Sun 30 Apr - Inverness to Thurso via Dunrobin Castle

Good-bye to our wonderful new friend from Inverness, Kenny.  The host with the most.  We are on our way travelling as far north as we can on this trip to a place called Castletown right next to Thurso, both located  on the north coast.

We exited Inverness northward and were quickly over a long bridge. That got us a good start to the day.



But first a surprise for Denise.  Yes, David found out that her statue had been erected in a little place on the coast called Hilton.  And there she was.  Denise, the Mermaid of the North!  Denise's reaction....Gawwwd.



It was only a 10 minute diversion to a place called Hilton.  Quite a novelty this mermaid. 

Soon we were back on the road to Dunrobin Castle.  About 45 minutes later there she was. 
Ahhhh!   Wait - they moved the car park from right next to the castle to about 800m from the castle. !#$%@%$^@$#%$!#$%!@.  Fortunately it was not a pay for parking area.  Loads of cars AND campervans there so we were in for a crowded visit by the look of it.

In we go and immediately head down to get to the falconry bird display.

First a quick snap on the way down the many steps to the gardens and the bird display in the far left hand corner of the gardens..



Let's not forget our first view since we visited here 21 years ago.  A view of the castle

looking up from the steps below.  Nothing's changed a bit.  



Through the arch to the falconry display.



Denise says to David... "Why can't we get out back yard to look like this?"



The demonstration of the hunting birds was sensational.  First we heard all about the Harris Hawk and watch it swoop over the audience (which was fairly packed - long weekend).



The gyr falcon pictured below.  The largest of it's species, is a bird of prey. It swooped down at speeds of 200 mph to capture its prey.  Missed us by "that" much. David felt the breeze as it swooped past him.



Love this picture.  It is Dunrobin in all its glory.



Pictured above and below is as close to our jigsaw picture on the wall at home as we get.  After all we are visiting at a different time of year and there are not so many blooms about as yet.  This time we also got to visit all the rooms in our own time AND we were allowed to take pictures.  21 years ago they provided a very strict tour and photos and filming were prohibited.  This time people were roaming absolutely everywhere, but not past the ropes of course. We enjoyed our visit inside the castle with more enthusiasm this time.



Back to the birds.  The crowd had subsided and we had a long chat with the Bird Man - and the falcon.  We showed him a picture from 21 years ago at the bird show sitting next to an owl. He was pretty impressed.



Time waits for no man and the bird man had to get ready for his next show so we continued to explore the gardens.   Pictured below another nice view of the castle.



Stunning views from the upstairs rooms of the castle. 



Quite spectacular.  Oh yes, and that is the ocean out there just beyond the wall.  This castle is what is known as a residential castle.  No fortress or moats here.  It has also been built with a French style.



Pictured below you can see the multiple additions to the castle over the years.  The middle is part of the original 1200's castle.  The left from the 1800's additions and the right from the 1700's additions.



After a quick bite of lunch in the castle we were on our way to Castletown via Thurso. It would take us probably just over an hour to get to tonight's accommodation at the Castletown Hotel. 

It's pretty quiet here in Castletown.  It was an ideal time for a bit of a snuggle until the dinner bell rang!.

Tomorrow we head around the north coast before a couple of quiet days in Fort William.  If we're bored, we may have to visit a whisky distillery (hick !) and do a bit of sampling.

Mon 1 May - Thurso/Castletown to Fort William

Wow was Castletown a quiet town last night.  After dinner we went for a walk down the streetr.  Not a soul around.  Deathly quiet.  We past a playground for Benn. Interesting slide - it featured a rock climb up or a twisted ladder.



Welcome to Castletown Hotel.  We had a recently refurbished premium deluxe room (the second floor windows to the right).  Whilst the view of the butchers across the road wasn't that posh our room was.Nice old place and the staff very helpful.  It is a dog friendly hotel too.  We know because our room had two dog bowls with blankets and treats waiting for them.  We went back to reception to comment on these bowls.  They had it on their registrations that two dogs would be with us.  As it turned out another couple arrived with one dog but they were already accounted for.  A mystery.  We think they were barking up the wrong tree.



Next morning once again we took off after a hearty breakfast.  Off across the northern coast of Scotland to a place in the north east corner called John O'Groats.  Here is the famous John O'Groats signpost featuring the famous Duke of Greensborough looking fairly casual today leaning on the pole.  One MUST be photographed with the sign when reaching the lands end!  The most northern point of the mainland we believe.



It was freezing this morning, very windy and raining on and off. 

As we drove along the west coast we were impressed by the number of castles and some ruins that we saw even if it was through the eye of the camera.  Most were private properties so no going down those roads unfortunately.  Here they are, pictured below.

Castle 1



Castle 2

Denise finds these things so easily. 



Castle 3

Now here was a picture Denise had to have.  She stopped the car, jumped out, walked back 400m to take the picture.  Our Dutchess of Greensborough is very dedicated in taking such great finds.  Again a private property of course.



Castle 4.

These properties are all scattered near the north coast of Scotland  There were many more along the way but sometimes they were great to see from a distance but hard to take a pic of when you are moving at 60mph with not 'turn out' to stop.



Eventually we arrived at a place called the Whaligoe Steps.  These are 300 to 320 steps (some are difficult to distinguish as steps) to the bottom.  Of course we did!  Yes we did it!



Pictured above the view at the top of the stairs. 

Pictured below, a wonderful sight when we got to the bottom and then proceeded to climb the (ahhhhh) 320 steps to the top.

.
Here is another one we snapped along the way.  We think this is Ballone Castle.



A little further on down the loch, there were several of these swinging bridges.  If Benn was watching, he would call it a "ding ding" bridge.



The animal in the picture below is called the 'Highland Cow'.  Despite its huge horns it is also called the gentle giant of Scotland.  We saw quite a few of these in the area.



Through the highlands of Scotland we travel.  Breathtaking, isn't it? Different to Iceland breathtaking - but still breathtaking..  At this point we are nearing Fort William and getting closer to a mountain called Ben Nevis.  We took the gondola up Ben Nevis 21 years ago and tomorrow we will relive some memories as we take the gondola again.



Finally after 4.75 hours of driving today, we arrive at Fort William for two days.



And here is our house.  Yes, we have the whole house for two days all to ourselves.  :)



If we turn the camera around, this is the view from the front of the house.  This is actually the tributary into the North Atlantic.  It is the mouth of the River Lochy off Loch Eil.  A nice place to walk the dog huh!



See you all tomorrow as we tackle Ben Nevis - the highest point in the UK