Pics from the top: Oil platforms in Cromaty Firth; Typical countryside with a church, an oil platform top and The Black Isle in the background; a lapwing in flight; the Still Room at Glen Morangie Distillary.
Day 47 - Thu May 21st. Another bright start to the day, and we set off in the car before 9 to drive the 25 miles to Dingwall. It was interesting seeing our route from this angle, and it didn't look very inviting for walkers. However, the countryside was looking nice in the fair weather and visibility was good. Showers were forecast. We had about 23 miles to do during the day, following the length of the Cromarty Firth to Tain, on the east coast. Unlike yesterday, the route was on minor roads defined as a cycle route, so it was a great deal more pleasant with lots of variety.
The route took us up through some suburbia, the out onto farmland a couple of hundred feet above the Firth and the A9, affording us great views of the water and the Black Isle. The Isle is not an island and is not black, but a very fertile peninsula stretching out to the North Sea between the Moray and Cromarty Firths. Cromarty Firth is a centre for servicing the oil and gas industry, so you could see huge platforms standing out in the water. The countryside here is gentle and varied and very pretty. Down low, it is farms with cattle, sheep and horses, then higher up the hill, there tends to be forest, and at the top, at about 1,000 feet, heather moor. So there was much to enjoy as we put one foot in front of another for yet another day.
We started walking together, and Yo was waiting for us at around 11am by the road with some peppermint tea and biscuits - luxury again! I wanted to visit the Glen Morangie Distillary at Tain and had to get there by 4.15 to get onto a tour, whereas John was more concerned with completing the day at a reasonable pace. So I set off to see if I could do it in time apart from a stop in Alness for a bowl of soup and a roll, walked solidly and fast, arriving in Tain just in time.
One blemish on an otherwise enjoyable walk was that a farmer had decided this would be the day he would move tons and tons of extremely smelly muck about 3 miles along the road we were walking on. There was little other traffic, but the huge tractors thundering up and down the road with big trailers were not only intimidating, but left a foul pong in their wake! Between tractor loads, however, we could enjoy the big skies with ever-changing cloud patterns, the views and the lovely azaleas and lilacs growing in peoples' gardens. Azaleas do particularly well in the damp Scottish climate and we saw some magnificent specimens. I also encountered lots of birds: some lapwings, lots of finches and tits, a yellowhammer, some buzzards and a sweet little bird with a long tail I didn,t recognise, as well as the usual sparrows, pigeons, crows and so on. I attempted to get some action photos with mixed success.
John's slightly more leisurely pace still got him to Tain at an average of 3.1 MPH, including stops: we really are fitter! Tonight we are staying in a holiday let house with plenty of room so can do as we please, rather than fit in with B&B rules.Tain is an attractive and solidly built town of grey and red sandstone. It seems tidy and well managed and has lovely views out to sea and to the northern hills.
Only 4 days to go! This is putting a spring in our steps even though we are both quite tired.
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