Thurso

Today has been one of my favourite days in Scotland. We have had blue skies and sunshine all day. It’s been brilliant.

We have had a little fun with taxis today. After breakfast this morning we checked out of our Inverness guest house and waited out the front for the taxi our host had booked to take us to the railway station. When we asked him about the taxi we mentioned that we had four very large suitcases and that he should book something suitable. So we were a bit surprised when a regular sedan taxi pulled up. We won’t fit our cases in that, I was thinking. When the driver asked for our names, it turned out he had been sent to the wrong address and we weren’t supposed to be his passengers, so he left.

Ten minutes later, at the agreed time, our taxi turned up. But it was also too small to take our luggage. He jammed three suitcases into the boot, but he couldn’t fit the fourth one in as well as the four of us passengers. I knew where the station was, so I told him to put the other case in the front seat and I’d walk to the station. The train was due in 40 minutes’ time, and I figured I could walk there in no more than 20. Marg said she’d walk with me, so Neil and Janie took the taxi with the four large suitcases and Marg and I walked at a good pace in the direction of the station.

Marg and I did rather well, as we were almost at the bridge by the time the taxi passed us in a steady stream of morning traffic. We arrived at the station only a few minutes after the taxi. Not a bad effort. Soon we had boarded our train, found four seats facing each other, and stowed away our luggage. The journey on the Far North Line would cover 130 km in 3 hours 43 minutes and the train would only require two carriages. Most of the people in our carriage were tourists.

I was pleased because the window near me was clean, meaning I could get pretty good photos on this trip. The blue skies and bright sunshine showed off the landscape in all its late spring colours, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen greener fields. The first section of the line, between Inverness and Dingwall, was the same track we’d come in on a couple of days ago. At Dingwall, the Kyle line forked off to the west, and our line headed due north.

I’ve included a map so you can see our train route. At times the A9 road was by our side as we headed along the North Sea coastline. You can see from the contours that parts of the journey were through highlands and other parts through lowlands.

Between Dingwall and Tain, we followed the shoreline of Cromarty Firth for a good distance, though there are no photos of that because I was sitting on the opposite side of the train. On my side were green fields and gentle rolling hills.

After Tain, the line headed in a north westerly direction, and we followed the shoreline of Dornoch Firth for some distance. Once again, the water was on the opposite side of the train so there are no photos. On my side the green pasture land continued and the grazing animals were plentiful. The bright yellow gorse was everywhere, providing a wonderful contrast with the green grass and the blue sky. We saw large saw large stacks of whisky barrels as the train passed Glenmorangie Distillery, and a few minutes later we passed Balblair, one of the oldest distilleries in the world. It was founded in 1790.

At Culrain the line left the Dornoch Firth and headed north again. The hills on either side of us were higher now, and the yellow gorse was everywhere. We passed some small freshwater lochs and forded some crystal clear mountain streams. Dwellings and farm properties were quite spread out. We passed a number of stone crofts from yesteryear.

Not long after leaving Rogart our line reached the North Sea, and for a while we hugged the coastline closely (there’s one photo below), travelling north east, as did the A9 road. The hills on our left were quite high now and the yellow gorse was still prevalent. This section of the line on my side of the train had some of the finest scenery I’ve ever laid eyes on during a rail journey – one of Scotland’s hidden gems. Already I’m looking forward to travelling on this line again on Wednesday as we return to Inverness, before continuing on to Kingussie.

At Helmsdale, the line left the North Sea behind and headed inland through mountain ranges and then moorland. Small lochs and mountain streams came and went in the blink of an eye as the train seemed to gather pace through the remote landscape. We passed through a couple of places listed as train stops without stopping. They had place names and were called ‘request stops’, though no one requested stopping today, but there didn’t seem to be any platforms, buildings or even station names there, so I’m not quite sure why anyone would ever want to use them or, indeed, how they would get on or off the train. Eventually we arrived in Thurso. The train was going a little further to Wick, where the line ended. What a fantastic journey that was. My favourite train journey ever. Mind you, the brilliant weather played a role too.

A taxi had been arranged to pick us up and transfer us to our guest house. It was due to take us first, then return to the station and pick up our four American friends who are travelling on the same schedule as us and take them to their guest house. The driver tried jamming three suitcases into the boot of his sedan, but he couldn’t close the boot, let alone fit a fourth suitcase and four passengers inside the car. We told him to take the other group with their smaller suitcases, then come back and sort us out.

He rang a mate, who soon arrived in another small car. He took Janie and Neil and their two cases. A few minutes later the first guy returned from dropping off the Americans and picked up Marg and I and our luggage. So eventually we arrived at our guest house. We were really relaxed about all the taxi stuff-ups today, but still a little perplexed as to why no one thought to order larger taxis for a group of four tourists travelling with luggage.

Our guest house, Pentland Lodge, is fantastic. A 300 year-old former manse, probably attached to the Presbyterian Church, it is run by a really friendly host named Lisa. Her voice is so loud that when she sees us and calls out to us, if we haven’t seen her first, we jump in fright! Our room is huge, which is a really nice change from some of the ones we’ve been cramped up in. And the view from the guest house across Thurso Bay to the Dunnet Head nature reserve is fantastic. Just a short distance beyond Dunnet Head is John O’Groats, the most northerly point on the UK mainland. It’s about a 20-minute car ride from here.

It was so warm when we arrived that I put a short sleeved shirt on. I would never have believed I could do that in just about the most northerly part of the UK mainland and do that. We really hit the jackpot today with the weather. We walked the short distance into the main shopping district.

Thurso is obviously quite a historic town. You can see from the grand buildings and churches that it has been an important, and quite wealthy, place in days gone by. The Vikings established a settlement here. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a main centre for both national and international trade in goods such as fish, beef and leather hides. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, rock slabs known as Caithness flagstone were also a major export from here, being used as far away as Sydney, Australia. Just around the corner from our guest house, the very grand masonic hall, looking almost like a castle, gives an indication of the status that must once have been attached to Thurso. And, let’s face it, if anyone should be capable of erecting a showpiece building, surely it would be the stone masons.

The Associated Presbyterian Church in the last photo in this set is a dominant structure, but it has fallen into disrepair, and is currently fenced off with danger signs warning people not to go near. I wonder if they will attempt to repair it. Surely they won’t leave it like that, and I can’t imagine they’d ever consider pulling it down.

Marg and Janie wanted to explore the shopping mall. Today was a bank holiday, but many places were open. Neil and I walked along the beach. To the west we could see the Scrabster ferry terminal, from where we’ll depart for Orkney tomorrow. To the west was Dunnet Head. At the eastern end of the beach, in the Pentland Firth, are the ruins of Thurso Castle. Parts of the castle were demolished in the 1950s to make it safe due to poor construction.

After Neil and I finished our beach walk we walked back through the shopping mall. Marg and Janie weren’t there. So we walked a little further down the main road. Across the street I spied a wool shop. We opened the door and guess who we found inside! Surprise, surprise!

We ate dinner at Ynot Bar and Grill in Thurso, then returned to the guest house. Tomorrow we have an early start, as our ferry leaves for Orkney at 8.45 am. I can’t wait.