North Coast 500, Scottish Highlands

On Friday morning we took a ferry from Stromness on Orkney to the tiny village of Scrabster in the north of Scotland, then a taxi to the train station at Thurso where we boarded a train for Inverness. I slept most of the way after getting quite travel sick on the ferry. 

We picked up our rental car (free upgrade to a brand new BMW, still had a new car smell!) and began our travels on the North Coast 500. The NC500 is a loop around the north of Scotland, mostly following the coast. 

Highlights have included: 

Culloden Battlefields where I leave about the Jacobites and the impact of this battle on Scottish life. The nearby Clava Cairns and standing stones was also very interesting.

Visiting a farm shop that had pet Highland cattle, we've seen many in paddocks and they're a focus for many souvenirs.  

The beautiful town of Dornoch was a random find but a lovely pub lunch and charity shop. We never found the yarn shop that I'd seen a sign for and caused us to enter the town.

Dunrobin Castle was our original lunch focus but given the crowds when we arrived it became just a quick photo stop and we were glad we'd spent the time in Dornoch instead.

Dunnet Head is the most northern point on mainland UK.

John O'Groats is a lovely spot, the most northerly village on mainland UK.

This deserted castle, on the edge of a cliff was fun to explore, I love how it's perfectly normal to walk through farm paddocks to get to historical sights.

Taking the coastal, one lane roads took much longer to get to Ullapool but the reward was a water view around each corner.

Very impressed by one farm's stone fences that had been recently restacked.

Lots and lots of sheep on the roads today, many villages had cattle grids to keep them out.

We've seen warning signs for sheep, deer, otters, children and elderly people crossing but this sign was a first. Sadly we didn't see any pigs or piglets. 

Orkney

We arrived in Kirkwall, Orkney on Saturday afternoon and immediately headed north to Birsay, so I could begin the Way of St Magnus pilgrimage. The weather forecast for later in the week was looking very wet and windy (this proved true). Thus began two days of lots of walking through the countryside. 

Monday was a bit different, we headed to Egilsay, the island where St Magnus was killed. It took two ferries to get there and three to get back again. 

First we went to Roussay, which supposedly has 150 ancient sites but only a couple were open to the public and they involved walking down steep paddocks, so we didn't see any.

Then another ferry to Egilsay, there are only three a day and the middle one is by booking alone as only 25 people live on the island. 

The St Mangus Church that was built when so many pilgrims started coming to the island, it's been unused for many years. 

Half the island is a bird preservation area.

The site where St Magnus was killed.

We were the only passengers from Wyre to Roussay!

I was intrigued by a tractor and trailer waiting for our first ferry. It turned out only the trailers and farmer went to Roussay, where they were met by another farmer with his own tractor. The process was reversed when we went back, so I had a chat to the farmer and found out he'd been dipping sheep for the day. He was happy to answer my questions about farming on Orkney. Cattle are kept in barns for eight months of the year, so different to Australian farming.

Tuesday I concluded my pilgrimage by walking to the St Magnus Cathedral, where the bones of St Magnus are. They also show a short film about his story and how it came to be built. 

Heather fields have been a feature of our travels in Shetland and Orkney, often it's on top of peat.

Seals!

Wednesday was about exploring the south of the main island. I was very impressed by The Italian Chapel, built by Italian prisoners of war, using recycled materials. 

The main work of the Italian prisoners of war was to make the Churchill Barriers, to protect the British fleet during WW2. As well as creating a barrier against submarine attack, they also provided roads to connect the islands to the mainland.

Thursday was all about neolithic sites (and extremely strong wind). I thoroughly recommend Historic Scotland's free ranger talks, both one hour talks I went to were exemplary. 

Stones of Stennes

Skarra Brae, it was incredibly windy (32 miles per hour was recorded whilst I was there). They closed the site just after I left, as they feared people might fall into the ruins. 

The Ring of Brodgar.

Tonight we sleep on a ferry as we're heading to mainland Scotland.