Category: Tour Diary

Yep, it’s another sort of. Again, I will explain shortly.

Phew, what a day. I’ve basically been circling Morcambe Bay all day. Not always entirely successfully, but I gave it a good bash.

Walney Island was my first stop of the day and I only managed to see the lighthouse from a distance. This was mainly due to the fact that it’s within the grounds of a nature reserve and it was likely that I was going to have to pay to reach it. I ain’t interested in any of that paying business!

Today’s second stop was Rampside, which is the other side of the river from the Walney Island lighthouse. It’s a bit of an odd one, this. It basically looks like a really tall rectangular structure with a pointy roof (imagine a typical house as a child would draw it, but with the main body  being stretched vertically). Different, but in a good way, of course.

The lighthouse at Ulverston is majestically wonderful! It’s on top of a hill overlooking the town and looks absolutely stunning. I decided against walking up as it looked pretty steep!

Morecambe was my next stop and a very non-Jubilee infested place, apparently! The lighthouse is on the end of the town’s Stone Jetty, which was quite nice and the weather was rather pleasant for a stroll. This was also where I fulfilled my long-lasting craving for a pot of tea!

Just down the road is Heysham where there are two lighthouses. I managed to see one of them, which is next to the P&O ferry terminal. The other was not accessible or visible and, I believe, it’s in the grounds of a nuclear power plant. Wasn’t keen on that, so I forgot about that one.

Glasson Dock was also unsuccessful, unfortunately. It is locked (and tucked away, it seems) in a working site, so although I attempted to view it from a number of angles, I just could not spot it. Boo hiss!

Plover Scar is one of those structures that you can access at low tide apparently, but there was no direct road to the beach, so I decided to be content to view it from afar. Can you sense how bothered I was about these smaller guiding lights in harbours and stuff?!

Having said that, I absolutely adored my next stop, Fleetwood. In Fleetwood they love their fishermen and, therefore, their lighthouses. The structures are beautiful (pictured is the taller light which is a little further inland). The whole town has a lovely feel about it. They have lots of memorials to fishermen who lost their lives through their work and I caught sight of a memorial park as I was leaving. I’d love to go back their for another, longer visit in the future. They also have trams!

My final stop of the day was Lytham. Now, the reason I used ‘sort of’ in the title of this post is because I’m going to need to check my research again. I went for a wander and found the building that is apparently now topped by the old lighthouse that used to be on the sand dunes, but I’ve also read a piece about the design of the building, which mentions nothing about the lighthouse. Might need to check my sources again.

So, aside from all of that, the most dramatic event today was narrowly escaping getting 3 points on my licence! I arrived here in Lytham St Anne’s and went to turn into the road I’m staying on and, just as I turned I realised that it said no entry. It just so happened that there was a policeman nearby who came over. He had obviously seen that I was trying to correct my error so he said that he wouldn’t give me a ticket this time, but not to do it again. Oopsy!

Due to these here bank holidays I wasn’t able to find a campsite with space for a small one tonight, so I’m in a B&B. I’m pleased really as I have had a few cold and uncomfortable nights sleep in the tent recently, so I’ll be revived and ready for my (probably) last day of this month-long tour in England. Bring on Wales! 🙂

I woke up in a grumpy mood for the third day in a row today. Turns out camping isn’t comfortable for a few days, then it is and then it isn’t again. Not sure what that’s all about.

So anyway, I left the campsite feeling rubbish and cold. This continued at Maryport where I was blown about looking at the lighthouse (an odd thing) on the end of the pier.

If the wind wasn’t bad enough, I then got to Whitehaven where, apparently, they were having a big old fair/carnival for the Jubilee. So, there I was weaving in and out of the revellers in my hunt for the four, yes four, lighthouses (including the one pictured, which I think looks like it belongs in a circus). They were fairly easy to find, being nicely positioned on the end of each pier.

While I was in Whitehaven I had a glance towards St Bees (just to the south) in the hope that I would have an amazingly clear view of the lighthouse on the headland, but no such luck. The reason I was, in fact, hoping for this was because I knew that to see it properly it was going to involve a walk (and a long one at that).

However, as only a lighthouse-obsessive does, I braved it, not knowing exactly how far it would be. It was somewhat steep to begin with as expected when you walk from a beach to a cliff top. After that it was mainly plain sailing with some good views. What worked in my favour this time though was that I could actually see the lighthouse from about two miles away so that spurred me on. As my avid followers may remember there have been a couple of cases where I have attempted to approach a lighthouse on foot and given up due to the lack of signs of said lighthouse after a certain distance. The lighthouse itself was somewhat unimpressive and, as is common in these parts, a bit rusty. It was worth it for the walk though, which also managed to shake my bad mood. Double success!

After a long walk I was ready for a fair old drive to Haverigg, which is where I now write to you from. I am currently walking back down the sea wall-esque feature from Hodbarrow Point lighthouse. Now, if I thought some of the others I’d seen today looked a bit weathered, then this one is going for full on erosion. It’s rusty and some of the glass panels have smashed. Needless to say, this one is no longer in operation. What surprised me though was that they had a display panel nearby telling you about the lighthouse and showing a picture of it looking somewhat chirpier in the not-so-distant past. Very odd!

Oops, should probably look where I’m going. Nearly stepped in a massive puddle.

Until tomorrow, my friends! 🙂

Firstly, apologies, I managed to miss a lighthouse in my post yesterday. Turnberry lighthouse was a minor failure as I was only able to see it from a distance in the end (I don’t like golf clubs, they tend to come between me and lighthouses a little too often). In an attempt to see it I did a small amount of rock climbing across a beach only to realise that I’d need to do some fairly dangerous additional rock climbing to get anywhere near it. It’s always good to get a bit of exercise though! In the end I just settled for seeing it from a distance from the main road. The most exciting part about that though, was seeing a hare dashing across the road (I got a picture of it in action)!

Anyway, on to today. I stopped at Killantringan lighthouse first thing this morning. It was here that I realised how frequently I managed to only half read signs. There was a nice sign saying ‘Killantringan lighthouse’ near the entrance and I thought ‘oh, that’s lovely’. It was only as I was leaving that I read the second part, which said ‘the grounds are private property’. This was after I’d driven in and parked up, of course. Oh well, no one said anything and I didn’t hurt anyone!

I then drove to the northern point of the final “sticky out bit” of Scottish land to Corsewall Point. Fortunately I did read the signs this time and they told me that visitors were welcome (see, I read to good stuff) and so I visited! The lighthouse itself wasn’t actually open, but I had a bit of a wander around and took some pictures, of course. My last three Scottish lighthouses were all fairly standard style for Scotland.

My final lighthouse in Scotland came in the form of Mull of Galloway. Now this lighthouse was open and I received a certificate for climbing the 115 steps to the top (Ardnamurchan has 152, not that I’m comparing or anything)! Some great views from the top and even though I was told to mind my head as I stepped out onto the balcony I still managed to hit it (I always do that). It’s been rather windy today so I didn’t stay out there long. Anyway, with my certificate and free lighthouse bookmarks in tow, I bid a sad farewell to Scotland. It had been the part of the trip I’d most been looking forward to and it had definitely lived up to my expectations. Although I moaned about the roads and it was a long, long way to drive along the west coast, you can clearly see the change in scenery as soon as you’re back in England. I was welcomed back by the M9, so I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much. I met and saw a lot of people who were enjoying the coast just as much as I was and it’s great that Scotland has managed to maintain its own beauty and character. I absolutely loved it, even some of the single-track roads (just some, mind)!

So now I’m in Cumbria, Silloth to be more precise. It’s windy and the “lighthouse” here (pictured) differs slightly from those I saw earlier in the day. There is another similar structure here, which I will attempt to see on my way back to the campsite this evening.

The next few days are likely to bring a lot of more neglected lighthouses, something I found was the case in north west England during my research. I shall keep you posted! 🙂

Well, it’s been a busy town-hopping day with a brilliant end.

I began today’s journey in Ardrossan where the lighthouse is tucked away behind railings next to a ferry terminal. Nothing too special about that, except it looks a bit neglected in comparison to some of those owned by either the Northern Lighthouse Board or Trinity House.

My second stop was Troon. Troon was fine in itself, again nothing amazing, but I had a horrific experience. I’d just got out of my car to look at a lighthouse and happened to look back at it and saw that there was a bird stuck in the grill at the front with its wings spread. I decided to mull over what to do about it while I went to see the lighthouse. When I returned I knew that what was needed was something to furk (my favourite Isle of Wight word) it out with. A tent peg would be perfectly, surely, and it was. The only problem was that when it fell out it fell onto its back with its wings still spread and it’s little legs stuck up in the air. That made me feel really quite ill, so much so that I couldn’t bring myself to go back and move it from where it had fallen in front of my tyre. So, you can guess the rest. I don’t feel good about it, but there is a certain type of bird that seems to like flying straight in front of the car and away really quickly. I cannot be held responsible for his lack of timing.

Anyway, I then entered a town with the most confusing roads ever: Ayr. I have no idea how anyone actually gets anywhere around it. I happened upon a car park that was going to charge me £3 so I moved on and, really luckily, found a free car park. It was a bit of a walk to the lighthouses there, but it was mostly alongside the river, so rather pleasant.

Girvan was my next stop. Girvan confused me a bit as there was a weird thing on the end of one of the piers that I imagine was once something important for guiding boats using light (who knows?). I’d read that there were two and there was a building in the harbour that had a tower that looked like it might have been a lighthouse. It may have been a good guess or may be completely wrong!

I then happened upon a lighthouse at the side of the road in Cairnryan, which runs alongside Loch Ryan. I wasn’t able to get close, but it’s a lovely place. This also reminds me that I happened upon two more lighthouses that weren’t on my list yesterday (love it when that happens – my usually response is ‘oh, hello you!’).

A short time later I arrived at my final destination of the day, Portpatrick. I managed to find the campsite on my third attempt and also found reception at the campsite on my third attempt (didn’t do very well there). I have an amazing view of Dunskey Castle from my tent and I went on a mini Famous Five-style exploration of it this evening. It was fascinating. It’s just a ruin now, but the moss that’s growing inside gives it a greenish light in places. Stunning! The village/town itself is also wonderful. The lighthouse (pictured) seems to face the village instead of the sea, but it’s beautiful. A really great place that falls into my handful of places I would love to come back to. One of Scotland’s best-kept secrets, in my opinion.

Only three more lighthouses remain before I bid a fond farewell to Scotland. More on this tomorrow! 🙂

I made an executive decision last night, as only I can when it comes to the trip. I mentioned in my post yesterday that the trip to the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse was looming. Well, I did some research (I don’t know how I coped before I had internet access to hand) and discovered that not only is there a long, winding single-track road that goes down 1000 metres, but that once you get to the end of that road you have to walk the rest of the way (steep hills) there and, of course, back. Now, I don’t want to be seen as a killjoy, but I’m not interested in any of that when it’s raining like it is. So, I decided against it (and Sanda island, which is a small island a short drive away).

Crinan was included in my original plan for today anyway. It’s a small village at the north west of the intriguingly-shaped Mull of Kintyre (look it up on a map and you’ll see what I mean). The lighthouse there looks like a fake. It almost looks as if it is part of a kid’s playground, but apparently not. Not only is it actually real, there is the old outer casing of a small lighthouse in someone’s front garden nearby, just rotting away really.

So, I then headed to Tarbet to catch my first ferry of the day. The next lighthouse caused me a few issues. I drove along the road I expected it to be on, but came to a dead end (a.k.a. a private road – they are very common it turns out). So, I decided to walk for a bit to see if I could spot it. Basically, I walked for half and hour and had no idea how much further I had to go, so turned back. It also started to drizzle just after I made the decision, which wasn’t massively appreciated! I decided to drive along the next road up and see if I could spot it. I saw during my walk, from a distance, what looked like a beacon of some kind on a small island just off of the coast, but you just don’t know, do you? Anyway, I had a nice walk and saw some great views, but no official lighthouse-sighting unfortunately.

So I moved on. My next location was Toward Point, south of Dunoon. I had previously decided to avoid the single-track option to get there and head north and then back down again on some sensible roads. However, I got to the junction where my final decision needed to be made and, surprisingly, I went for the windy B-road option. I was pleased in the end as it wasn’t anywhere near as bad some of those from previous days. I actually got up to 40mph for a while (never 5th gear though, not on those roads)!

The lighthouse at Toward was simply lovely and, most excitingly, for sale! It’s a bit of a change from Kilburn, but sometimes change is good! It was a quiet little place (with a private road, of course) and a great change to see yet another lighthouse that looked a little different!

My second ferry of the day took me from Hunter’s Quay to Levan where, just along the road, there is Cloch Point lighthouse. It’s similar to the one at Toward, but is a very different setting, just between the sea and a busy road. Perfect!

I then headed over to Port Glasgow (not actual Glasgow, but a town to the west of the city). I was really looking forward to seeing Perch lighthouse (pictured), which sits just off of the seafront. I love it’s black and white design and, although it looks a bit worse for wear now, it’s just a very lovely little thing. There is also a much thinner, taller version with the same black and white effect a little bit further along. Not quite as appealing unfortunately.

So, that’s been my day. It’s been full of lovely little lighthouses that all have their own style.

That also means that I am now back on the sensible part of mainland UK where there aren’t bits of land jutting in and out all over the place as is the case with much of western Scotland. As I was driving on the busy A8 near Greenock today, I was missing those small roads a little. One road was actually so wide that I had no idea where to position myself. Crazy in comparison to some of the roads to the obscure places! 🙂

I am writing today’s post from the confines of my tent as the rain has, unfortunately, begun. As I passed through Oban on my way to the campsite at Lochilphead it began and it’s been on and off ever since (apparently it’s going to get heavier during the night) so I’ve decided to prepare myself for the evening with all of my supplies and retire to my (hopefully) waterproof home.

I’ve had a lovely day today. It didn’t start off particularly well as I was greeted by a swarm of midges as I opened the tent door. They don’t seem to be biting me yet, but they are lingering ominously. I actually just counted 18 dead ones of the inside of my tent, I’d had enough so I went at them with the midge and mosquito repellant (I just squashed them with the bottle as they’re easy enough to kill). I’ve topped up on Avon’s Skin So Soft replenishing dry oil body spray as everyone seems to recommend it as an unofficial repellent. Fingers crossed it keeps working!

Once I’d left the campsite and midges I drove to the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan. She’s a beauty and contains a visitor’s centre which involves a tour of the top of the lighthouse. It was 152 steps to the top and I almost did it all without stopping. The tour guide wasn’t exactly the most animated of people, just giving brief facts every now and then and barely trying to answer any questions he was asked. He was quite chatty when I was talking to him on my own though. The views from the lighthouse were amazing, it really is a stunning area. My funniest moment of the day though was definitely when we were just heading back down from the top of the lighthouse and two guys asked if they could come up, to which the old guy said ‘have you got tickets’ and they said that they hadn’t, so he just turned them away and said ‘no, you can’t come up’, so they had to walk all the way back down the 152 steps. Brilliant!

While I was waiting for the tour of the lighthouse to begin, I decided to have a cup of tea and got chatting to a brilliant guy. His name is Chris Young and he was previously a social worker until he was diagnosed with a mental health disorder, which forced him to give up work. In an effort to raise awareness of mental health problems, he decided to walk around the coast of Scotland with just his rucksack and a trolley (named Hubert). Inspired by a guy who travelled extensively through Russia, Pakistan and numerous other countries with no money, he decided to do the same (except for a £5 note his partner put in his first aid kit, which he has yet to use). Basically, he’s wild camping most nights and just making the most of people’s generosity. The other night a pub in Applecross (which I fortunately managed to miss – it has the scariest and highest road in the UK according to a couple of sources) held a raffle for him and one morning, when he’d been sleeping in someone’s garden, he was greeted by the lady who owned the house the following morning and was asked if he would like bubbles in his bath. Anyway, you can find out all about him and his journey at http://ow.ly/1sTvOv. I thought I’d do my bit to support his efforts by giving him a lift to the Mull ferry.

In the car park at Ardnamurchan I re-met a guy who had stayed at the same campsite as me last night. As I had arrived I saw him standing there and he said ‘I’m just standing here trying to get signal on my phone, but welcome to the campsite’ and then directed me to the owner. That seemed to be very much his unofficial role at the campsite. I didn’t get a chance to speak to him last night, but found out today that his name’s Michael, he’s from Chester and he was just in the area to chill out. Simple as that!

Anyway, my second stop today was Corran where you can catch the ferry across to Inchree. The reason for my stop here was two-fold. Firstly, there’s a lighthouse at Corran (pictured). She’s lovely. I wasn’t really expecting a full on lighthouse, perhaps just a smaller structure, but I was wrong. It’s a great setting.

Once back on dry land I was delighted to be on a sensible road again! No more single-track road for me today! You really do get around so much faster when you don’t have to worry about winding in and out of mountains and trees or when you might next be faced with a car coming in the opposite direction.

I then stopped at Port Appin. This is another of those smaller places with little lighthouses that no one really speaks about. It was absolutely adorable though and I got some great pictures of the small islands in the loch (one of which had the lighthouse on). Just beautiful!

I am now ready to tackle the Mull of Kintyre tomorrow. Apparently it’s the scariest road to reach a lighthouse in Scotland, zigzagging 1000 feet downhill. Nice! 🙂

Now, this may not look far on a map, but I’m actually staying at Ardnamurchan this evening, so I’ve had a bit of a drive since Ornsay.

So, my day began with the lighthouse at Skye Bridge (pictured). It would be easy to miss it as it’s visible just as you are entering Kyle of Lochalsh from the mainland, but after that there’s no sign of it. I was looking for it though, which always helps. There are a few parking spaces at the east entrance to the bridge and a small gate which leads you to a path. The path takes you under the bridge and gives you a good view of the lighthouse. I’m not sure that I was actually supposed to be there, but I did it anyway!

Once on Skye, I then took another single-track road to Kylerhea where there is a ferry that goes to Glenelg where there is a small lighthouse (see what I did there?) I avoided going on the ferry and saw it from across Kyle Rhea instead as I wasn’t quite ready to leave Skye (Ornsay beckoned). The two men who worked on the ferry tried to tempted me over saying that I’d have a better view over the other side, but I wasn’t having any of it.

Ornsay, being on an island, wasn’t accessible, but I saw it from afar and got a chance to see a cute little village at the same time (it was essentially just a pub, gallery and a few houses). Lovely!

I’ve seen some amazing views on my travels today and taken the time to enjoy them a bit more.

From Ornsay I headed south for the ferry to Mallaig. The ferry journey itself was pretty standard, no hugely amazing scenery, but the weather today has been a bit overcast so it probably didn’t look its best.

I then attempted to reach Ardnamurchan by the shortest possible route, which turned out to be even longer. After about half an hour on this one road I arrived at a road closed sign, along with a few other drivers. However, rather than stand around wondering how to proceed (like they did), I just turned around and drove back. My alternative route was a little more out of the way, but I made it eventually and am all set up for a trip to Ardnamurchan lighthouse in the morning! 🙂

You may be intrigued by the title of this blog, but I will come to that shortly.

First though, on the way to my first stop of the day Little Car had her second bump (or should I say scrape). It was completely my own fault, I thought I was just about clear of a wall as I was turning around, but apparently not. She’s ok and still running fine, just quite scratched and a tiny bit cracked too. I apologised and she seems to have forgiven me.

Rhue was an interesting stop. Firstly, because it was very brief. It’s a tiny little village near Ullapool and there are probably about two roads there, I think. What was most interesting though was that it was the only place I’ve encountered today that was foggy. It was really quite bizarre. I managed to spot the old lighthouse in the mist, so that was fine.

My second stop was Rua Reidh. Now, I know I’ve been harping on about these one-track roads and how scary they are, but today’s just topped them all. It was really quite petrifying as the road, in places, ran just alongside the side of the coast. Luckily I didn’t have to pass anyone. If I had then I might have just stopped, got out of the car and told them to reverse my car into a passing place for me (in reality I probably wouldn’t have done that, but you get the idea). The lighthouse (pictured) was in a wonderful location though and made the scary road seem worthwhile. It’s actually used as a hostel and has a really cute little visitor’s centre, which is mainly focussed around the birds and sea creatures spotted from the lighthouse. Whales and seals had been seen recently!

The drive to my next stop, Neist Point on the Isle of Skye, was going to be a long one so I set up my tent in a campsite a few miles from Skye Bridge (as there didn’t appear to be any/many campsites on Skye itself). On the way here there were two hitchhikers at the side of the road (in different places). I mouthed ‘sorry’ to both of them and the first one seemed fine, but the second one stuck his finger up at me. How very rude and how dare he! Does he not know that a lone female should never trust a hitchhiker? Idiot!

Anyway, I still can’t decide whether it was a good idea to then go ahead to Neist Point, but I did it anyway. However, after driving for 2 hours I finally got there at about 7pm to find that the lighthouse wasn’t visible unless you walked somewhere (it wasn’t clear which way), so I decided to leave it, enjoy the scenery for a bit and then head back to the tent. So, I’ve techincally been in the same area as Neist Point lighthouse, I just haven’t seen it!

Tomorrow I head back to Skye to check out the lighthouse under the bridge and then south. Fingers crossed I will also reach Ardnamurchan, which absolutely everyone tells me is simply beautiful. Watch this space! 🙂

It’s been a proper adventure today! The main reason, of course, is the Cape Wrath excursion. I only managed the two lighthouses today because the journey to Cape Wrath with a bit of an epic one.

For the fourth time in a week, I was forced out of the tent by the heat. So I was up at 7.30 and ready to leave the campsite at 9.15 (after lingering a bit), but the first boat for Cape Wrath didn’t leave until 11. Anyway, I decided to go ahead and find the place, which was easy enough, and just hang out there for a while. So, I did! I was, of course, the first there, but noticed that there was another car there (I just assumed someone had gone for a walk).

The trip to Cape Wrath is a little long and begins with a trip by small boat across the Kyle of Durness. This was a short, but beautiful little ride, which was entirely uneventful (fortunately, as I can’t swim). Once we got over the other side we had to get a minibus to Cape Wrath, taking around 40 minutes. One of the main reasons the road is closed to the public is because it’s used as a firing range by the MOD, so it’s understandable that they don’t want any old Tom, Dick or Harry driving about.

So, we had all climbed into the minibus and were ready to go when the driver realised the battery was dead (the interior lights had been left on all night). Out came the jump leads and, with the help of the second minbus, we were on our way. I won’t lie and say it was a smooth journey, because it was quite the opposite. So, we bounced along all the way to the lighthouse (pictured), stopping occasionally so the driver could tell us a bit about the area. It was a lovely quiet place, which is understandable due to its remote location, aside from the sound of the air being compressed into massive containers ready to be used for the foghorn should it become necessary (I learnt all about that at the Scottish lighthouse museum, you see).

We had an hour to look around and stop in at the cafe if we wanted to before we bounced even more back to the boat (and it certainly felt more bouncy than it did on the way there). Halfway back we stopped and picked up a man who had been walking. It turned out the car I had seen this morning that was there before me belonged to him and he’d taken the boat across and the bus to the lighthouse the day before and camped there overnight. He’d just made the decision to go yesterday, so he did. Simple as that!

I followed this expedition up with another bash at one-track roads. I actually dislike them a lot, but this afternoon wasn’t so bad as I had someone in front of me who was just as cautious as me. Perfect!

The campsite I am at tonight is just north of Lochinver, about 20 minutes drive to Stoer Head. I went there earlier this evening just as everyone was clearing out for the day. I’m just constantly amazed by how beautiful the coast is and continues to be. Just when you think you’ve seen the most amazing scenery you come across something else. I started walking to the Old Man of Stoer (a big stack off of the coast), but didn’t end up walking far enough. The lighthouse was great though. It had some sheep thrown in for good measure. There are so many sheep around here! 🙂

Last night I managed to avoid accepting wine from a stranger. It was another man on a campsite (younger this time, but still pretty middle-aged). They’re just getting irritating now!

Anyway, my very exciting first stop today was Duncansby Head near John o’Groats. It’s the most north easterly you can get on mainland UK. There were plenty of cyclists around either starting or finishing their Lands End to John o’Groats (or the other way around) cycle. There were actually four guys who had just completed it when I arrived at the main tourist part of John o’Groats and they celebrated by jumping off of the pier. Lovely! Anyway, the lighthouse was in an amazing location. There was some great coastal scenery going on there! Big old coves full of really noisy birds and the dramatic Stacks of Duncansby, two huge pointy rocks sticking out of the sea. I have no idea how the coast managed to get in that state, but it looks amazing!

My next port of call was Dunnet Head (pictured), which actually marks the most northerly point of mainland UK, but not so well-known as John o’Groats. It’s a great little lighthouse with some fantastic surrounding views. My most amusing moment of the day happened as I was driving up the road to the car park. Suddenly this sheep, shortly followed by a lamb, came galloping down the road towards me. It was hilarious. I stopped the car, just to be on the safe side, but she just carried on running past the side of the car with the little lamb behind her. Brilliant!

My third stop was disappointing, but I knew it would be. Holburn Head is in Scrabster, just north of Thurso. Unfortunately, the lighthouse is in an area owned by Cunard (or one of those big companies), so I was only able to see it from a distance.

Finally (but by no means the end of my journey today, was Strathy Point. It was a bit of a walk to the lighthouse here through a grassy area full of sheep (and really cute lambs). You get some amazing views of the coast towards the west and the shapes of the rocks and coastline were brilliant!

My most epic journey today was the drive from Strathy Point to Durness. I’m staying the night in Durness so I’m ready to cross the Kyle of Durness and get the minibus to Cape Wrath in the morning. The road is fine up until a certain point when it becomes a one-track road with passing places and too many over-confident drivers for my liking. I’m not afraid to admit it was a bit scary and I did pull over a few times to let some crazy motorcyclists fly past. I made it here in one piece though! Success! 🙂