Miles: 101 Wildlife: three seals and dozens of gannets. Camper Vans: 30+. Steps: 8783.
Cost of pre-bought food: £2 approximately
Extra costs: Bakery £14, Dinner £5.60
With every good intention laid out, today was not the best day of the trip so far. I’ve said throughout my whole blog page that I will be honest and I won’t be stopping now. We woke up early, I had very little sleep and oh hey back pain, to start the day off well. I had a madeleine and custard for breakfast and I think Mr W had a nutrigrain bar. I’m laughing even as I type that.
We made our way up the east coast of Scotland from Wick to John O’Groats. In 2017 we visited Lands End and have waited to reach the ‘other side’ of the UK ever since. Not necessarily a bucket list travel moment, but definitely a big tick off some list that sits somewhere in the back of our minds.
The famous John O’Groats is so much bigger than I thought it would be and arriving at 7:25 meant we were the only ones there. This made taking photos of the famous signpost so much easier. It also meant that using a tripod with a countdown was less nerdy. Although windy, it wasn’t cold and the sun was peeping over the horizon. After waiting so long I’m really happy with how the photos came out. The car park here is £3 for the entire day and you could easily spend a few hours here wandering the coastal trail, eating in one of the many restaurants and buying gifts to take home. We did none of this! The restaurants were not open and we had plans further along the coast.
Ten minutes drive away is the free car park for Duncansby lighthouse from which you can walk to view the Duncansby Stacks.This has long been on Mr W’s list of things to see on the NC500 and I’m happy to say the sun came out for him as we reached the end of the walk. The return walk from the car park, including time to take pictures, took less than an hour. The walk itself is up and over a rolling hill and is easy enough to walk. The view of the pyramidal shaped stacks was pretty spectacular and watching the cliff face change colours as the sun jumped between clouds was really beautiful.
With our stomachs rumbling, we headed back to the car and dug out the wet clothing we had washed at the hotel the night before. We fashioned a washing line in the back of the car and set off back to John O’Groats. Food was on the agenda. On arrival we noticed that the shops and restaurants were now open and a lot more people had arrived. We approached several eateries only to find their food started at 12. Finding this really strange, we were left hungry and disappointed.
Our next stop changed our moods dramatically. Annie’s bakery is a 15 minute drive from John O’Groats and we have been trying to work out how it makes a profit since. Mr W happily heard the word ‘bacon’ and immediately placed an order for a bacon roll in addition to a snickers slice (for later) which was absolutely massive. It is two portions in sizing if not three. I ordered a chicken and chorizo pasty with a very very cute biscoff tart. The whole set up of this bakery is very professional and yet so very welcoming. Two cats approached me as I fell out of the car and my spirit just soared. I do miss my furry buggers when we travel. After ordering the absolutely delicious looking food and buying some trinkets from the shop we sat down to eat in the sunflower decorated conservatory. This place is happy. Yellow bench seating, people turning up in RV’s to park alongside locals. The staff are just so friendly. I returned to the counter to buy some rolls and got talking to the owner, Annie. She opened a wholesaler business in 2013 and just a few years ago decided to open this place and it has become a gem of the NC500. It is honestly such a lovely thing to see someone who is so passionate about what they do excel in a rather large way. I will recommend this place to anyone who comes up to do the NC500. It is a very happy place indeed.
In my search for the unique, I found another very peculiar little gem approximately ten minutes from Annies. As you approach this place you feel like you are trespassing on someone’s driveway. In a way you are. Caithness Smokehouse is on the side of a bungalow in a very quiet rural area. There is one sign pointing you on your way on the main road, another painted sign as you approach the drive and then a more official looking one on the actual building. Throwing caution to the wind, I pressed the ‘Ring’ doorbell and was immediately greeted by a woman in white apron and blue hairnet. She asked what we were looking for. And I immediately felt like I had gotten the wrong impression of this place. I explained why we were there and she said she didn’t have much food left. We briefly discussed what we were interested in and she said she would be back. She turned to open an enormous walk in refrigerator and then appeared with a tray of smoked fish and cheeses. Mr W’s eyes bulged. This was in someone’s back garden! We bought some hot smoked salmon and smoked Orkney cheese and I asked the lady if this was a full time operation. She said that it absolutely was and that they supplied shops all around Scotland. The actual smokehouse was really no bigger than a small bungalow and you’d never know it was there. If you are coming up this way and aiming to try some self catering maybe try here. It is unlike anything else I’ve ever known.
After this little foodie tour, we drove out to Dunnet Head. A lot of people think that John O’Groats is the most northerly point in the UK and yet for some reason this is wrong. It is actually Dunnet Head and it only seemed fitting to add this to our plans. The car park is £1 for two hours and although there is a RSPB site here, I found it to be rather underwhelming. It was interesting enough to watch the gannets torpedo themselves into the sea to catch their lunch and scour the water’s surface for a glimpse of whales and dolphins, but should you need more entertainment, I’m afraid it is not for you. It is, I think, a place to say you’ve been, take the obligatory selfie and then leave. This particular part of Scotland is really quite bare. I would say the time of year we are here, when the ferns are dying back and the heather has spent its purple flowers, is perhaps the least prettiest time to view the moorlands. Saying that, it again is unlike anything else I’ve seen on this planet and therefore should be appreciated for educating our minds.
We had some time to kill before our next stop on the itinerary and as we drove through Dunnet spotted a huge curving beach of almost white sand. Pulling over, we were greeted with Dunnet’s Bay. It is very strange to see something so idyllic amongst the almost harsh landscape of northern Scotland. It feels as if it doesn’t belong. But there it was.
After a brief walk, we joined our tour at the Dunnet Bay Gin Distillery. With trying something new in mind, we approach the 90 minutes with open minds. I can definitely say that I learned something new and found the manufacturing process particularly interesting. The taste testing however was not my cup of tea (gin) and I can confidently say that now I’ve tried botanical gin it is not for me. Mr W was rather fond of two of the flavours and was much better at the tasting than I was. I am glad we went because even though I didn’t particularly find any value in it, a new experience whether it be good or bad is still a new experience. And what can possibly be wrong with that.
I will leave this blog following my own advice. A new experience cannot be met with frustration or disappointment. Today wasn’t the best day on this tour and I’ve been particularly hard on myself for not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I’m reminding myself that not everyone enjoys the same cup of tea nor does everyone require tonic in their gin. Tomorrow is a new day. Who knows where it may lead?
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