Due to the loss O' mobility for a day, we didn't get a chance to drive up to the top O' Scotland. To compensate for this, and still end up at Aberdeen, we decided to start early, and drive long. So, at Crack O' Dawn we set off for John O' Groats.
We arrived there quite early, and couldn't find anybody who would sell us a coffee. We had breakfast we made ourselves out O' the leftovers of yesterday's dinner, and ate this at the car.
Ham and cheese in a very nice bread. Simple and filling. But not warm, and the day was misty and cold.
There was an unusual monument at John O' Groats, which supposedly represents stormy waves and large stones. Apparently, there is a tidal bore right off the point here with the fastest moving currents anywhere in the world.
It throws these boulders around like beach pebbles!
It seems we are now 874 miles from Lands End. When we get to Lands End, maybe there will be another signpost to confirm this distance.
Two people standing one at Lands End and one at John O' Groats are supposed to be as far apart as it is possible to be, while remaining in mainland Britain.
One O' the reasons I went to John O' Groats, is because just north O' there, lie the Orkney islands. In the middle O' which is the great natural harbour called Scapa Flow. Used by the Royal Navy, my father served there in the war.
As a ship's engineer, he made several "Fast Russian" convoys from Scapa to Murmansk. On the last O' these (last for him, anyway), his ship (the San Calisto) was torpedoed or mined, and he spent an hour in the frigid North Sea before being rescued by a mine sweeper. He and another sailor were discovered clinging to an oil drum, and their hands were so frozen, they had to be lifted out O' the sea complete with the drum, and their hands slowly warmed until they could release the drum.
They are very lucky to have survived, because the life expectancy in those waters was three minutes. Fortunately, their ship was a tanker, so they were covered in a thick layer O' insulating oil, which helped them retain bodyheat.
I'd hoped to see the Orkneys, but it was so foggy I could hardly find our own car! But then it cleared a little, and I was able to see Stroma. Stroma isn't strictly a part O' the Orkneys, but it's the best I got, so I'll have to be satisfied with that.
Next, we went to Dunnet Head, which is the northernmost point on mainland Britain. It was very foggy and we didn't get much of a look at the lighthouse there.
From there, we went through Thurso to Coldbackie, and turned south, to Altnaharra, which is, I'm told, the coldest place in Scotland. I can believe it. They wouldn't sell us coffee either.
Heading south for Inverness (again) we saw much scenery similar to what we'd seen elsewhere, but today with added fog/mist. And everywhere the heather (must be!).
But today for the first time, as we drove south through the misty highlands, I also noticed the national flower of Scotland: the Thistle.
Avoiding much of Inverness, we headed south west, along the north coast of Loch Ness. Plenty of lovely scenery, but very difficult to find a place to stop the car to take a photo. The stopping places provided are all equipped with a dense, tall thicket of bushes that make photography impossible. I did get a couple of shots as we went south...
...including one that clearly indicates the presence of a large, submarine creature of some sort.
At the very south western end we were able to take a photo looking up the length of the loch,
And so, to our BnB for the night. And we are tired!
No comments:
Post a Comment