John o’ Groats Trail Day 6.
Distance today: 21.4 miles.
Total distance: 110.9 miles.
Accommodation: campsite.
First stop: Linda’s Place which was an old-school café in Brora. I’d been craving scrambled eggs on toast for a while and finally got to have some. Chatted with the woman running the place – possibly Linda herself – and she confirmed they did get a lot of hikers but probably more cyclists who tended to arrive in big groups and take over the place. As if on cue, 3 overweight Scandinavian cyclists came in and pretty much took over the place.
Time for another long beach. While the walking was generally easy, a strong headwind and the occasional stony section probably made it slightly tougher going than yesterday. Not that I was looking for distraction but when I stumbled across a piece of driftwood I convinced myself it looked like the Bath Ales hare logo and spent some time trying to take an arty photo of it. Maybe my subconscious was worrying about where my next beer was going to come from.
One of the advantages of not doing extensive research is you get to be surprised. As I walked along the coast I could see a big castle in the distance. A very big castle. The closer I got the more impressive it became. In fact I’d say it looked more like a French chateau than a castle but whatever it was, it was very grand. Turned out it was Dunrobin Castle. I took a detour away from the coast and eventually got to the front door. It was open to the public but alas having a rucksack and no car meant I was barred from entry. Travelling vagabonds were not welcome. I don’t think my feelings were hurt too badly. I do have a strange relationship with history and its artefacts in that I am generally interested in what it looks like but not fussed about the detail. Or at least paying to see the detail.
After a pitstop in nearby Golspie (reasonable coffee but shockingly bad sponge cake disguised as a muffin) there was a little bit further to go along the beach before the route turned inland to do a big circuit around Loch Fleet.
Having spent the majority of the trail on barely established paths, it was a novelty to walk on a combination of ‘proper’ tracks and country roads. The loch itself had quite an estuary feel to it, complete with mud flats and sand banks inhabited by an extended family of sunbathing seals. I think the day was definitely catching up with me and I was happy to finally see the signs telling me I had reached Embo. Other than knowing it catered for caravans and tents, I had no idea what to expect from the campsite. Welcome to the Butlins-style Grannie’s Heilan’ Hame. I think it’s fair to say it might be a little bit past its best but obviously not so far as to deter the legions of people in mobile homes or the not so mobile static caravans. For the backpackers, they had put aside a stretch of ground called the dunes. A dune-like hill did separate you from the rest of the campsite and it made you wonder what you were paying for. It definitely wasn’t for a sense of enclosed security. And the showers were rubbish. In the spirit of providing an even-handed review, I did go to their bar and have a very nice half-chicken and chips.
