Month: May 2022

The Forth Ferry and a Walk

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, Ferries & boats, Scotland, walksLeave a comment

The Forth Ferry is run by Sula Boats between North Berwick and Anstruther. It does not run every day but only 2-3 times per month in the summer because of the tides. We were down at the harbour in North Berwick a while before it sailed so I had a wander around and saw some Eider ducks.

Our boat was soon ready and we set off.

There were only six of us, including three women going to do some wild swimming at Pittenweem accompanied by their dog.

There was also a guy with a bike who was going to cycle to St Andrews. The captain said that in high season there could be 50 people on board. We passed by Craigleith Island which we can see from our house.

In summer, puffins and gulls nest there.

We also saw several flying gannets with seaweed in their beaks. It was being taken back to their mates on the Bass Rock as a gift. After almost 45 minutes we were approaching Anstruther.

Entering the harbour, we passed the Chalmers Lighthouse which was built in the late 19th century in memory of Thomas Chalmers a native of Anstruther who died in 1847. We disembarked nearby.

After coffee we walked a section of the Fife Coastal Path eastwards towards Crail. The trail is 117 miles in length and runs from Kincardine to Newburgh in the Firth of Tay. We walked through eastern Anstruther and then through Cellardyke where there is a harbour now used for drying washing.

On the other side of the village is a tidal pool.

The path passes a campsite and then runs along the coast with views towards the Isle of May.

There were beaches with lots of shells

rockier ones

and one with some sand where we ate our picnic lunch.

There were several examples of fly tipping.

We passed by Caiplie Caves which were a site of early Christian worship by St Ethernan, monks and pilgrims. St Ethernan moved to the Isle of May to establish a monastery there. It was ransacked and they were killed by the Danes in 875AD.

Street artists have decorated the cave. We then retraced our steps back to Anstruther to give ourselves time to sample the fare at the well-known award winning Anstruther Fish Bar and Restaurant. Afterwards I had time to walk along the western beach. Here and on the path, I had found quite a lot of sea glass including some very small, coloured pieces.

Our boat was then approaching so it was time to return to North Berwick on a slightly rougher sea.

Soon we were almost home

and walked back to the house in the rain.

Round Britain: Scourie

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, birds & birdwatching, roads, Scotland, walksLeave a comment

There was a brief lull in the rain yesterday morning and a cuckoo was persistently calling as we left Kinlochbervie. The cloud was hanging over the mountain behind the harbour.

Back at Rhiconich we picked up the A838 again and headed south through pouring rain in a moorland landscape with many lochans on either side of the road.

We saw one guy with an incredibly long fishing rod near one. At Laxford Bridge during the continuing rain, we took the A894 past a working quarry and downhill into Scourie. We were a little early to check in to the campsite so had a walk on the beach.

I found some relatively small pieces of sea glass including a tiny rare blue piece. The community bird hide was closed but oystercatchers were feeding further down the beach. The beach had less waste on it than Kinlochbervie.

Scourie comes from a Norse word Skógarærgi which means shieling of the woods. There are quite a few trees round the end of the bay with some non-native species obviously planted within the last hundred years. It was the birthplace of General Hugh Mackay who was Commander in Chief of William and Mary’s Scottish Army in 1689-1690 during the conflict with James II. In the 2011 census, the population was 132. Most of the crofts around the village we established in the early 19th century. The island of Handa is just visible beyond the headland.

It was evacuated and the population emigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada after the famine of 1847. It is now owned by the Scourie Estate and is a nature reserve. Sitting in the van we have a great view through the back window; and have seen the fin of a porpoise or dolphin in the bay and the occasional seal head popping up. There are pied wagtails, house sparrows and a wheatear on the grass. The first half of the morning was dry, so we had a wander around the bay.

Scourie Lodge, built by the Duke of Sutherland in 1835 is now a hotel. We plan to eat there this evening.

The harbour end of the bay had only one boat moored there

and a net lying on the beach.

There is a small lochan on the other side of the road.

A signpost points the footpath to Tarbert: it continues the other way around the back of the beach. Where I had a wander among the rocks.

Oystercatchers and eider ducks were on one of the rocks.

Tomorrow morning, we will be up very early to drive back home. With various work to get done on the house over the next few months I am not sure when we will return to our coastal journey.

Round Britain: Kinlochbervie

On By Carol HenshawIn roads, ScotlandLeave a comment

Leaving Durness on a very wet grey day, we took the A838 southwards. Ordnance Survey maps show a lot of hut circles, cairns and old field systems on the land on each side of the road. There are also abandoned quarries and some patches of last years burnt moor for grouse shooting. The road passes Loch Caladail and then runs down to the shores of the Kyle. At the end of the Kyle, it follows the River Dionard for a while before passing Gualin House and Loch Tarbhajh. The A838 goes by the end of Loch Inchard at Riconcich where the junction of the B80 to Kinlochbervie, the most northwesterly port in Scotland is. The road winds along the lochside and through several small communities: Achriesgill, Inshegra and Badcall before heading down a 15% descent into Kinlochbervie. The roadside is littered with dead and decaying cars, lorries and tractors. Just as we passed the end of Loch Sheigra, the rain ceased for a while so I could take a photo.

Prior to the early 1960s Kinlochbervie was a crofting village. Some abandoned houses are still in the middle of the town

close to the Free Presbyterian Church, the only church in the community. There is a community fire station, coastguard, a medical practice, a filling station, a couple of stores, café, a hotel and several B&Bs. The old harbour at Loch Clash is now a motorhome stop-over which is where we are spending one night. If you arrive early, you can use one of the five electric hook-ups and there are ten off-grid places. Payment is made to the Spar shop just up the road.

The pebble beach at the head of Loch Clash is littered with plastic waste from the fishing industry.

In 1964, work began to convert the village into a major European fishing harbour. This took around twenty years and although the local fishing fleet is small; other ships bring in their catch and it is processed here. The new harbour is certainly busy with large buildings for processing the fish, housing the harbour master and others behind where many nets were laid out to dry. HGVs were getting ready to load up late afternoon.

While I was wandering around, the sun finally came out very briefly.

There are interesting rocks just past the end of the pier;

and a lot of native plants: gorse, speedwells, rowan and elder trees coming into leaf and buds on the heather. However, along one road someone must have planted bamboo and an arum-like large lily which I could not identify. They have now become very invasive over a large area. Elsewhere I saw Spanish bluebells escaping out of a garden.

If you have more time and good weather, you can go to Oldshoremore along the minor road from Kinlochbervie and from there; do an eight-mile return walk to Sandwood Bay which is part of the Sandwood Estate run by the John Muir Trust. Unfortunately, heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow so that and the possibility of a boat trip from Tarbert to Handa Island are probably not going to happen.

Round Britain: Sango Sands and Balnakiel

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, ScotlandLeave a comment

Our campsite in Durness sits above Sango Sands beach with great views from the back of the van.

There is a viewpoint giving wider views over the bay.

Much of the rock around Durness is limestone but down on the beach is some Lewisian gneiss.

Durness parish was cleared by Lord Reay over a 30 year period preceding his sale to the Sutherland estate in 1829. More clearances to enable sheep farming continued afterwards, some involving disputes and resistance from the locals. You can still see the remains of croft buildings among the 19th century and more recent buildings. This morning we walked the mile down to Balnakiel.

Most of the land is sheep and some cattle farming. The road passes Loch Croispol

and then the Craft Village. The buildings here were constructed in the mid 1950s as a Ministry of Defence Early Warning Station during the Cold War. It was never commissioned and in 1964 the County Council acquired it and the Craft Village was born. It is now owned by the residents and there is also the Cocoa Mountain Coffee Shop. A little further on are the ruins of an old church.

Balnakiel has been a centre of Christianity since the 8th century when St Maelrubha founded a monastery. The current church dates from 1617 and was rebuilt in 1690. In 1843 it was abandoned. Balnakiel House across the road was built in 1744 and has been the home of the chiefs of the Clan Mackay and may incorporate part of a bishop’s summer residence. We then wandered down to the beach.

The dunes are an SSI and in summer rangers offer guided walks to see the wildlife. In 1991, shifting sands revealed the grave and skeleton of a 12-year-old Viking Warrior, with a helmet and shield. You can walk four miles along the old military road to and around Faraid Head but the tip is an inaccessible MOD area. Had it not been raining we might have done the walk but instead had to return to Durness.

Round Britain: Cape Wrath

On By Carol HenshawIn roads, ScotlandLeave a comment

Cape Wrath has been described as the last true wilderness in the British Isles. The tip is the most north-westerly point of the UK mainland and is closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London. It is further north than Moscow and Vladivostock. A large part of the Cape is a Ministry of Defence Bombardment Range which is still active and used at times, often at short notice. One way of visiting when the forces are not operating is via the ferry and minibus which does a three-hour tour. We woke early and set off to walk the 2.5 miles down the road to the Keoldale ferry to cross and pick up the Cape Wrath minibus on the other side. The A838 south of Durness was not built until 1832.

Down at the Kyle of Durness is a standing stone erected in 2000 as a memorial to ancient and Celtic peoples.

A little further along we reached the pier where what has been described as the smallest passenger ferry service in Great Britain operates from. While waiting for it, we saw someone take a small tank of diesel over to the other side to top up a minibus.

The ferry arrived just before 9.30am and we embarked for the short journey across the Kyle to the pier on Cape Wrath.

Our minibus was waiting and took us slowly along the single-track unmade road. The only road to cross the peninsula was built to service the lighthouse in 1833 and is 11 miles long.

There are abandoned houses which used to belong to the shepherds who lived and worked here and the peat banks that supplied their fuel. There were views over to Kearvaig where there is a bothy and two stacks which are known as ‘The Cathedral’.

We saw several walkers and cyclists during our time on the Cape, some of whom were wild camping. At one point we spotted a few red deer in the distance. They are numerous on the Cape and are one reason why there are no trees. Just before you reach the lighthouse there are views south towards Sandwood Bay which is only accessible on foot. Apparently there have been reports in the past of mermaids being spotted from there.

 The lighthouse itself was built in 1828 by Robert Stevenson and was automated in 1998. It is now run by solar panels with a generator as reserve. There is a café there so after refuelling and we still had some time to wander around before the return trip. There are views from the surrounding cliffs.

The old foghorn is still there.

You can sometimes see porpoises and dolphins from here but we only saw a few grey seals at a distance on the sandbanks before we reached the pier on our way back.

Round Britain: Kyle of Tongue to Durness

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Beaches, roads, ScotlandLeave a comment

When the rain stopped early evening yesterday, I watched the sun go down behind the hills across the Kyle of Tongue.

We woke to a still quiet morning and after chatting for a while to the couple in the rented van next to us who were from Vancouver, we headed off across the Kyle.

The original bridge and causeway here were built by Sir Alexander Gibb and partners in 1971 to carry the A838 across the loch. Until 1956 there had been a passenger ferry but the route around the head of the loch involved a narrow road some 10 miles long. The causeway is 32.4 miles long and it crosses a natural island, Tongue Island (Eilean Thunga). The 600 ft bridge is at the western end of the causeway, and it has eighteen spans supported by twin piers. The bridge was refurbished in 2011. There are two parking places along it where you can stop and admire the view.

Just over the bridge is the road to Talmine. There are plans to build Space Hub, Sutherland at Melness, which is north of Talmine. Twelve rocket launches are planned for each year and the promotors say it will provide local jobs. We then entered the Flow country.

It is a huge expanse of blanket bog, moorland and mountains covering much of Caithness and Sutherland. The peat layer is big enough to cover a two-storey house and holds more carbon than all the UK’s woodlands put together. Moine House sits on the old road which was the only road across the bog until the A838 was built in 1993. It was occupied by a forester and his family in the late 19th century.

There is now some street art inside.

The old road is now a walking trail in parts. Today some was closed so that ground nesting birds were not disturbed.

The A838 descends and crosses the River Hope before reaching Loch Eriboll. It is Britain’s deepest sea loch and Ard Neackie is a headland which has the remains of old limestone kilns.

Further on we passed a sculpture croft and Choraidh Croft tearoom which were both closed. We stopped at Tràigh Allt Chàilrgeag where zip wires run across the beach between the two hills and several people were enjoying them . I had a coffee in the van and then wandered down to the beach where a lone surfer was struggling to find some decent waves.

One mile east of Durness village is Smoo Cave a natural sea cave with a 50m entrance, the largest to any sea cave in the British Isles. There are steps down to the entrance.

The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse ‘smjugg’ or ‘smuga’, meaning a hole or hiding place. The cave is unique within the in that the first chamber has been formed by the action of the sea, whereas the inner chambers are freshwater passages, formed from rainwater dissolving the carbonate dolomites. Partway through the cave the waters of Allt Smoo also drop in as a 20 metres high waterfall.

After a short distance on the road you enter Durness. The recently built village hall is on the left, school children having contributed some of the art works.

In front is the John Lennon Memorial Garden. He used to visit regularly as a child with his cousins in their croft at Sangomore.

We found our campsite and settled in, over looking Sango Sands.