DAY 12

Friday June 3rd 2016                                                               

Inverness to Gills Bay                                                                Miles 156

Today was a pretty straightforward driving day – eventually. At the start I was hindered by ferries that weren’t there and grey skies and rain.  But the day got better.

Inverness is a fine city, bridging between Loch Ness to the south west and the Moray Firth to the north east.  The two stretches of water are joined by the Caledonian Canal, which effectively means that, with Loch Linnhe and Loch Lochy giving access to Loch Ness from the south, Scotland is effectively dissected by water.

Moray Firth at Inverness

Leaving Inverness by the bridge with Beauly Firth to your left and the Moray Firth to the right I followed the A9 going north. My objective was to turn off onto the Black Isle and take the ferry from Cromarty to Nigg.  This would keep me on the coast and save 20 miles of the A9.  The Black Isle is as beautiful as I expected it to be.  It is rural farming land with wonderful views.   My drive was from Munlochy, to Rosemarkie and then on to Cromarty, which is at the point where the Cromarty Firth empties into the North Sea, with Nigg approximately 1 mile across the water.  I asked a friendly gentleman I saw leaving the newsagents as to how I could get to the ferry dock.  ‘Well the ferry ramp is straight down the road, you can’t miss it.  However, I don’t think the ferry is running just yet.’  ‘But their web site says they are operating from the first week of June. ‘ I replied.  ‘Och, that maybe is what it says, but I think they have decided to wait another week.’  Well whenever it is they are deciding to start, it certainly was not today.

Cromarty (sans ferry)

The Cromarty Firth has a number of oil rigs “resting” so maybe with the downturn in that industry, business is slower for the ferry.  I generated some extra business for the oil industry by having to make a 30 mile diversion – perhaps that is the aim to resurrect their business!  When I eventually got close to the Tarbet Peninsular and Nigg, where the ferry was supposed to go to, the cloud base had fallen dramatically and rain was threatening, so pictures were not worth taking. 

I drove on up the Cromarty Firth on the A9 until I reached Tain and the bridge over the Dornoch Firth.  There are some wonderful beaches here and the famous Glenmorangie whiskey distillery.  As it was now raining hard, I had driven 30 unanticipated extra miles and I don’t like whiskey anyway, I did not stop.  I am planning to try some at the distilleries on Islay, later.  “You can’t be a real Scotsman” I hear you cry, but my Father and most of his family also did not like Scotch.  I am determined to try and find out though why other people rave about it.

I’ve commented before about some of the funny names that I have been noticing on my drive  Today on the Black Isle I passed a place called Jemimaville and later passed a place called Arabella.  Neither names seem appropriate or expected for deepest Scotland.

The rain now started to fall very heavily and all the cars had on their fog lights.  We were definitely on the coast road and there would be occasional glimpses of the North Sea a few yards away on the right.  The only colour once again was from the very prolific and abundant gorse.  In some places the bluebells were also in full bloom – finished already in the south of England.

On the hard at Wick

The coast road eventually took me to Wick and I decided to stop in the harbour and have some lunch.  Within 10 minutes of parking, the clouds lifted, the sun came out and the temperature began to rise quickly.  As I made a cup of tea an elderly couple came up and talked to me.  They lived now close to Wick but had previously lived in Devon.  She was Scottish and he was a Devonian.

I stopped again to take a picture of the coast and found myself alongside another of the very prominent cemetery’s that appear to be common in this area.  Looking at some of the grave markers, so many of them were for children and where there were family plots, most of them had names of children who died in infancy, or while still young, some just teenagers.  We have only had antibiotics for about 50 years and no doubt many of these children died of infection.  This reminded me of a story from my wife’s family, who at the end of the 19^th century had emigrated to Canada.  A second-generation daughter decided to leave Canada during the dust bowl era and with her husband and children moved to Devon where here parents had come from.  Within a year of being in England all 8 of her children died, in a 3 month period, due to a diphtheria epidemic.  (I can’t imagine how anyone could get over the loss of all ones children?). How times have changed, thanks to pharmaceuticals and improvements in the health care system.  But, today, there are new concerns being expressed that we may be facing epidemics from bacteria that are resistant to most antibiotics.  Potentially we could be moving back to those days when infections were feared.

Typical cemetery (near John O Groats)

At the top of my Journey

At last I reached the top of the world, or at least the top of Britain, John O’ Groats.  There is actually very little here, only the famous signpost and a few merchants.  Just on the edge of the village is a collection of purpose built wooden chalets that seem to be offering a place for retreats.  There is a passenger ferry here that will take you to the Orkneys and provide what looks to be an extensive bus tour of the Islands and sites of interest.    I have booked to go on it tomorrow.  I had planned to take my car on the ferry from Gills Bay, but it was already full and even though I could get on the wait list, there was no guarantee of my getting on the ferry.  This then decided me that I would have a day without the car and give myself a break from driving.

The post is the famous marker and points to a few places around Britain and the world with the mileage distance.  I was fascinated to see that the post showed Lands End as being 846 miles and Orkney at 8 miles.  A second marker on the wall of the harbour, no more than 20 yards away, showed Lands End as 848 miles and Orkney, 6 miles.  I think I will take the post as being the most accurate – if only because it is the more famous.

Mark Howell from Taunton -LE to JOG in only 7 days!

Over the next hour a number of people arrived by bicycle, sports car and motorbike and all went up to “claim” their arrival at the post.  Only the cyclists though had travelled from Lands End.  I was distinctly humbled by two young doctors from Taunton, Mark and Ian, who had completed a ride from Land’s End on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Society.  They had done the journey in only 7 days.  Incredible, I am on day 12 of my journey, I started 250 miles further north of Lands End and I am in a car.  Of course I am taking the longer route around every nook and cranny, however, to cycle that far in only 7 days is a tremendous feat.  Over 100 miles per day, starting at 4.00am each day.  They had been sleeping in bivvy bags (a bit like a body bag), behind hedgerows and one night apparently in a graveyard.  I made a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society because of their achievement.

Past John O’Groats is Duncansby Head lighthouse and just beyond three huge sea stacks, which are a three quarter mile hike but well worth seeing.

My B&B for the next two nights is excellent and considerably better than a hotel.  It is smart and very clean, with a separate sitting room and my Hostess, Ethel, promises me a good English breakfast in the morning.  My AirBnB places for the last 2 nights have also been good, especially last night in Inverness with retirees Jim and Jean.

I am concerned about finding places to stay on my three nights in the highlands, as these are fairly remote places.  I may yet still end up sleeping in the car.  At least I have a stove and food if necessity strikes!

Food tonight was at the Seaview Hotel in John O’Groats.  I can only call it just passable, but with a huge failing grade on presentation.  I ordered chicken curry.  What I received was long strips of chicken breast placed on top of rice and chips with (allegedly) a curry sauce poured over it.  I don’t think that there had been any attempt to cook the chicken with the sauce.  The room had a snooker table in the middle around which local, very loud, youths would play while shouting at each other.  Unfortunately it seems to be the “only place in town”.  Two ladies on the table next to me were equally unimpressed.  I’ll bring sandwiches next time.

Tomorrow will be a day of history (pre-history even, back to 4000BC).