Today was a delightful day save for the shock we both received at breakfast when our host Sally-Ann suggested we peruse the latest online edition of the Scottish Cycling magazine. She looked at Bernadette and said that she thought she should read the article because it may indeed be referring to her.
Here is a facsimile of the story - I am sure like us you will be equally shocked!
It took sometime to recover but we did manage to gather ourselves together and, with the help of Rob, our host, plan a short, part-day trip around the immediate environs. The John O'Groats, the lighthouse at Duncansby Heads, Dunnett Heads (where the spurious article in Scottish Cycling claimed Tom would be finishing his ride), lunch at Dunnet - skim through Skarfskerry and home.
Conscious of the likely temperatures and aware of the wind that was whistling past Mey House on its way to the sea we donned all of our meagre winter clothing collection - we collected the Mey House binoculars and headed off in search of scenery and of Puffins! - we achieve our ambition just in time for lunch.
We give Mey Castle that we can see from our bedroom window a miss - well we would be able to see it if the weather was just a little finer - the Queen Mother has moved on to a better place and Charles is not yet in summer residence so we deem there to be little point in dropping in tho see them.
Indeed if the weather had been better the castle may well have looked like this - indeed later in the day it look precisely like this!
We say hello to the neighbours.
We arrive at John O'Groats - it is early in the season - the ferry for the Orkney's has departed - its load light - the tour buses from Inverness have yet to have commercial quantities of passengers desirous of rising early in the morning - getting on the coach - travelling three hours to John O'Groats - boarding a ferry across part of the North sea - taking another coach tour on the windswept, main Orkney Island before repeating the ordeal on their return to Inverness that evening - I will have to consult Rob Parker but I am sure that the reward offered by the Orkney's for such an exercise would not justify the effort!
Some photographs of John O'Groats - The first simply to show that we have been there and the second to show the sense of humour of the locals for indeed it must be the product of a sense of humour!
Off to the Duncansby Heads Lighthouse - "you might see Puffins - you might see Orkas" said our host - no sign of the Orkas or the Puffins but we see Fulmars huddling into the sea cliffs - we view the stacks standing clear in the ocean - we walk the grassy hills behind the lighthouse and lookout at the oil tankers that collect the proceeds of the numerous North Sea Oil rigs that dot the North Eastern coast of Scotland.
To Dunnet Heads - still in search of Puffins!
The person suspected of being part of Tom's advance survey team is seen at the lighthouse!
We go in search of Puffin! - we find them even though you may not find sufficient proof in the photographs to verify our claim!
We head to last night's eating establishment for lunch - Cullen Skink for two - look that up on Google - delicious.
Finally manage to have a heart to heart chat with some highland cattle calves - satisfy a fascination born of the magnificent paintings that hung on the walls of my childhood home.
A lovely - no - a delightful day!
