Wednesday 4 December 2019

BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY - MORE

SUE'S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY - MORE PHOTOS!

My apologies for the delay
but I have only just finalised sorting out my holiday photographs 
and have now posted a few below.
We had a wonderful, - although extremely damp and cloudy - few days
up on the North Coast. 
As Richard has already said in his earlier post
"the coastal scenery is just simply awesome."


Enroute to Strathpeffer we stopped at Glen Carron
to stretch our legs with Cupar.  Amazing sunset but brrrrrrr it was freezing!

We were staying at Sea Shore Cottage a mile or so
from Wick on the North East coast.
It's located right by the sea - which was both moody and
very lively a lot of the time we were there!


This was the view from the kitchen window on the first morning!
Yes .... bleak with a capital 'B'


But the above photograph was taken on the last morning
we were there when the weather was a little more favourable.

The Monday was my actual birthday and we enjoyed a fabulous drive
down the east coast stopping at the Helmsdale Museum
and later the Whaligoe steps during the afternoon.
The coastline was stunning....


The above shows some of the magnificent coastal scenery plus
a few of the famous Whaligoe steps - which date originally
from the mid eighteenth century and were used
by fisherwomen to drag the creels of herring up from
the harbour beneath.


Richard en-route back up having ventured about
half the way down.!

We also dropped into John O Groats and
got blown to smithereens!
The rather bizarre looking hotel on the shore had a
extremely bleak outlook that day!



A little later we found ourselves at Duncansby Head.
The unmanned lighthouse there is shown below.


Then, - battling gale force winds we headed towards the coastline
and spotted these amazing two sea stacks.
The strength of the wind was such we found it difficult to walk
and taking any photos was nigh-on impossible,
- hence the blurriness......!


From here we drove along westwards towards Dunnett Head
stopping occasionally for the odd coastal photo.....


Through long winding lanes and a desolate and dark landscape
we drove until we got to our destination.
Now this WAS bleak - and at times we were hammered by the driving rain!


See what I mean.....:(  !!!!
We had a wander round the old WW2 buildings that
stood silently there in the gloom -
as ugly reminders of the dangerous war years affecting the UK.


However the sun did eventually appear for a while - 
as we got as close as we could to the Dunnett Head lighthouse
that has been automated since March 1989 and is
now monitored from Edinburgh by the Northern Lighthouse Board.


We had a wander around the cliffs close by and came across
this view shown below.   Quite stunning!

Grey skies and gale force winds were the order of the following day
but it didn't stop us getting out and about along the north coast
giving Cupar a seaside stroll!   Another rather bleak shot below!!



... and then again here with that deserted and windswept beach ...!


But then we moved on to a slightly softer coastline and the rather
fairytale yet sad remnants of Castles Girnigoe and Sinclair
dating back to the 15th century.


Precariously balanced on the cliff edges these rocky tumbledown walls
are all that remain of two castles.
They were besieged and captured in 1690 and never inhabited
again owing to an inheritance dispute.
Post excavation work is ongoing and it is sponsored by the Clan Sinclair Trust.


Exploration of what is left of the interior is both fascinating and spooky.
You cannot but wonder the activity and people who trod these same
grounds and just how long ago!!! 
See if you can spot a couple of latest intrepid explorers above!


The ruinous castles lit up in the afternoon sunshine above.


With the castle remains on the right you can see just how close
it is to the crashing waves and the sea......


Closer to our temporary 'home' we stopped to do the
afternoon dog walkies!   What an amazing beach and sky that evening!


On our final day we decided to take a peek around the Castle of Old Wick
- again set high on cliffs above a magnificent coastline.
We had a beautiful sunny morning, frosty and cold,
and took ourselves along the footpath that skirted the cliff edges!


Frosted grasses are shown above;
this was taken just before noon illustrating just how cold the night before had been
and despite the summer sunshine was holding it's icy grip!


The little that is left of Old Wick Castle stands
proudly on the cliffs on this beautiful day.


We were so lucky to enjoy this amazing weather and see
this beautiful coastline at it's absolute best!
Richard and Cupar pose successfully for the camera below
after various abortive attempts..... :)


En-route home we moved southwards to visit
an extremely historical site called The Cairn o' Get
- an impressive chambered Neolithic burial cairn set amidst a landscape
full of rich and historical monuments.


The cairn shown above is estimated to be more than 5,000 years old
and was first excavated in 1866.
It was found to contain the remains of at least 7 people,
plus pottery artefacts and arrowheads in the main chamber.


Further on along the coast we had a final stop-off at
the village of Latheron and took some more photographs
of the harbour and the stunning coastline!  It was simply fabulous....


As you can see the sun was with us for the entire day.


One had to be careful when walking up there.  This blowhole
was not fenced off but it's position indicated by a plank of wood!


Look at those amazing colours!


Above Richard and Cupar by a rather unusual gate - 
although they seemed to have trouble getting through it 
at the same time....  We were there for ages!


Finally, back at The Old Bakery, Strathpeffer, that evening
Richard and Cupar have a cuddle in front of the stove.
They both look rather exhausted but then again we did have
an amazingly busy and very enjoyable few days.
Certainly we all had a birthday mini-break to remember!!!! 

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