Day 3: Thurso to Ullapool
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A stone bench provides a view of Dunnet Head and Dunnet Bay from Harbour Road in Castletown Thurso Scotland, The United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. — Castletown (Scottish Gaelic: Baile a' Chaisteil) is a village on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland, situated near Dunnet Bay. It is within the civil parish of Olrig, where it is the main settlement, and within the historic county of Caithness. The A836 links the village with Thurso and Tongue in the west and with John o' Groats in the east. The B876-A99 links the village with Wick in the southeast. Contrary to the common misconception, the name Castletown is a misnomer and there is no castle within the town limits. - Wikipedia
Stone in Castletown Harbor in Castletown Thurso Scotland, The United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. — Much of the village is built on the old townland (or fermland) of Stanergill. The Stanergill Burn was the eastern boundary of the townland. It flows now through the eastern end of the village and so into Dunnet Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The name Stanergill can be read as meaning Stone Valley and much of Castletown was built during the 19th century boom years of Caithness as a source of flagstone. Much of the stone was processed in the harbour area of the village, known as Castlehill, and many of the streets of London, Sydney, Edinburgh and the financial district of New York City are paved with it. - Wikipedia
Victoria Photographing Castletown.
Victoria takes a break from photographing Dunnet Bay to turn her camera towards Harbour Road in Castletown in Castletown Thurso Scotland, The United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. —The village of Castletown lies a short distance inland from the southern corner of Dunnet Bay, five miles east of Thurso. Dunnet Bay faces north-west and is protected to the north by the bulk of Dunnet Head. The bay's southeastern side is bounded by a beautiful two-mile long beach backed by high dunes. The southern end of the beach expires at the mouth of a stream, once used to power the huge, but now ruinous, Castletown Mill. - undiscoveredscotland.co.uk
Clouds over Dunnet Head as seen from Harbour Road in Castletown Thurso Scotland, The United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016 — Dunnet Head (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Dùnaid) is a peninsula in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of the mainland of Great Britain. The point, also known as Easter Head, is about 18 km (11 mi) west-northwest of John o' Groats and about 20 km (12 mi) from Duncansby Head. Dunnet Head can be seen also as the western limit of the Pentland Firth on the firth's southern, or Caithness, side (Duncansby Head is the eastern limit). Although Easter Head is the most northerly point on the Scottish mainland, the northernmost point of Scotland lies in the Shetland islands, approximately 170 miles further north The headland's boundary with the rest of the Scottish mainland can be defined as a north-south line running from Little Clett to the mouth of Dunnet Burn in Dunnet Bay. This line is followed along most of its route by a single track road, the B855, which links Brough with the village of Dunnet, making this the most northerly road on mainland Britain. From this line, the headland projects westward and northward into the Atlantic Ocean and the Pentland Firth and shelters the more southerly waters of Dunnet Bay. The peninsula is north-east of the burgh of Thurso, and on a clear day, it affords views of the islands of Stroma to the east, and Hoy and the Orkney Mainland, 15 km (9 miles) away to the north, across the Pentland Firth. - Wikipedia
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The Castle of Mey, the former residence of the Queen Mother Elizabeth in Mey, Highland Scotland, the United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. — The Castle of Mey (formerly Barrogill Castle) is located in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland, about 6 miles (10 km) west of John o' Groats. In fine weather, there are views from the castle north to the Orkney Islands.
Storm clouds over the River Naver in Achina, Highland Scotland, United Kingdom on the 22nd of May 2016.
The River Naver as it empties into the North Sea in the village of Achina, Highland Scotland, United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016
Ben Loyal as seen from The Kyle of Tongue Bridge in Tongue, Highland Scotland, United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. — Ben Loyal (from Scottish Gaelic Beinn Laghail) is an isolated mountain of 764 meters in Sutherland, the northwestern tip of the Scottish Highlands. It is a Corbett located south of the Kyle of Tongue and offers good views of the Kyle, Loch Loyal to the east, and Ben Hope to the west. Ben Loyal is composed chiefly of granite and has a distinctive shape due to the four rocky peaks, the highest of which is called An Caisteal. To the north of An Caisteal is the 712 m Sgòr Chaonasaid, to the south is Bheinn Bheag (744 m), which cannot be seen in the photograph opposite, and to the west is the ridge of Sgòr a Chèirich, 644 m at its highest point. The fourth peak in the picture is the 568 m Sgòr Fionnaich. - Wikipedia.
The Kyle of Tongue (Scottish Gaelic: Caol Thunga) is a shallow sea loch in northwest Highland, Scotland, in the western part of Sutherland.
A camper van parked on the side of the A838 on the Kyle Of Tongue Bridge on May 22nd, 2016 — The Kyle of Tongue Bridge is part of the Kyle of Tongue Causeway, which crosses Kyle of Tongue sea loch on the north coast of Scotland. The bridge and causeway were built by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners in 1971 to carry the A838, the road from Thurso to Durness, across the loch. Until 1956 there had been a passenger ferry but the route around the head of the loch involved a narrow road some ten miles long. The causeway is 3.8 kilometers (2.4 mi) long and it crosses a natural island, Tongue Island (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Thunga). The 183-meter-long (600 ft) bridge is at the western end of the causeway and it has eighteen spans supported by twin piers. The bridge was fully refurbished in 2011. - Wikipedia.
Ard Neakie as seen from the A838 in Heilam, Sutherland Scotland, United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. Ard Neakie is connected to the mainland only by a cord of sand linking it to the east shore of Loch Eriboll. It was once the site of an active limestone quarry and four lime kilns, built in 1840. The Reay estate produced large amounts of lime here, and transported it onto nearby ships. It was used as a neutralising agent, when reclaiming peaty soils for cultivation.
Looking Towards Eriboll & Horse Island
A view to the south and the village of Eriboll and Horse Island on Loch Eriboll as seen from the A838 in Heilam, Sutherland Scotland, United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016. — Eilean Choraidh, also known as Horse Island is an island in Loch Eriboll in Sutherland on the north coast of Scotland. It is about 26 hectares (64 acres) in extent and the highest point is 26 metres (85 ft) above sea level. During the 19th century the Reay estate quarried lime from Eilean Choraidh, treated it in kilns on the nearby peninsula of Ard Neakie, and exported it by ship. The census of 1931 records a single male inhabitant, and there has been no indication of any permanent residents since then. This may be partly because Eilean Choraidh was used as a representation of the German battleship Tirpitz for target practice by Mosquito bombers of the Royal Air Force during World War II.The Ordnance Survey indicate the presence of two ruined buildings, one in the centre of the island north of a long wall that runs east to west and another at the north end. Today, the island is used for grazing sheep. A variety of wild mammals are present including otters, grey seals and cetaceans. Beds of maerl, a corraline algae that has been identified as a priority habitat in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, has been recorded in the channels on either side of Eilean Choraidh. The sea pen, Virgularia mirabilis is also present in the inner loch. - Wikipedia.
A single sailboat in Loch Eriboll as seen from the A838 in Heilam, Sutherland Scotland, United Kingdom on May 22nd, 2016 — Loch Eriboll (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Euraboil") is a 16 km (9.9 mi) long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth. It is named after the village of Eriboll on its eastern shore. Bronze Age remains can be found in the area, including a souterrain and a very well preserved wheelhouse on the hillside above the west shore. A small scale lime industry developed here in the 19th century. Farmhouse at Loch Eriboll Around the shores of the loch are the crofting townships of Eriboll, Laid, Heilam, Portnancon and Rispond. Eilean Hoan is located at the northern, seaward end of the loch and there are various small islets in the vicinity including A' Ghoil-sgeir, An Cruachan, An Dubh-sgeir, Eilean Clùimhrig, and Pocan Smoo. Today it is a largely unspoilt wilderness, in a region of high rainfall and with the lowest population density in the UK. - Wikipedia.