NC500, Day 3 - Part 2, John O'Groats to Durness

Day 3 of our NC500 was incredibly enjoyable - wonderful scenery, top notch breakfast, weather was first rate and a long but lovely drive. The previous blog covered the first part of the day, from Wick to John O’Groats - here, I will cover the section from J O’G to Durness on the north west coast of Scotland.

This in many ways was a transitional part of the trip - the scenery changed, the weather changed, the driving experience changed. The roads became narrower, windier and hillier, it was just beautiful.

But as I drove along, I became increasing concerned by the noises coming from Bodywarmer Boy, little moans and gasps every minute or so. I suspected he may have been googling food photos, but actually he was just taking in the views and the scenery from along the route. Quite a relief, I can tell you, and perfectly understandable.

Some images from Day 3 are below - for anyone interested on photography in Scotland, I found this book to be a great help - Photographing Scotland: A photo-location and visitor guidebook

There is a YouTube video covering this section of the trip, please do have a look below. Apologies again, but I have no shame and will ask for subscribers to the Youtube channel, please. :-)

I also have a Redbubble store that has a bunch of tat with my snaps on them, if isolation boredom is kicking in, do have a look, you might find a birthday present for an old aunt or some other relative you dislike - you can see it here - Travelling Fatman’s Wonderful Emporium of Tat

Right, with the shameless self-promotion out of the way, let’s get on with the show! I’ll kick off with the video, then a collection of photographs and commentary.

This was the route for the afternoon - for the GPS to assume nearly 3 hours for a 90 mile journey should give some idea as to the nature of the roads! This wasn’t motorway driving, but give me this any time - it was glorious!

Some lovely spots on the route to park up, take some snaps and stretch the old legs.

And another information board! Man, I love these things - tell you a whole bunch of stuff you’d never know otherwise. Whoever put these up, in the remotest and most unlikely of locations, deserves a medal. Or at least a pat on the back - they are wonderful.

And here it is, Loch Eriboll. If memory serves, this is one of the deepest sea lochs in Britain. It’s around 60 metres deep in places and Royal Navy ships have used it as a safe and sheltered anchorage for much of the 20th century.

Another wee notice board at the Smoo Caves, I used to love reading these things and the pictures kept my brother amused. Something for everyone, genius!

Here’s the Big Yin catching a few snaps at Ceannabeinne Beach, very close to Durness. There’s also a zip line here, if that’s your thing. Now, you can see he’s wearing his bodywarmer again, I think it may be welded to him. But perhaps some clarification is required - he messaged me after yesterday’s blog, fairly apoplectic, saying it’s “not a %$!#ing bodywarmer, it’s a gilet”.

I had no idea what a gilet was, so I googled it. Now, these next words are not mine, they are the words of Wikipedia. “A gilet is a sleeveless jacket resembling a waistcoat or blouse. It may be waist- to knee-length and is typically straight-sided rather than fitted; however, historically, gilets were fitted and embroidered. In 19th-century dressmaking a gilet was a dress bodice shaped like a man's waistcoat.” So he is wearing either a blouse or a bodice.

Again, I defer to Wikipedia and make no comment of my own. “A bodice is an article of clothing for women and girls, covering the body from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from the skirt and sleeves.”

I think he should have settled for bodywarmer.

Moving on…

We reached our campsite at Sango Bay, Durness and had an incredible spot for the night - bang on top of a cliff overlooking a beautiful beach.

And here is the beach - well, one half of it anyway…

And here’s the other half. I know we were spoiled by the weather, but this was glorious. The two beaches are split by a small headland and from that point it is not uncommon to see basking sharks come close to shore. We never saw any, alas.

A view from the cliff top…

Taken from basically the same spot, looking across the beach. This is possibly my favourite image from the trip, certainly top 5. For me, it encapsulates so much about this part of Scotland - a beautiful beach, some rugged landscape, remote dwellings and a wonderful, ever-changing light.

It’s really not often you’ll hear me say say that I’m happy with one of my photos, but I’m happy with this one. Possibly part of it is that I feel a personal connection and can remember standing there, enjoying the view, taking images, feeling the see breeze - it brings back good memories. And what was also important - and I’ll probably regret saying this - is it was a highlight of a wonderful trip shared with my brother. Yes, he’s a big daft galoot in a blouse, but he’s a decent bloke, deep down, and we don’t often get the chance for experiences like this one we had on the NC500.

Enough of that, moving on again…

The campsite - some ups and downs there. The location, as you’ve seen, is superb, faultless. But it did get very, VERY busy and the facilities left a little to be desired. But there was a pub onsite serving a decent range of food - certainly of good “fill you up” variety, if a little odd at times. This was haggis - normally served with neeps and tatties - here, it came with a salad. Tasty enough, but unusual. I had steak and chips afterwards - nothing special, but good enough. Given the location and a decent appetite after a long day, it pretty much hit the mark.

OK, apologies - another continuity error. I need to get my act together, I really do. I’m trying my best to be an internationally recognised blogger, photographer and social influencer and yet I’m making mistakes like this, it’s ridiculous and I’m very disappointed in myself. Sigh.

OK, earlier I posted a signboard regarding the Smoo Cakes - Uamh Smudha in Gaelic. Well, here’s an iPhone image of the cave entrance - the notice board is up by one of the white buildings on the opposite cliff top.

Let’s go back to Wikipedia…”Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse 'smjugg' or 'smuga', meaning a hole or hiding-place”.

And heres a shot from inside the cave, looking out.

Well, that kinda wraps up for This section of the NC500 - the next entry will cover a relatively short drive from Durness to Scourie. In Scourie we treated ourselves to a night in a hotel, away from the van. More on that in the next post.

Until then, stay strong, stay safe, be kind!