The Castle and a harbour

 

As we left or stopover the landlord said “the east isn’t that beautiful. The west coast is amazing…. Well we haven’t seen the west coast yet, but I beg to differ. This coast has loads to offer, the road winds its way north mainly along the coast, past the Glenmorangie whisky distillery (we didn’t stop, Ian is driving and he isn’t that keen on theirs anyway. And can you imagine the heat on a distillery tour in a mask!!) and the oil rigs and fishing vessels.

As we trundle along I look out for interesting places to stop on the way and hope to spot them before we miss the turning. I don’t always succeed, but I did as we got closer to  Dunrobin Castle. Ian says it’s not a real castle, it’s a big house, and I do tend to agree, but it is magnificent. All turrets and fairytailish. 

As you arrive it looks pretty impressive, but it’s not until you see it from the sea side, do you see it in all its glory. It is the home of the Sutherlands Clan and has been since the 1400’s. 

I have to say if I were to be stuck anywhere in lockdown, I think this would be my room of choice.  

Sadly the gardens look better from the upstairs windows than close up, I think they have a bad case of the Box tree caterpillar we heard about on Gardeners World recently, and if it isn’t that, it’s something just as bad, they really were in a poor state, but it was a great stop off, an opportunity to stretch our legs. I really hope they can do something to restore the gardens as they clearly were beautiful once. 

We left the castle about 4pm, and I needed to find us somewhere to stop for the night. One of the things that makes us smile as we drive along is the gorse. It is like a golden burst of sunshine along the edge of the road as we travel. There's loads of it and it’s stunning. We can see where the heather will be glorious later in the year once it flowers but for now, that gorse is really cheerful - a golden glow that we can’t help commenting on as we turn a corner. 

A few of the places I’d spotted earlier as potential park ups had no overnight parking, so we kept going to a recommended spot. Oh my…. I can see why! Helmsdale Harbour is stunning. A little tiny fishing village that welcomes campervans, you make a donation to the RNLI and stay for free. I’m not sure I have enough words to describe it, but it was perfect. When we stop for free, we like to support the local community, so where we can we eat locally, or use the shop. This time we did both. I think we had the biggest portion of sausage and chips we’ve ever had! 

There is nothing better than falling asleep knowing you are going to have a glorious view for your first cup of coffee in the morning.