Miles: 205 Wildlife: one bouncy deer and cormorants. Camper Vans: 30+. Steps: 11652.
Cost of pre-bought food: £3.24 approximately
Extra costs: Breakfast £16, Cocoa mountain £11.40, Dinner £24
Today something kind of special happened.
We cancelled our first plan and the world didn’t implode. After a pretty crappy night’s sleep and wanting to arrive earlier at our accommodation this evening we made the choice to have a decent breakfast, at Tesco (haha), and spread our day out on a kinder schedule.
With bellies full of coffee and tasty hot food we arrived at our first destination by 10am. With a very short walk from the car we approached Tarbat Lighthouse as the rain clouds chased away the morning sunrise. Having invested in a drone Mr W and I took the extra time to perform our third test flight. Very aware of the regulations concerning flying drones near people and cars, we landed ‘Marv’ on the path with us as a couple approached with their pooch. Obviously I asked if I could say hello and black Lab ‘Malt’ gave me a slobbery hello in return. The couple were interested in our photography and asked where we were from and where we would be going in Scotland. We said all the way up and the man said, ‘oh up to Shetland?’ You learn something new every day. Down in Essex, all the way up means to the top of mainland Scotland. But here, it means Orkney and the Shetland Islands. The woman told us she lives nearby and the loop around the lighthouse was their dog walking route. I mean…! The man, unfortunately we didn’t get their names, was dressed in a red coat which had stitching that said he was part of an arctic expedition in 2007. Absolutely crazy who you meet on your travels isn’t it? People here are so friendly! We said goodbye as they said the weather could turn any minute.
Playing the director while Mr W drove the drone was fun and helped us see our surroundings from an eagle eye perspective. The lighthouse itself is beautiful and with a free car park you can’t go wrong. On the road that leads through Tain there was a field lined with haybales and then sunflowers, as they danced in the wind I felt my mind lift from its tired slumber. As we drove on to our next stop a deer ran alongside our car and I felt the thrill of the wildness of this country.
We made a brief stop in Dornoch to try the hot chocolate at Cocoa Mountain, tasty if you need a sugary pick up, and then made our way onto Dornoch beach. The beach is found if you drive right through the town, which is absolutely beautiful, as we have found other little towns along our route to be. The beach is famous for its seal watching and I was eager to ‘cop a squat’ and look out to sea. It became pretty clear really quickly that the chance of seeing the seals was very small. The water was very shallow and the seals would be swimming quite a way out if they were there at all. I took the opportunity to step into the North Sea for the first time in my life and as the cool waters washed over my tired feet I felt the disappointment leave my mind. There are just some things you can’t control. I spent a while watching the sunlight reflect on the wet sand and wandered back to the car. Feet numb I snuggled into my seat and directed Mr W to the next stop.
Now, in the most recent of years have seen some waterfalls and now I have seen Big Burns Falls. The falls are ferocious and crash down between two huge rock walls and make a dramatic display at the end of the wooden walkway which juts out over the plunge pool. Are they impressive? Absolutely. Was it the best part of the walk? No. On our way to Wick from Inverness we stopped by Big Burns Falls because I am in love with waterfalls. If you follow the postcode of KW10 6RS and turn left immediately after the Golspie Inn you will find a small free car park. The walk in total takes approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. I advise you to allocate at least 90 minutes. The walk itself is reasonably easy with some semi-steep walkways, uneven steps and muddy paths. The humidity on a sunny day is quite remarkable. But honestly, I am obsessed with one section of this walk.
About two thirds of the way into the route there is a wooden bridge across the river which presents you with an absolutely magical spectacle. There is an entire wall of vibrant mosses with hundreds of individual trickles and droplets playing chase through and over them. This wall of water is absolutely mesmerising. I stood for a very long time before and beneath this natural masterpiece and although soaked after the light shower I would have stayed all day. Never before have I experienced something so magical and beautiful in my life. I felt that should I wish for it, a droplet could land upon me and make my dreams come true.
And just there is where I will leave you with our story from today. Come back tomorrow, won’t you?
Framework Travel 