Day 7 - Around Caithness

 

Paul came with me to Thurso parkrun and took a few photos at the start. , In Scotland, parkrun is held at 9.30.  We had a late breakfast after I had got out of my sweaty clothes and showered. It was very cloudy and quite a bit cooler than yesterday

 

 
View of boating lake behind parkrun frame

 
At the start

During the run

It was late morning when we set off to look around the area. We started at Wick, which could be a lovely town but is very much neglected. There are a lot of derelict buildings and many of the pavements are not well maintained. We walked around the harbour area and then the Town Centre. However the river walk, away from the town, looked really nice. 

Wick harbour

Colourful fishing sheds

Wick lighthouse

 

 

Warehouses with ornate gates at Wick harbour

 
Unidentified duck in Wick Harbour

 
Unidentified duck in Wick Harbour


Building where Alexander Bain 
invented the electric clock 

 

St Fergus Church 

Wick Town Hall

 

Wick River Walk


Then we went to John O’Groats. The only reason for going here is to have a photo taken at the signpost. There is a gift shop, cafe, bookshop and a John O’Groats Christmas Shop together with a very large car park which was £3.50 all day. I cant imagine anyone wanting to spend more than 20 minutes here unless you were planning to walk the coast path. It is a total rip off. Like most of the others, we didn’t pay and just took our photos and left. Why these places cant have a smaller charge for up to 1 hour, I really don’t know. People would then probably spend some money in the shops or cafe. It does look like they are trying to make a Theme Park of this place, like they have done at Lands End.

The obligatory photo

Large house at John O'Groats

Last on our itinerary was Dunnet Head. On the way we stopped at a very large church with a huge graveyard. From there we had excellent views of Stroma Island. Stroma is privately owned and is not part of the Orkneys. It used to be inhabited and the buildings that remain can easily be seen. The current owner does run tours but they have to be booked well in advance.


Canisbay Church

Island of Stroma


Dunnet Head is the most northerly point on the British Mainland. There is a lighthouse but it is not possible to visit. There are high cliffs all along the headland and we saw gannets and fulmars. 

 

 
Dunnet Head Lighthouse

 
Dunnet Head Cliffs

 
Large rock in the bay at Dunnet Head


As we were driving back to the hotel, the sun came out and the temperature went up. It was a really nice evening.




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