Zagan the motorhome is glad that we don’t use film in our cameras these days, as he would be weighted down by the sheer number required for this stretch of our tour of the NC500 by motorhome. We’ve driven from Dunnet Head to Durness and as we took soooo many photos, I’ll let them tell the story.
We were up before dawn to enable us to drive to Thurso and join in the Parkrun there. It’s the most northerly Parkrun on the UK mainland – here’s Jay warming up for it.Parkruns in Scotland start at 9.30am, or, as in this case, once they have de-iced and gritted the route! Good job they did as there was lots of black ice. It was great having a chat with a local teacher as I ran round – Jay came second so I think he kept his talking to after the finish!After the Parkrun, it was time to hit the NC500 and drive from Thurso to Durness. The road started out mainly straight…then we got some curvy bits…before it went to a single track with passing places and full on wiggles! The autumn colours made the scenery around us just stunning.As soon as we got to single track, we hit rush hour! Seriously though we probably saw more sheep on the road than vehicles – a big advantage to doing the NC500 out of season (that and the lack of midgies)We stopped for lunch on a causeway over the Kyle of Tongue – and looked out over the snow capped mountains.A jetty leading into the Kyle of Tongue and more snow covered mountains (pointy ones this time), we couldn’t think of a better lunch spot.Reaching Loch Eriboll we pulled over to take in the view (and read the information board)Loch EribollDriving down the East side of the Loch a rainbow appeared. That can only mean one thing…as we drove back up the West side, the heavens opened.Luckily every passing place had a pot of gold in it!Nearing Durness we started to glimpse the beautiful beaches we’d heard about in this part of Scotland.So you can imagine how happy we were to park up at Sango Sands Campsite and have a view like this out of our windscreen.Sango Sands Campsite in Durness (N58.56964, W4.74177) is officially closed, but for £9 a night you can use it like an aire. You have a pitch, use of the service point and electric hook-up.
After arriving and a chat with Tosca and Dave our neighbours, we went for a walk down onto the beach. Sadly, a dead baby seal had been washed up. We avoided going too close, but back in the village we saw a poster for the Scottish Marine Rescue hotline so rang and reported it. It brought back memories of the time we had to tow out the Italian Coastguard after they got stuck on a beach trying to rescue a dead porpoise.With fairly clear skies we were treated to a beautiful moon rise from our windscreen.We decided to stop for two nights in Durness, so today we set off for a walk to Faraid Head – sadly we turned off the main road before we reached the chocolaterie!We didn’t mind walking among the fields of sheep and bunny rabbits, but we were a tad concerned when we had to walk past big cows and possibly bulls (they were huge even when sitting down!)There was also a huge field full of Barnacle Geese who would take off in large groups creating a racket of noise, before landing back in the same place. The old church and graveyard at Balnakeil, resting place of the Gaelic poet Rob Dunn, John Lennon’s Aunt Elizabeth Parkes and Donald MacLeod who is said to have murdered 18 people and disposed of their bodies in nearby Smoo Caves. When the church was being rebuilt MacLeod paid £1000 to be buried in a vault within the church – one of the few parts of it left standing today.Right next to the church is a huge beach!Across the Kyle of Durness from the beach you can see Cape Wrath – the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain.Hang on, who is that on our beach? Yes it’s a busy sunny Sunday here in Balnakeil!Ringed Plovers flitted around the beach in small flocks.Eventually we reached the end of the beach. A final look out across the Cape Wrath before we turned inland to climb up to a cairn on the Faraid Headland.A kilometre uphill later and we’re rewarded with a stunning view back over the headland towards the snowy peaks of Ben Loyal. Behind us is a military observation zone used to watch training bombings of Cape Wrath!We followed the road back to Durness, and just as the sun went behind the clouds and the temperature dropped, we reached the chocolaterie – home of the best hot chocolate. Perfect timing to warm us up after a 17km walk, and with melted chocolate drizzled over the cream, just what we needed to get us back to the campsite.If you are planning on your own trip to Scotland and you like a wee tipple – you might want to take note of the minimum prices for alcohol that came in last year. This was a poster in the local Spar (which is closed on a Sunday!).
As I have been typing this a gritter has driven past the campsite, it looks like it will be another cold one tonight. We have our small electric heater on in the van, so we are toasty warm. Tomorrow the weather is set to change and we start out journey south towards home. We’re going to have to miss out some of the other bits of the NC500, as we have to be back in Nottingham by the weekend. However, we’ve loved it up here, so we know we’ll be back to explore more of this part of Scotland.
Ju x
https://ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_20191109_115600063_HDR-1024x576.jpg5761024Jasonhttps://ourtour.co.uk/home/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Header-Teal-NB-300x57.pngJason2019-11-10 18:56:032019-12-02 20:11:18Dunnet Head to Durness – The NC500 by Motorhome
We buy Scotch in Mexico. Yes, imported from Scotland. And sure, it’s a blend but it’ quite nice and drinkable. A 700 ml bottle costs the equivalent of £4.90!
Beautiful photos of the countryside.
We buy Scotch in Mexico. Yes, imported from Scotland. And sure, it’s a blend but it’ quite nice and drinkable. A 700 ml bottle costs the equivalent of £4.90!
Haha! We were wondering how cheaply Scotch could be bought abroad too, although we’d never guess it was that cheap in Mexico! Cheers, Jay