Scotland Road Trip Day 3: Inverness to Thurso

 

The day dawned gray and a bit chilly. We ate breakfast and headed for the launderette located on the outskirts of town. The high capacity washer fit all of our clothes and were thrilled. We loaded our laundry, set the machines going, and then headed back to the car for reading and doom scrolling. When the wash was done, we moved the clothes to the dryer and went back to the car to wait. 

About ten minutes before they were scheduled to be finished, Drew checked the dryer and found that it wasn't working. It had been tumbling but there was no heat. While we had been waiting a lady had started using the other washer and we knew that she would be back soon to dry her clothes. We put ours in the dryer that she would be using and hoped that 20 minutes (the time she had remaining on her wash) would be enough. It wasn't. Drew talked to the lady who didn't mind to let us use the dryer for a few more minutes. Most of the clothes felt dry at the end of the cycle so we took them out and laid them across the back seat of the car. Our socks and jeans were still really damped but we needed to move on and the other lady needed to dry her clothes. We knew that that there was another launderette in Thurso so we headed out with our damp mess and headed north.

Drew at the launderette

The drive from Inverness to Thurso was scheduled to be around four hours but we knew that it would take longer based on the number of places that we might want to stop. As I said in my first post, we had no specific agenda, so we really let ourselves be led by the surroundings. As Drew drove, I followed the route on Google Maps and called out potential points of interest. 

Our first stop of the day was at Cairn Liath Broch, an Iron Age settlement. This broch, a round tower, overlooked the North Sea and offered up fantastic views. When we arrived, another couple was there but they soon left and we had the place to ourselves. Despite the age of this structure, visitors are free to climb to the top and navigate the ancient passageways and stairs. I felt like a kid running my hands across the ancient stones and squeezing through the chambers.

Our plan was to follow the coast from Wick to John O'Groats and take in as many sites as possible along the way. What we didn't realize until it was too late was that the GPS, had cut a corner and routed us away from the coast. Luckily, Drew realized it in time to get us to the Duncansby Stacks. Like so many places that we would visit, we traveled down a road that increasingly narrowed to one lane. We crossed cattle guards and, at times, felt like we must have taken a wrong turn. Eventually we came to a sign indicating that the stacks were just ahead. We parked and saw only a large field in front of us. We followed the path and the folks ahead of us and found ourselves looking down into a cove full of seabirds. A guy told us that there were penguins but I wasn't so sure. 

We continued to walk until we reached the "stacks." The formations themselves are magnificent but what also captured me was the lack of tourists. There might have been 50 people scatted over the entire site and that made it feel like we had the place to ourselves. There is a well-defined path around the field, so we took our time to walk it and enjoy the views of the sea. 

Along the way, we found a different cove with birds and got a really great view of the...wait for it... penguins. They really were there! I had puffins on my Scotland checklist but I had no idea that we would see penguins.

We left the stacks and headed for John O'Groats. There isn't much to do or see in John O'Groats but, if you're there, you really need to have your photo taken at the signpost.

Drew at the signpost

Me at the signpost. Yes, my boobs are lopsided. No, I don't know why.

Our next stop was Dunnet Head, the northern most point on mainland Britain. The drive offered spectacular views and it was difficult not to stop at every pull off point along the way. The views from Dunnet Head are simply breathtaking. 

A plaque detailing the islands that can be seen from Dunnet Head

We arrived in Thurso around 6:00 p.m. fairly exhausted from the day of travel. Our clothes were still wet, the launderette had closed, and our hotel had no laundry facilities. We took our clothes into the room and improvised some drying racks. 

We then went in search of a meal. We found Caithness Cuisine, an Indian restaurant, which turned out to be some of the best food we've ever eaten. We feasted on papadums with chutney, curries, and naan. With full bellies, we waddled back to the hotel to make plans for the next day and get some much needed sleep.