The photos: Brora Harbour; Two oyster-catchers at their post; a beach near Brora; Helmsdale Harbour.
Day 49 - Sat May 23rd. The 0ver-riding thought in my mind as I was preparing to depart on another 23 mile day that there are only 3 of them left. With Yolanda's support, carrying the gear, cooking and meeting us we are in a very good state, considering that we've walked nearly 1,000 miles. But we are getting weary and need a bit of serious rest and are set on keeping going for this last few miles to our goal.
We were out of the house at 8am, and Yo drove us 24 miles north, up the A9 to Brora and we started walking under a cloudy sky. We walked away from the A9 down to the golf course and the beach, where we were able to pick up a footpath for a couple of miles. Walking on the links golf course next to a beach reminded John of his home in Cornwall. On the beach there were lots of oyster catchers and gulls, flying around and making quite a racket. In one place they had a favourite perch on a series of fence posts an sat there, all in a line.
Once we were back on the A9, that was it for the rest of the day, however, the road was not busy and there were few trucks and vans. The farmland began to be replaced by heather moorland and buildings less frequent: this is a hard country and very far north. A lot of the time, on either side of us, were dark rounded hills which stretched away to the west as far as you could see. To the east an south was the North Sea, grey an quiet today. You could see the dim outline of the eastern peninsula of Scotland in one direction, and in the other, far out to sea, were some oil or gas platforms and a couple of huge wind turbines.
As has become normal, going each at our own pace, we soon split up and I just kept walking the 12 miles to a little town with a harbour called Helmsdale, where I stopped for rest and refreshment. I didn't expect the cafe owner in a place as far north, and out of the way, to be English, but he was. Ran a nice place though and had wifi, so I was able to load up the latest Blog instalment. Other customers kindly expressed and interest and promised to log on an contribute to Precious Lives (www.justgiving/johndrinkwater), which was very nice of them.
John and I both like the feeling at these little places that they are at the 'end of the road' . Every settlement has its own distinct character and, usually, a lot of charm. Of course, it can't be easy living here in the winter, when the weather can be appalling and daylight is very short. But in the summer, even on a dull day like today, there is always something of interest. Helmsdale has a harbour, which looks like it has been beaten about a bit by the sea as one sea wall is only half there. There are several cafes and restaurants down the pretty main street and it sits in an attractive river valley.
There was a steady climb out of Helmsdale on a new EEC funded road (but still no pavement or cycle way), and the road stayed high until the hamlet of Berriedale, where it plunged down to sea level, only to rise up again to our finish point at the top of the hill. Berriedale is deep in a river valley which it follows out to towards the sea, but ends where a huge cliff face with many seagull nests separates the valley from the sea.
Tomorrow we do another 22 miles, then it will be the last day.
We were out of the house at 8am, and Yo drove us 24 miles north, up the A9 to Brora and we started walking under a cloudy sky. We walked away from the A9 down to the golf course and the beach, where we were able to pick up a footpath for a couple of miles. Walking on the links golf course next to a beach reminded John of his home in Cornwall. On the beach there were lots of oyster catchers and gulls, flying around and making quite a racket. In one place they had a favourite perch on a series of fence posts an sat there, all in a line.
Once we were back on the A9, that was it for the rest of the day, however, the road was not busy and there were few trucks and vans. The farmland began to be replaced by heather moorland and buildings less frequent: this is a hard country and very far north. A lot of the time, on either side of us, were dark rounded hills which stretched away to the west as far as you could see. To the east an south was the North Sea, grey an quiet today. You could see the dim outline of the eastern peninsula of Scotland in one direction, and in the other, far out to sea, were some oil or gas platforms and a couple of huge wind turbines.
As has become normal, going each at our own pace, we soon split up and I just kept walking the 12 miles to a little town with a harbour called Helmsdale, where I stopped for rest and refreshment. I didn't expect the cafe owner in a place as far north, and out of the way, to be English, but he was. Ran a nice place though and had wifi, so I was able to load up the latest Blog instalment. Other customers kindly expressed and interest and promised to log on an contribute to Precious Lives (www.justgiving/johndrinkwater), which was very nice of them.
John and I both like the feeling at these little places that they are at the 'end of the road' . Every settlement has its own distinct character and, usually, a lot of charm. Of course, it can't be easy living here in the winter, when the weather can be appalling and daylight is very short. But in the summer, even on a dull day like today, there is always something of interest. Helmsdale has a harbour, which looks like it has been beaten about a bit by the sea as one sea wall is only half there. There are several cafes and restaurants down the pretty main street and it sits in an attractive river valley.
There was a steady climb out of Helmsdale on a new EEC funded road (but still no pavement or cycle way), and the road stayed high until the hamlet of Berriedale, where it plunged down to sea level, only to rise up again to our finish point at the top of the hill. Berriedale is deep in a river valley which it follows out to towards the sea, but ends where a huge cliff face with many seagull nests separates the valley from the sea.
Tomorrow we do another 22 miles, then it will be the last day.
Hi Doug and John, I have been following you since we returned to US. What wonderful pics and I have loved reading about your trip. Want to study your posts so we can plan our next trip over. You decided to go up the eastern side. We have been told to come in from the west and northern route. I can see more planning is in order. Michelle
ReplyDeleteHello Michelle,
ReplyDeleteMy personal email is dgkennedy@alloverde.com. Do write to me and I'll respond re routes.
Great to meet you all,
Doug