The Ham Nomads

14 Jul 2014. <GB-SCT> Dornoch Firth; John o'Groats, & Gills, Caithness —

A slow start. We were in Reed Park, and the tide was low, the ferry not yet running. We took our time, and then when the ferry appeared at about 10am, we went down to get on. This time we were waved away again by a very stroppy deck hand, who said we were too long to fit on board. They say they will take campers with an overhang of up to 3 feet. He didn't even come up to check it, and our overhang is only just 3 feet, but who are we to argue. We turned about and drove along the northern edge of Black Isle, which turned out to be a better option in any case! A lovely drive, and we rejoined the A9 to cross the Cromarty Bridge for points north.

Pulled off to top up oil. Lost our oil filler cap in the drip tray beneath engine, and couldn't retrieve it. Sealed the oil filler with a plastic bag held on with a rubber band. Called in to a couple of garages for assistance. They couldn't get the cap out, nor could they replace it — but they told us that our temporary fix was as good as any! We'll just have to replace the cap when we get to a bigger city, with a VW dealership.

Dornoch Firth Bridge

Driving up the A9 is magnificent. It's mostly along the coast, looking out onto the North Sea. There are a few fairly steep climbs, but Gertie took them in her stride.

We stopped off for lunch at a viewing point near Lothmore. The view was spectacular (again), and we were looking out across the Moray Firth.

Panorama over Stacks of Duncansby

Continued northwards, taking the A9 and then the A99 up to Wick, then on to John o' Groats. When we got there, it was only 4pm, so we drove east to Duncansby Head, giving us good viewing of Muckle Stack and the Stacks of Duncansby, a little reminiscent of the Twelve Apostles in Victoria, but oh so much wilder. The bird life there is amazing, and there were numerous people out for birdwatching. Many were having great difficulty even catching sight of the puffins, but we were lucky — Susie noticed a group of four that had settled on an outcrop on the cliff just below us. Magic!

Satisfied with our time at Duncansby Head, we walked back through the sheep fields (did I not mention the sheep fields?) and away from the stiff winds that were blowing up the cliffs (the soaring birds were relishing these winds; we weren't), back to the lighthouse, back into the van and away.

We may not have told you something magic about Scotland — there is no such thing as trespass! The Scots have a thing called "free roaming", and so long as you do no harm to the environment or the livestock, you are allowed to go onto any open area you want (except for a few places that are too dangerous, or there are security implications — and you need to respect the landholder's right to privacy!) This may be in part why you see so few fences in Scotland — just sufficient to keep the livestock from wandering.

We then drove over towards the Castle of Mey, the late Queen Mother's Scottish residence. It is now open to the public, and we really wanted to check it out. We stopped a couple of miles short, on a layby well off the road just near the village of Gills where the ferries sail for St Margarets Hope in the Orkneys, and settled in for the night, the wind whistling around the van.

The view from our park towards the Isle of Stroma

Distance driven — today, 136 miles ( 219 km ); to date, 4,268 miles ( 6,879 km )