Friday, our last whole day in Scotland

Really sad that our trip is coming to the end. Tomorrow we drive south to the Lakes to see Martin's sister then Liverpool to see his mum, home by Thursday.

After yesterday's sunny weather today was showery and the clouds were covering the peaks so we stayed low. We drove up to Kinlochleven and spent a few minutes at the exhibition about the local aluminium industry and dam building. Then off out into the rain to walk up to a waterfall and along the West Highland Way.

Clever idea- gate is angled so there is no possibility of it being left open.

We popped in to see the indoor climbing centre which includes an ice wall.

It's Saturday morning and I'm writing this whilst Martin is shouting at the TV - England in the rugby world cup final. We have had an amazing trip, the weather has been kind, the scenery outstanding,  all of the accommodation great, we've walked miles and met some interesting people. Roll on May 2020 for our next stop, Scandinavia.....

Thursday - the Pap of Glencoe

The Pap of Glencoe is 720m high with a straightforward path up according to the guides. However there was a bit of scrambling near the summit and the going was hard in places. But, as usual, the views were spectacular. We didn't spend long at the top due to the cold wind.

The Pap on the left of the photo

View of Ben Nevis

Few freezing seconds for a pic whilst getting more layers on after the climb

Lunch on the way down

Wednesday high and low

We split up today as Martin was keen to do a really hard hike up a mountain and along a ridge and I know my limits.

He went up the left hand peak in this photo, into the snow, along to the second peak then down through the valley;

His photos;

View of the hamlet where our Airbnb is

After dropping Martin at the start of his climb I stayed low and visited a slate quarry and craft shops, had a peek in a Celtic harp workshop, tried to visit a distillery but it was closed, ate lunch by a loch then collected a tired Martin at the end of his big hike.

Tuesday to North Ballachulish

Another long drive today south west to North Ballachulish which is in the Glencoe area. Just after Inverness we stopped off to look at campervans - still not convinced.

Half way down Loch Ness we went for a walk in Drumnadrochit.  There were 2 giant redwoods in the woods.

We were following our path on our app which showed us going through woodland. But the area looked pretty decimated by all the felling.

We were on our own at a waterfall so had our lunch there.

Beautiful colours in the hills

We carried on with our journey down Loch Ness and past Urquhart Castle.

The last 4 nights in Scotland we are in a small studio apartment. One room has the kitchen and bed with a shower room off it. Then there is a small sitting room with room for a 2 seater sofa looking out on this superb view.

It is owned by Neil whose father lives in Church Crookham and who coincidentally I had taken to a medical appointment a few weeks before booking the studio.

Monday in Dornoch

Easy day today, leaving the car at the house and going on a long but flat walk to Dornoch Point. We walked a long way on the beach collecting bags full of shells.

The tide was in and a river which we had to cross was fairly deep so we had to take a detour.  When we stopped for a break about a mile from the Point another walker said the Point was inaccessible due to the water so we turned inland to the town of Dornoch.

In the evening the host (a headteacher) came home with his excitable dog. We had a quick chat but he had to unpack etc as he had just returned from spending half term in Spain (where his wife was running an adventure course) and had schoolwork to catch up on.

Dornoch is a lovely looking town with  buildings made of warm Cotswold type stone.

For part of the return journey we followed a disused railway track and there were a few historical sites with information boards.

A gravestone for a chap who had to be buried outside town as the citizens were desperately trying to avoid cholera coming to Dornoch. The inscription written by his son claims that the exclusion was unfair as "eminent medical men" had said his dad didn't actually have cholera.

This marked a boundary between land owned by a Bishop and that of a Duke. If you made it past the stone onto the Bishop's land you could claim sanctuary from persecution by the Duke.

Sunday going South

Our lovely hosts let us stay past check out time so Martin could watch the second semi final in the rugby. We had a 4 hour drive ahead of us - along the north coast to John O Groats then down the east coast to Embo.

Two warning lights lit up on the car when we were about 2 miles from John O Groats. We pulled in and consulted the handbook, a warning about emissions but only an issue if flashing which it wasn't.  The car is over 18 years old with no real problems....please not now. We continued on nervously and fortunately the lights disappeared a few miles on.

It was cold and windy at John O Groats so we just took a photo and used the loo before setting off again.

It was strange as we headed south - I kept having to remind myself we were still in Scotland. The countryside was much like Northumberland. We also both had a similar erroneous feeling that we had come a long way south but of course we were still so far north- very odd.

Certainly the east coast is not a patch on the west in terms of scenery. We made a quick stop at Whaligoe steps, 330 of which lead down to a natural harbour used since 1790. The steps were horrendously slippery- I nearly went over.

We knew the key to our next Airbnb would be under a brick but what we didn't know until the next morning was that the host wouldn't return all night. Very trusting.

Saturday rain showers and rainbows

Heavy rain this morning but we were dry and warm in the guest lounge watching England in the rugby semi final. Rain showers were forecast for the afternoon but we went out for our 9 mile hike to Faraid headland. Occasionally we saw some blue sky.

Part of the way we walked with a chap who was searching for sea caves. The beaches on the west side of the headland were beautiful and wide. At one pinch point we had to scramble up some rocks to get up away from the waves.

This is an air traffic control for military exercises off Cape Wrath to the west.

There is one chap in Durness who loves Halloween and organises 4 days of events- we had seen it advertised as far away as Ullapool. These are dotted around the village.

These small settlements have Coops and Spars but independent shops still exist.

Often there is a combination of services such as this one - petrol, massage, art!