Day 6 – Inverness to John o’Groats to Kirkwall.
It’s an early start, leaving behind the ‘Capital of the Highlands’, crossing over the Black Isle, and continuing past Dunrobin Castle. From here, we drive along the northeast Highland coastline, traveling into some of Scotland’s most dramatic scenery.
Onward through Scotland’s most northerly mainland village, John o’Groats, and then to Gills Bay, where we board the ferry, and cross the Pentland Firth into the Orkney Archipelago. It’s a short drive to the famous Italian Chapel where we stop for a visit before continuing to the Viking stronghold of Kirkwall, Capital of Orkney. Here we can visit Kirkwall’s magnificent Viking Cathedral and enjoy its historic winding streets in the evening.
Overnight – Orkney
We haven’t been following the itinerary closely, but we knew that before we started. We’re with our new driver/guide for the next few days and he has his own ways. It’s nice that the driver/guides have the liberty to make independent choices ..depending…
Dornoch Cathedral
Another oldie, built around 1500, it’s Dornoch Castle, also called the Palace of Dornoch, now the Dornoch Castle Hotel and the Dornoch Distillery.
Why? Obvi. (“Hamish,” the famous Highland cat of Dornoch.)
Seafood has been a culinary highlight.
Dunbeath Castle from the shoreside of Dunbeath Harbor.
Erected in 1991 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of legendary Scottish novelist Neil M. Gunn, who was born in Dunbeath. The boy and the fish depict a scene from a 1937 novel.
COOS!
Gotta love ’em.
John o’Groats: “The actual residential community of John o’ Groats is a scattered, linear crofting township located slightly inland along the main road. What tourists see at the coast is purely the commercial hub built explicitly to harvest tourist dollars from those finishing the North Coast 500 or catching a ferry.” To Harvest Tourist Dollars, what a great expression.
We took many ferries, I don’t have pictures of all of them but it looked mostly like this. The trips were from 30 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes. No one complained, really, the seating was comfortable, there was food and drink, and other necessities, and the air was so so good.
We spent the night just two blocks from here, St Magnus Cathedral, but late arrival and early departure and lazy-done-in legs means I didn’t get to walk around it or go in.
It was founded in 1137 by the Viking Earl Rognvald in honor of his martyred uncle, Magnus Erlendsson. The bones of both St. Magnus and St. Rognvald remain interred inside the pillars of the choir. It is the only completely surviving medieval cathedral in Scotland. So far, not getting in here is my only regret.
