Tags
We had mixed feelings about Day 4 of our road trip. On the one hand, the road from John O’Groats via Tongue and on to Torridon was spectacular, but on the other hand once we got to Isle of Skye the midges totally freaked us out and we had the worst time finding a camp site.
Shortly after leaving the John O’Groats camp site we stopped at the Castle of Mey. It wasn’t open yet so we only managed to take a photo fron the outside. The castle is in the middle of farmland so we could get up close to the rolled bales of oat hay which, up to this point, we have only been seeing from the road. I know it’s nothing to blog about, but to us it was very impressive.
Our total journey time would have been a hour shorter if we didn’t drive via Tongue, but man it was worth it! Throughout our trip we were fascinated by the mix of farmland, farm cottage and sea that you can see all in one spot. With the slightest turn of your head you could think you are either on a farm, or at the beach, when in fact you are standing between the two. This beautiful spot, near Bettyhill in Sutherland sums it all up for me, and we would not have seen it had we not travelled via Tongue.
The A836 winds through the most amazing scenery. There are many viewpoints and places to pull of the road – which makes for excellent lunch stops. Trout and Scottish soda bread in the Highlands anyone?!
Before reaching Torridon our route took us through the Beinn Eighe National Park. This was John’s favourite part of our whole road trip – driving right at the foot of the mountain Beinn Eighe was amazing.
After Torridon we quickly made our way to Isle of Skye – it was around 6 pm by this time. When we reached Isle of Skye it had started to rain and we were tired. Our planned campsite was at Sligachan but there were way too many midges. (Just like John O’Groats we didn’t book any camp site in advance on Isle of Skye). In the end we slept at a Caravan Club Certified Site which was a bit rubbish (the term “tiny carpark with a loo” comes to mind). With all the midges around we really did not enjoy ourself – but we did learn that we can do absolutely everything, included getting out of the front seats, without opening any doors.
Isle of Skye was a bummer, but our drive there was amazing and we have already forgotten the worst of our Night Among The Midges.
*If you want to see any of the photos full size, just click on it and use the arrows to navigate through the slideshow.
crochetime 