DAY4 THE TOP OF SCOTLAND
First stop Wick
Tuesday 5th July we left our base in Dornoch and drove north up the A9 .Toilet stop in Wick then on to John o Groats . Short walk on to Duncansby head to see the famous stacks.
Back into the car and on to the most northernly point in the UK Dunnet head .
John o' Groats is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Britain, although this is not a claim made by the inhabitants. It is, though, one end of the longest distance between two inhabited points on the British mainland, Land's End being the other. The actual most northerly point is nearby Dunnet Head.
The famous "Journey's End" signpost at John o' Groats is privately owned and operated by the same Penzance-based photography company which operates its counterpart at Land's End, with a fee payable for having pictures taken next to the signpost.
Duncansby Stacks, rock pinnacles to the immediate south of Duncansby Head
Next stop Thurso for Dinner
Thurso lies at the junction of the north-south A9 and the west-east A836 road, connected to Bridge of Forss in the west and Castletown in the east, and is the northernmost town on the British mainland.
While in Thurso we seen bus after bus of workers returning from Dounrey.
Dounreay is about 9 miles west of the town , which grew rapidly when the research establishment was developed during the mid 20th century. The establishment remained a major element in the economy of Thurso and Caithness until 1994 when the government ordered the reactors closed for good; a large population employed in the clean-up of the site (which is scheduled to continue until at least 2025) remains.
All day breakfast was huge in the Y Not bar Thurso
Homeward bound right down the A9 past Telly tubbie windmills to our base of Dornoch.