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I woke up after an eight hour sleep straight through without waking . I was feeling refreshed. I packed up in double quick time and set off from my woodland campsite towards Tain for breakfast.

It was a nice walk through the woods and down the hill to Tain. Everybody in this part of Scotland is very welcoming. I chatted to several people on the way who were all very encouraging. I was also warned for the fourth time that the train service from Wick to Inverness is temporarily suspended while they upgrade the line. Arriving in the very pretty town of Tain I made a beeline for Piper’s coffee shop where I breakfasted on Chai latte, juice, and two bacon and egg rolls.

I’d have liked to have stayed longer in Tain but other highlights awaited me. A couple of miles later I approached the last of the three bridges across firths, Dornoch Firth in this case. This was the longest and windiest of the lot. With the A9 traffic flying past and a poor path for pedestrians most of the way, it was quite an experience, but I was glad to finally get to the end of it. At the end of the bridge I entered Sutherland and by my calculations now had almost exactly 100 miles to go. As the crow flies more like 70 but the John O’Groats Trail hugs the coastline as it travels further north, something I was very much looking forward to.

The route to Dornoch was along another minor road with beautiful views of the Dornoch Firth to my right. Passing the little hamlet of Davochfin there were families fishing in ponds beside a grassy meadow. I stopped, took my boots off and rested in the sunshine for a while. 

Looking at my map, I was surprised to see that Dornoch was a little over a mile away. In fact, rounding the next corner I could see it in the distance. A little town on the top of a small hill, with a church dominating the skyline. I checked out Google to see what lunch options there were. I was attracted to a highly rated restaurant called Luigi’s. Pasta would be great!

Pasta was great and so was the strawberry meringue. Dornoch itself was quite a grand place with a castle, pretty old buildings, good pubs and a golf course by the sea. If I wasn’t so hopeless at the game, I’d have fancied a quick nine holes. Any more and my game goes to pieces. 

In the afternoon and early evening, I walked on to Golspie, another 13 miles. The scenery just kept getting better and better and the miles flew by. The main part of the walk took me around the beautiful Loch Fleet. I saw seals, unfortunately too far from the shore to get a good photo. I walked past the ruins of of Skelbo Castle and through Mound Woods. 

I arrived at Golspie at 7:30. The pub didn’t serve food, but were happy to let me buy fish and chips from over the road and eat them in the bar. At 8:30 after some lively conversations with the locals I headed off again to find a place to camp. 

It didn’t take me long. Perhaps a mile outside Golspie there was a meadow right next to the sea. I pitched my tent in the evening sunshine and prepared for a good night’s sleep.

Day Summary

A long day. A sunny day. An amazing day.