Orkney - Mainland

If you know Orkney then the pictures will need no explanation. Islands littered with Neolithic historic sites and unbelievable coastline to explore. We have crawled into chambered cairns, been down a ladder into another, crossed a tidal causeway to an ancient Viking settlement - complete with sauna and witnessed the most incredible sunset at the Ring of Brodgar. So many programmes have been made about these sites and Dad always said if he could have his time again then he would have chosen to study archeology (as well as engines!) I guess that’s where my interest and intrigue for Orkney came from. To stand looking down on Skara Brae, an incredibly well-preserved Neolithic village complete with furniture is pretty amazing!

Travel is always about the unexpected and the unplanned and this trip has been no different. At the weekend I got to hear the local pipe band parade through the street in Kirkwall and there was also a brilliant car show on in glorious sunshine! Lots of motorbikes, cars and tractors had made the journey from other islands, as well as mainland Scotland plus a few from further south. The weekend also saw an invitation to a local church service and to witness a baptism of two teenage siblings in the sea! Luckily the weather held, the beach was beautiful and it was a privilege to have seen something so special.

Phew! That’s a lot for one week now I sit here and write it down. Next week we hope to island hop to other parts of Orkney.

Mini Munro and Puffins

Although I’m not a ‘Munro bagger,’ we have climbed a few and I couldn’t be this close to the most northerly one without walking it. The slightly stressful bit was driving to the start along a single track, very potholed road! But, we made it and under slightly cloudy skies that the sun could break through at any moment or the heavens could open on us, we set off. There were a handful of other cars parked up so I knew we wouldn’t be alone. 

The first part was straight up on a rocky path next to a waterfall but with great views. After that the path becomes grassier and a little less steep before reaching the rocky ground and a false summit. 

Of course we made it to the summit with no view, but Poppy didn’t seem to mind!

From here we headed to Dunnet Head and had one of our best days so far. We spent pretty much the whole day walking the cliff tops watching the puffins, kittiwakes and skuas diving and soaring. It was so beautiful that we ended up staying there for the night and re-visiting the puffins again at first light. Magical. No photos on the blog as I took them on my other camera, sorry! 

One last stop and walk out to see the Dunscanby sea stacks before it was time to catch our ferry across to Orkney. Our next island adventure is calling…

NC 500

We made it! Scotland. Such a sense of freedom once you cross the border. We stuck to the west coast, driving parts of the NC 500 I hadn’t been to before. The west of Scotland is just another world - wild, rugged, I love it! Because I was driving the western section and heading along the north coast, I was driving against what little traffic there was, as most people travel the route from east to west, meaning they enjoy arguably the most scenic stretch at the end of their journey. 

I had already researched a few stops and walks I wanted to do on the route and on the whole the infamous midges and Scottish weather was on our side! We enjoyed the Falls of Measach, Clachtoll, Balnakeil Bay, the walk to Sandwood Bay, Lochinver, Smoo Cave, Wailing Widdow Falls, Ardvreck Castle and the Bones Caves to name a few of our highlights. The Assynt region is just other-worldly. It reminds me of parts of New Zealand in its dramatic landscapes and despite it being summer, I never found anywhere to be busy. It was always easy to park, to fill up on water and find a quiet spot for the night to ourselves. In fact, I could happily spend the next month in Assynt, but north and east we must go, to the edge of the land!

School is out for Summer

After being postponed in June, we finally walked our 32 mile pier to pier challenge in aid of EACH. 

https://eastangliaschildrenshospices.enthuse.com/pf/julie-wones

As we left Cromer pier it was wet, as we arrived in Mundesley it was even wetter but after reaching Walcott the skies brightened. It didn’t rain again until just after we reached Great Yarmouth when a huge thunderstorm saw us sheltering under the tent at the finish line with our glasses of Prosecco! HUGE thanks to Nikki for saying yes to walking it together and to our personal taxi drivers Sarah and Rachel for getting us to and from the event.

Legs and feet not feeling too bad, so we then left Norfolk in heavy rain (there seems to be a theme here) and started our journey north. As always when I’m in the van I don’t like to have too many things pre-planned or booked. I did however book my ferry across to Orkney and up to Shetland as I’d been told they book up quickly over the summer.

So, we found ourselves in sunshine exploring Mount Grace Priory in Yorkshire. A wonderful setting, surrounded by woodland and then onto the Lakes to walk some Wainwrights in the Far Eastern fells around Swindale. Not as high as the north and western fells but just stunning to be back in the lakes with a blue sky. 

From here we continue north to Scotland, which keeps drawing us back like a magnet!