Well it was supposed to be but we decided to stop at Aviemore on the way up, just for the one night, them headed to Nairn for a walk along one of the nicest beaches anywhere before going to Culloden for a walk through the battlefield. Reading all the literature it seems strange that we are still making the same mistakes today.

 

After a breezy night at Ardtower Caravan Park, which is excellent, it was time to get on the route and head up the East coast.

No sooner were we heading North that we decided on a small diversion to the Black Isle, which is neither Black or an Isle, but the chance of seeing Dolphins was too great for us and off we headed. We walked along the beach in 40 mph winds but the sensible Dolphins stayed well and truly under the waves. Our stop for the evening was at Dornoch Firth Caravan Park, 6 pitches for caravans/motorhomes and about 30 statics, probably one we wouldn’t go back to.

An early start next morning for the drive to John O Groats. It’s an easy drive with good roads and plenty to see. John O Groats is where all the tourist flock for “the picture” under the sign but a few miles up the road is Duncansby Head with it’s lighthouse and sea stacks and less tourists, in fact we had it to ourselves.

Heading West along the North coast you come to a sign for Dunnet Head which is the most Northerly point on mainland uk, well worth the effort to get there to watch the waves crashing into the cliffs and seeing the remains of old radar stations. We stayed the evening at The Halladale Inn which serves excellent food and is dog friendly. The site attached is new and some work is still being done with a new shower/toilet block getting built. We will use this one again, a very friendly welcome.

The drive from Melvich to Durness is fantastic, with sea lochs, cliffs and views round every turn. I read on some forums where people were saying just to go up the West coast then back down again, they are missing out on so much.

Our stop for the evening was the Sango Sands Oasis camp site, I have never had a pitch with such a view. Being March all the facilities were not open but we had electricity, water and waste disposal for 9 pounds a night, absolute bargain. You can walk down to the beach from the site.

Before moving on next day we backtracked a little to visit Smoo Caves, again we had the place to ourselves.

Today we were going to head for Ullapool down the West coast, the views are to die for, round each corner is something different, the most annoying thing are tourist parking in the passing places to take pictures, there really is no need as there are plenty of view points. One of the best roads I’ve ever driven. It helps having a co pilot who can watch for oncoming traffic so you can concentrate on the road ahead. Lots of sheep and deer on this section so we took our time. We stayed in the car park of The Royal Hotel, who were happy to have us for 10 pounds a night, and we were more than happy to have a bar meal.

The final section saw us following the coast road around to Gairloch, Kinlochewe, Shiedaig and Lochcarron before heading onto Skye for the night (another small diversion) Our plan was to have a few nights on the island but the weather closed in and it was damp and dreary so next day headed for Loch Lomond, but you can’t drive past Eilean Donan castle without a picture!!

It was still “out of season” when we went so didn’t have a lot of choice of sites we could stay at, next time we will go when it’s a bit warmer and we will have more choice. We really do have one of the most beautiful countries in the world.