Day 110 Tongue to Cape Wrath

 

 Date: Thursday 26^th July 2012   Distance: None

 

Today gave us the most generous breakfast we have ever had. It was very nice but everyone was over faced by it and left a lot .It left us with an unwelcome guilty feeling. Our land lady’s husband had just gone off on a long fishing trip so her mind might have been on that instead of quantities. I had started with porridge and missed out on the beautiful arrangement of fruit. I hate to think how many calories lurked in the massive” full Scottish “that I tried to do my best with. Hope she learns moderation or she could have a coronary on her hands.

 

As it happens she gave me the phone number for the local surgery as I had misplaced some of my necessary thyroxin tablets. Without them I would grind to a halt in a few days. Small though the surgery is they have an on the spot pharmacy and would see me when they opened at 6.

 

Early breakfast at 8 meant we could catch the ferry at 9.30 to Cape Wrath. It was a little motor boat. Another passenger took his solo bike across the prow but ours would have been too big. We were happy to take the bus. It was a very calm sea but the motor on the boat stopped when rope got tangled in it. The ferryman ran the risk of severing his fingers I thought as he pulled out the obstruction. The ferry was £6 return and then it was £10 for a very entertaining bus trip. The ride, in a little transit van, took 45 minutes to the furthermost corner where Robert Stevenson’s lighthouse stands. Any bigger and it wouldn’t have fitted between the sides of the bridges. There were very few places for passing being mostly single track “road” and very rough and stony. The views were great on the way out but even better on the way back as the sun and clouds changed the play of light.

 

We soon entered Ministry of Defence land where a notice says that there is no reward for finding military debris. Across the wasteland were a line of tanks regularly used for target practise. Our driver said the pink one was painted and wrapped in bubble wrap by children from Durness Primary school while on a field trip! He also pointed out the milestone newer than the rest painted with a number 8 and a puffin that replaced one blown up by the MoD- again Durness Primary had made its mark.

 

We had an hour at the lighthouse though you couldn’t go in. A little cafe did snacks and drinks but there weren’t any loos. There were lovely views as you would expect. On the way back the bus coughed and spluttered then stopped - the battery connections had come loose from all the bumps.

 

We were lucky with the weather the ferry is often cancelled due to bad weather but our day was perfect. As we rounded the hairpin bend towards the quay worrying a bit about the brakes on the steep descent, the sea ranged in colour from pale mauve to turquoise and I don’t think I have seen any sea more beautiful anywhere!

 

We cycled back to the Bike Hut but no one in sight except for a pasty obviously awaiting consumption. After a phone call we met the owner in his people carrier. He couldn’t help our wheel rim problem but he gave us the number of Thurso bike shop ( we’d met before) who sold us a new one over the phone and said they would have it delivered to our next but one B and B. The B and B agreed to receive it for us.

 

We visited Smoo Cave and the waterfall after lunch. It is tucked away at the top end of white sanded Sango Bay. Though it is £4 each to go on a small, up close boat trip, to walk is free. We thought it a wonderful sight. Its entrance, an impressive arch is 130ft wide and 33 ft high leading into a cathedral like cavern over 200 ft long. A second chamber extends 75 ft to where the Allt Smoo, flowing from the moors, drops 80 feet down a vertical shaft into a deep pool.

 

At 5 we booked into the youth Hostel. The warden might have been shy but it has to be the least friendly hostel we have been in over the years. It also seems to be stuck in a time warp- maybe 60s unlike a lot of hostels today. The prices are on a par with the really good ones but this had one shower for the men and one for the women. Men were queuing, blocking the route to the toilets. Our room had bunks only and a door, locked but adjoining a room with a chatty family in made it very less than private.

Next was a visit to the Dr’s surgery where they accessed my details on the internet and gave me a month’s supply of pills. In the waiting room I met the man from the treacle tart cafe and a chef from the hotel where we would eat our dinner. The latter was a bit worrying!

 

It was a good meal at the Smoo Cave Hotel, with very quick service and we should have stayed there instead of the common room of the youth hostel which had everyone keeping to themselves quietly reading.

 

A bunk double bed just doesn’t work!