somehow feel that it might collapse at any minute!
Coastal Road Trip, Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, Sunset, Field
A final look back at Castle Sinclair Girnigoe as the sun started to set, before continuing on to Wick and then Lybster for the night.

 

Daily video

Day 23 – Durness to Bettyhill

We got up early today to catch the small passenger ferry across the Kyle of Durness, and then on to Cape Wrath via minibus.  However, due to poor weather, the ferry was not operating today.  So we’ll have to leave that adventure for another trip 😉   As we now had an extra half day on our hands, we decided to continue our journey to Bettyhill, arrive early and have a well deserved afternoon relaxing.

 

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, The Moine, A’ Mhoine, Peat Bog, A838, Straight Empty Road
The empty A838 over the Moine.

 

Keoldale

Coastal Road Trip, Keoldale, Cape Wrath Ferry, Kyle of Durness
Well that’s where we were meant to be sailing on the ferry to the other side of the Kyle of Durness.  You can just about make out the ferry landing through the rain… if not, use your imagination.
Coastal Road Trip, Keoldale, Cape Wrath Ferry, Kyle of Durness, Julian, Jarno
Not sure why we are looking so happy, actually we were a bit gutted that we couldn’t visit Cape Wrath today.

 

Sango Beach

Coastal Road Trip, Durness, Sango Bay, Sango Sands
The beaches were again remarkable, fine sand, clear waters, just a shame it was a bit cold and wet for August!

 

Ceannabeinne Beach

Coastal Road Trip, Durness, Ceannabeinne Beach
And just a minute or two east of Sango Beach we arrived at Ceannabeinne Beach, equally beautiful (and rainy).

 

Loch Eriboll

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Eriboll, Telephone box, Jarno
Photo of Jarno filming a phone box… OK, so there wasn’t so much to see.
Coastal Road Trip, Loch Eriboll, Ard Neakie
A great view looking down on Ard Neakie in Loch Eriboll, connected to the mainland by a sand spit.

 

The Moine

Coastal Road Trip, The Moine, A’ Mhoine, Peat Bog, A838, Straight Empty Road
As we drove across the Moine along the A838 the land became quite flat all of a sudden.  If you look carefully you can see some coloured bags to the left of the road.  It turns out this was a peat bog, and peat was being dug and bagged.

 

Talmine Bay

Coastal Road Trip, Talmine Bay, Melness Coast, Kyle of Tongue, Shipwreck
A shipwreck along the Melness Coast at Talmine Bay.  The Kyle of Tongue and the Rabbit Islands in the background.
Coastal Road Trip, Talmine Bay, Melness Coast, Kyle of Tongue, Beach, Cow
And yet another beach cow… this is getting weird.  She didn’t look too impressed to see us.

 

Tongue

Coastal Road Trip, Kyle of Tongue, Tongue. Castle Varrich
Across on the east side of the Kyle of Tongue we tried to find our way to Castle Varrich, but without a detailed map, and no mobile reception we struggled.  As we’d already had our fair share of castles over the last few weeks, we decided to move on.

 

Bettyhill

Coastal Road Trip, Bettyhill, Bay, Beach
Yay!  Suns out again as we reached Bettyhill and Torrisdale Bay.
Coastal Road Trip, Bettyhill, Strathnaver Museum
Just east of Bettyhill we found the Strathnaver Museum, housed in the old parish church.  A great little place full of local artifacts and explanations about the clearances, with friendly helpful volunteers on hand.
Coastal Road Trip, Bettyhill, Bay, Sunset
And the view from our Bettyhill hotel as the sun set over Torrisdale Bay.

 

Daily video