greenroads: June 4/5 Heading North...to Thurso, John O'Groats, Dunnett Head, Orkney (Stromness)

We left Craigside early to make our way up to Orkney. The Orkney Islands are home to Ann's friend Alton and we were very excited to head up there and meet up with him. But the journey there was very interesting in it's own right. We stopped to see the Royal Dornoch Golf Club but didn't play it. It's a famous and old links course written about by John Rubenstein. Okay, well...what can I say...John wanted to see it.

Gorse, gorse and more gorse. Gorse thrives in poor growing conditions as witnessed by us all over the highlands. Farmers seem to hate it but we thought it was quite pretty in yellow bloom all over the place.

Peat bog fire! We saw the smoke for miles and once we got close we could feel the heat and the whoosh of it when we opened the window. We were near to John O'Groats and found out that shortly after we had passed, the road was closed. These peat bog fires are very hard to put out since the peat is underground and the fire spreads down below. I am not sure how it all ended.

John O'Groats gets all the credit but it is not actually THE MOST NORTHERN POINT in Scotland. But it is where the action happens and you have to get your picture taken here.

Smoke from the fire at John O'Groats

Driving from John O'Groats to Dunnett Head (the true most northern point in Scotland) we came across Castle Mey, an isolated but charming property saved by the Queen's Mum in 1952. We did not do a tour since we were there too late in the day but approaching the castle we could see its charm.

After leaving Castle Mey we drove to Dunnett Head a very isolated but beautiful peninsula with views of Orkney. This is truly the most northern point of mainland Scotland.

Windy and cool....no sitting up!

Thurso is a small town near Scrabster where we were going to catch the ferry to the Orkney. We were not long realizing that Orkney is never called Orkneys even though they are more than one Island. This was another great Bed and Breakfast with modern plumbing ensuite and a king size bed. A short walk to town got us a great dinner. It is so easy to walk to town almost every where we went.

On board the Hamnavoe Ferry we were quite comfortable. It was quite luxurious to tell you the truth and for an hour and a half I spent most of the time admiring the rugged coastline with all my outwear on and my hood up. Loved it!