(Saturday 20th – I’m in a pub with free wifi – well that’s my excuse! – so fingers crossed this might work…)
Former Kirk, now Tarbet museum at Portmahomack
Portmahomack,very modest built environment compared with Cromarty
One of the magical things about Portmahomack is that the bay looks as if it is landlocked – wherever you look across the bay there is land as a back drop.
Moved on north-ish, to Dornoch
Guy Richie and Madonna married here….
Didn’t warm to Dornoch but, in retrospect, this was the last posh place on the way up the East Coast.
I had decided that I would visit Dunrobin Castle – mainly because they purported to have a great display of Pictish stones.
I arrived at 4.10 and was told the castle was closed but that I could look at the gardens, at no charge. There is a “wow” when you look over the gardens but that is the end of the “wow”
The Pictish museum building was closed. The garden looked good from afar and I stayed afar. Dunrobin Castle was built by the Earls of Sutherland. They played a leading role in the Highland Clearances.
On to Helmsdale to where families displaced by the Clearances moved. A harbour village, with a railway station (financed by the Duke of Sutherland). A great number of the displaced crofters emigrated to New Zealand.
Once north of Helmsdale I was running out of options of places to stay – my ancient Shell guide describes this stretch of coast “the extensive clearances left an emptiness and desolation tat still inhabits this landscape I thought I might end up in Thurso. As I was grinding slowly up the hill going up out of Dunbeath when I saw a camp site sign I was going slowly enough to turn left.
and a map:
Interesting about scots to kiwis.. presumably Dunedin is where they pitched up? More pictish twirls please.
ReplyDeleteGuy Ritchie supposedly said Madonna was a real trial to live with.
Grey comes in lots of colours doesn't it. :)