Allowed out ... day 9

Miles today: 155

Miles so far: 1481

U-turns: 5 I think, but when you get to Dunnet Head and John O’Groats the choices are limited if you don’t. But I should mention that Rob is a bit chuffed he didn’t follow me up a dead end on the way there!

Ruins: 1

Ferries: none, because the boys didn’t leave me enough time to take the Nigg-Cromarty ferry across the Cromarty Firth - for which they will never be forgiven.

Good start... eschewed yet another full Scottish and went for the healthy fruit and porridge option (but then rather spoilt it with a croissant... and butter ... and jam!) But as any regular readers of my dietary advice, riding a motorbike all day does wonders for your digestion and we seem to eat our weight each day and put on not a kilo. Well that’s what I tell my self anyway - it could just be that my motorbike troos are bit too big!

Anyway, on with the story. This morning we reached the most northerly point on the British mainland - which isn’t actually John O’Groats (I think that is just the furthest from Lands End, or something like that). No the most northerly point is Dunnet Head and rather splendid it is too, unencumbered by tourist tat, coffees shops and finger posts telling you how far you are from Bluff in New Zealand. To be fair John O’Groats is nothing like as tacky as Lands End and it was to be visited soon after Dunnet Head anyway. Cant miss it when you are this close.

But Dunnet Head is definitely my favourite. We were there early in the morning and almost had the place to ourselves. Surrounded mostly by seabirds, flying to and from their nesting spots on the northern cliffs, we could wallow in the atmosphere and gaze out at the Orkney Islands - which will have to wiat for another day (not really motorbiking territory anyway - you need roads!). It’s a fab place Dunnet Head with uninterrupted views as far to the West as Cape Wrath (the most north westerly point), I’m guessing some 40 or 50 miles away. And on top of the cliffs you could see back to the south to the distant highland hills too. A true 360o experience!

But tourist tat waits for no man or woman and I had a John O’Groats top box sticker to replace (I’ll include pictures of my sad collection on another day as the bike is currently locked up in a safe Inverness hotel garage), as the previous one had flown off - almost certainly due to incompetent sticking!

Anyway, with coffee safely procured, silly selfies taken at the obligatory finger posts and aforementioned top box stickers safely stuck, we reluctantly headed south. Funny how turning round feels like the trip is past is peak. But we are determined not to let that feeling pervade, so we will attempt to criss cross Scotland before we end up back in England. This is bound to go wrong.

With not much else to see today we headed down the A9 to Inverness. But I had counted without the Carn Laith near Brora, a magnificent iron/bronze/Stone Age dwelling (as usual I wasn’t listening to the history buffs) in which you could just about imagine yourself living - a long long time ago.

A quick stop at the picture post box castle of Dunrobbin (picture post card view, no picture - brilliant!), and as usual it was just about mid afternoon and we were only half way there. But we still got past Inverness in time to visit Culloden, site of the 1746 English massacre of the Scots, and the last hand to hand battle on British soil. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The fascinating display showed that if any number of different decisions had been made the outcome would likely to have been very different. Possibly when Charlie marched into Edinburgh, had he recalled the Scottish parliament there and then the union would have fallen and there would be no need for Brexit. Damn, I’ve mentioned it! Enough for today. We have found another fab hotel in Inverness and for the first time on this trip have a choice of restaurants. And I have barely been allowed lunch!

So I close with some pics of the day... And you thought I’d forgotten the bikes!

The beach at Castletown this morning.

And the harbour, from where flagstones were shipped all over the world.

Three eejets at J O’G. (Well one eejet anyway~)

Early post tonight. We got here just after 5pm! Now, for a walk, and some grub...