Having driven up the A9 from Inverness to John O’Groats and seen the volume of traffic and narrowness of the road in places, today was a day where we were all slightly apprehensive – but more of that later.
As you can see, despite being exhausted yesterday, we were in good spirits this morning and raring to go!
The town we stayed in, Brora, has its name derived from the ancient Norse meaning “River with a Bridge”. When operational it had the most northerly coal mine in the UK and has the Clynelish distillery and a baronial style clock tower serving as a war memorial which was dedicated in 1922.
After an hour or so we passed by Dunrobin Castle on the “outskirts” of Golspie – it even has its own railway station.
Dunrobin Castle is a stately home in Sutherland and is the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. It’s origins are in the Middle Ages but most of the present building and gardens were added by Sir Charles Barry between 1835-1850. It is the largest house in the north of Scotland and is open to the public.
Next up, Golspie itself (name in Norse means”gully village”) – what is noticeable is how much pride folks up here in Northeast Scotland take in their houses and gardens – quite beautiful to see as we walk past. The 30m high statue on the hill, erected in 1837 on the summit of Ben Bhraggie and known locally as “The Minnie” is that of George Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stamford and first Duke of Sutherland – he became notorious through the part he played in the Highland clearances.
Through yet more countryside (we didn’t see any otters) and past The Mound to an area called Clashmore – some nice scenery and time for a selfie. Interesting how varied the scenery was today, mountains, seaside, estuary and arable land.
We then walked across the Dornoch Firth bridge – very long and a strong headwind – nice views either side though and then entered into Ross & Cromarty.
Passing the Glenmorangie Distillery (unfortunately closed until tomorrow) we finally arrived in Tain and the Royal Hotel.
We walked 36.4km today and 44,500 steps so We decided, as the sun was actually making an appearance, to go to the Dornoch Beach for a paddle (Nice cold water foot therapy)
Finally back to the traffic worries mentioned earlier – thankfully the traffic was ok and not too many articulated lorries passing – only one instance where Paul had to bring out his dance moves to avoid a very close wing mirror. The politeness, and space given to us, by the vast majority of drivers over the last few days has been very impressive.
Total donations received by the end of today stands at £30,115 – great stuff. If you have managed to read this far and have already donated – a big thank you. If you haven’t donated yet, please do so and also encourage friends and family to do so as well – many thanks in advance