Wild(e) Camp. Wild Weather

Durness

9th - 11th Sept

Dunnett Head - a short distance up the road from John o' Groats and the most northerly point on mainland Britain.  We managed to keep our footing in the strong winds as we made our way across the cliff top to the lighthouse and onward and upward to enjoy the incredible views across the bays below and to the mountains beyond.

 I was curious to discover more about the life of a crofter and we had the opportunity to satisfy this curiosity when visiting Mary-Ann's Cottage in Dunnet and seeing 150 years of crofting life in just 2 hours (well, maybe just a peek into those 150 years!).  Mary-Ann Calder had moved from her  life-long home to a nursing home in 1990 and at her request, her croft has been perfectly preserved creating a unique opportunity to interpret both the past and present life of crofting.

Mary-Anne's cottage, outhouses - and peat pile for the fire!

Thatched pig sty - marker showing distance to fresh water!

Her grandfather built the cottage in 1850 and the croft was successively worked by him, his son and finally his grand-daughter, Mary-Ann and her husband and throughout the years little of the working practices had changed.  The contents of the cottage as well as outside have been left unchanged: the equipment in the various outhouses: hen house, the cow-shed which housed 2 cows and the tiniest of milking stools - apparently cows were much smaller in those days than the current day breeds;  where the 2 horses and all the tack were kept and the shed - oh that shed!  A rusty doll's pram hanging on a hook, the old bicycle Mary-Anne rode well into her 80's and so many tools and 'apparatus'!  It was mind-boggling and very evident that absolutely nothing was ever thrown away in case it might come in useful one day (sound familiar???!).  We were even shown a small crudely made weaving frame so all the remnants of string/rope (which again they made themselves with another machine!) would be used to weave onto this frame to make door mats!  The chap that showed us around knew so much of the way of a crofter's life it was a very informative glimpse into a very hard and difficult life - 800 metres from the cottage just to fetch water across the heath land  in a couple of pails!  No electricity so everything indoors and outside was manual - impossible to grasp such a concept with all the gadgets available nowadays!  An incredibly tough yet simple and uncluttered life.  When we entered the tiny cottage we found a distant relative of Mary-Anne cleaning the brasses, the peat fire burning bright in the hearth - it felt as if Mary-Anne had just popped out and was expected back any minute.  We were shown around: the tiny box bed used by Mary-Anne and her ancestors (and they weren't small people - what a squeeze!); the tiny fireside chairs; rag rug in front of the hearth, so many family photos still perched on shelves and mantelpiece; the 'modern' kitchen that was added with a government grant given to crofters in the 1950's when electricity finally found its way to that part of the world - though Mary-Anne refused to use the little Baby Belling preferring until the day she had to leave the cottage to cook on the open peat fire.  It's impossible to imagine no heating in the coldest of weathers in such an exposed site - and they kept the windows open as with no anti-biotics available it was the only way they had to try and remain healthy - as long as you didn't die from exposure I guess!

 

the little box bed used by Mary-Ann and her ancestors

Then it was onward to Durness.  

Moments of reflection:

As we travel through the northern Highlands I begin to grasp the full meaning of 'vast'!!  It feels so remote - and no wonder:  Sutherland has the lowest population density in Western Europe.  It almost feels hostile on occasion.  Quite impossible to catch on film.  It's simply awesome.  Scotland at its most natural and rugged.  I feel we're the only ones in the world at times!   The coastline is fringed with spectacular beaches of sweeping golden sands, soaring cliffs and deep caves.  Much of the travelling is on a single track road through this vast, dramatic and powerful landscape.  We're surrounded by the rugged magnificence of mountain scenery (formed from some of the oldest rocks in the world), their peaks still just visible through the eerie cladding of low cloud in places.  We drive through barren moorlands of peat and rock broken up with wooden areas and lochs; past rich green  pastures scattered with little white dots of sheep.  The grey stone walling snakes up over the hills.  We climb the steep roads which appear to stop in mid-air ahead of us and as we dip downward there they are: those splendid views as far as the eye can see.  

Ard Neakie on Loch Eriboll - salmon and mussels fishing

Panoramic views across Farr and Torrisdale bays

We had just passed these incredible views when tucked in just the other side of the bridge over the Kyle of Tongue we found a super little spot to park up for the night. There was no rush to reach Durness and we'd so enjoyed our day it felt right to stop and reflect a while.

Travelling as we are is an incredible opportunity and it's plain to see how much ground we're covering, the diverse range of places we're seeing, people we're meeting so it's a welcome opportunity here and there  to take a little quiet time out.

Parked for our overnight stop

We settled at our wild camp stop enjoying the view over a drink or two.  We felt very cosy in our little motor home parked by the water's edge all on our own and quite self-sufficient - until the gales got up in the night and I started panicking when I heard the waves of the Loch and realised we'd parked at low tide and now wondered how far we actually were from the water's edge!!  By light of day of course with all sleepiness washed away I checked outside the window to find we were a safe distance from the water's edge!  

We motored on across to Durness and stopped for lunch overlooking a bay named 'Burn Woman' - named in memory of a women who was swept away while collecting peat.

The rain had stopped though the winds were exceptionally strong. We've experienced high winds up here but this was something else - we had heard on the weather forecast the tail end of a hurricane was due to hit northern parts of Britain - this must be it!  We finished our lunch and battled our way against the wind down to the bay which we had all to ourselves - I wonder why!!  I can't get used to all this open space, open roads, vast landscape - it feels so liberating!  

We have this all to ourselves!!

 

 













We got a bit carried away investigating a cave tucked away out of sight of the sea

  - just as well we didn't hang around any longer than we did........

We returned refreshed and invigorated and set off on the road again-  totally forgetting we'd not packed any of the dishes away - which found me lurching around trying to grab as much as possible as Michael tried to find somewhere to pull over!  Will we ever learn????

Durness - the centre of Scotland's remote north-west 

With very few customers around now we had the choice of pitches so we chose front row on the cliff edge - just look at those views in front of us! 

I've seen more rainbows during this tour of Scotland than in my lifetime!

Temperatures now around 10 degrees with wind-chill factor making it feel much colder!  The wind still very fierce with short sharp bitter cold showers that feel like icicles pelting the skin!!  Dress of the day is now vest, T shirt, fleece sweatshirt, 100% wind block jacket, woolly hat (just bought!) and gloves!  While you folks down south bask in warm summer temperatures! 

The site facilities were not what we have become accustomed to in Club sites and the idea of showering in the draughty cubicles with windows that wouldn't shut in that cold, windy and wet weather was not in the least appealing!!

We didn't get much sleep that night - I actually became  concerned that we might actually roll over such was the force of the wind which was really rocking the van more than I would have ever believed possible!  With that and the harsh loud lashing of the rain it was unbelievably noisy and quite frankly a bit scary - we were pitched near the edge of a cliff top!!  Michael assured me we couldn't roll over or be pitched off the edge - was I assured?  Well, we were still there the next morning!  

Only the foolhardy remain

Libby perched with 2 companions

The milk was sloshing from side to side in my cereal bowl at breakfast and the winds didn't abate during the day so by evening we were still rocking, our drinks slopping from side to side!  I'd popped to the little local store earlier and the moment I left the shop the heavens opened.  Before I knew it apples and peaches were dropping around me -  the paper bag having become soaked in seconds and reduced to a mush!  So there I was battling gale force winds, being lashed with icy rain, trying to pick up rolling fruit and stuff them in my pockets while struggling to hold onto the rest of the groceries!  A shopping bag would have been so much more sensible!  Then as I got to the door of the van there was an extra gust which didn't actually knock me over but which inclined me at rather an odd angle across the window; I recovered my balance and just managed to open the door against the strength of the wind and scramble inside but I had this image of Michael looking out and seeing Ruth flying past the window in her pink woolly hat! Even the sea birds are flying sideways!

Do I hear anyone asking why on earth we're still here??  Constantly being woken during the night as we're buffeted about by the wind and lashed by rain, lying there hoping for occasional reprieve of this battering, cold, draughty shower rooms, battling the elements every time you go out hoping you don't get pelted with freezing rain before you get back .......   I wouldn't change any of it - well,  I could have done without the nights and the anxiety that we might tip over but by day it was a different story.  I loved watching the waves battering the rocks; the wind whipping the tops of the rollers as they crashed down pulling the spray back to form beautiful 'manes' of the white horses - a beautiful sight which I could would watch for hours! 

 


I was fascinated by the beautiful patterns left behind on the sands as the waves receded; battling with the wind as we made our way along the cliff tops, down to the bay, along the sands or over the rocks.   That wild crazy weather on that extreme northerly untamed part of Great Britain was exhilarating, energising, liberating, brilliant, wonderful - I felt so free.  It truly conjures a sense of excitement to be in the midst of this tumult, the fury of nature.

(Needless to say our plans to visit Cape Wrath were thwarted as all boats trips had been suspended!) 

standing on the far side of the camp site  .......

...........  looking down at that amazing bay with its turquoise waters

"Yay!!!!" - some sun and blue sky