Mountains....

I love mountains. Maybe I'm just fascinated with the way the landscapes have been moulded through millennia. Anyway while on holiday in Durness I took the opportunity to see some of the Scottish Highlands.

For some stunning professional views take a look at Colin Pryor's website. This is a man who stands on top of mountains and waits till the sun, clouds and shadows are just right before clicking the shutter. I'm a southern softie who steps outside a car and takes a few snaps. The difference is obvious. Anyway here are some of my memories (which it's nice to look back on after a couple of days of persistant rain.... was the holiday only 2 weeks ago- sigh)



In the photo below I'm sure you can see the vertebrae of the mountain on the ridge!



And rivers..... I miss real rivers.......

Interlude

A brief interlude in the photos from Durness.

It was the the Graemsay Ladies Craft Sale on Friday (they call themselves "the Fat Cat's Club"). Due to the poor weather not many folk ventured over from Stromness, but most of the island folk turned out and a good afternoon was had by all, with soup, sandwiches and home bakes for lunch and a chance to browse through the "craft".

Saturday was a beautiful sunny and warm day. A reminder of summer, as Autumn had hit Orkney in the last week with a persistent wind going on for days. It only reached gale force now and again but it was very blustery - and annoying! Hey Ho - it's Autumn.......

Here are some photos taken yesterday.


Goodness knows where the butterfly had been hiding for the last few windy days!


Above you can see why Graemsay is called "the green isle" - pastoral green land with the darker Hoy Hills in the background.

And this looks like a dinosaur skeleton! It is in fact seaweed on the beach.

And the new "lawn" is looking very green too!

Cape Wrath, NW Scotland

During my holiday last week (which now seems a dim memory -sigh) I visited Cape Wrath. Apparently the name of the area is derived from the Norse word for "turning point" as it was the place where Norse seafarers would turn their boats to head for home.

We travelled over the Kyle of Durness on the "ferry" - which as you can see in this picture is a *very* wee boat. Yes it's the little boat reflected in the water....... But as you can see it was a glorious day. In fact we were in tee-shirts and borrowing sunscreen on the boat over. Fortunately there were no midges around.

The boat journey takes about 10 minutes and then visitors can get a mini-bus out to the lighthouse. However the road is very rough and I'd been warned that the ride was "bouncy". I didn't fancy having my bones shaken for an hour (30 mins each way) so we opted to walk up the track a while and stopped and had a picnic. It was so tranquil and beautiful. So it was rather ironic to find that Cape Wrath is owned by the military and used for "exercises" including bombing! Though obviously the area is closed and has check-points so tourists don't innocently wander into the area. Not sure how that works with the wild-life, but given a Golden Eagle was spotted by the tourist party the system works OK!

On the headland is a lighthouse designed by the engineer Robert Stevenson, brother of Alan Stevenson who designed the lighthouses on Graemsay (both were nephews of Robert Louis Stevenson, the author). The cliffs on Cape Wrath are the highest in the UK - up to 900 feet drop - though I didn't get to see those.


Above is the Kyle of Durness. We think the brownish water near the shore is the result of peaty water from the burns flowing into the Kyle (estuary).

Heather edging the burn on Cape Wrath

The Kyle at low water

e name of the headland derives, not from thestory waters of the area but from the Norse word for a turning point, for here the Norsemen turned their ships to head for home.

A dragon fly joined us for part of our journey

Nirvana in a Chocolate Shop.....

Last week I found nirvana in a chocolate shop in a wee village in the north-west of Scotland. I should explain that chocolate is as important to me as air is for breathing. At island parties parents ensure I have a party bag of chocolate and sweeties so I don't steal any from the kids. OK not one of my more endearing traits, but it demonstrates the seriousness with which I regard chocolate.

Imagine my delight then when I visit Cocoa Mountain in Durness. Visitors can see through the clear glass doors to the chocolate making emporium - there is probably still an imprint of my nose that was pressed against the thick glass on a daily basis viewing with awe huge quantities of liquid chocolate...... Yes, dear reader, daily.

The shop also served mocha to die for (a double espresso, with chocolate, froth and liquid chocolate drizzled over the top) - I did resist the full blown "hot chocolate" experience as I feared I may die of joy and there is still too much chocolate left to taste to go just yet.

But I did sample a different "truffle" each day. The flavours run like a litany... black cherry and toasted almond, fresh raspberry, cranberry and cashew, chilli and lemongrass, ginger and cinnamon, coffee vanilla, whisky caramel, and my personal favourite - orange and geranium.

And then there were the bags of chocolate - with pieces of fudge, pistachio, marshmallow, almonds, hazelnuts or ginger embedded in the thick sweet delicious chocolate coating. And chocolate buttons, chocolate nibs, chocolate beans........

OK, someone asked, if we didn't know it was "special" would it *taste* special? Well I think so - YES! And as well as delicious chocolate (white, dark, milk) it was the interesting mix of flavours - who would think to mix strawberry and black pepper and clothe it in chocolate? Only a genius of a chocolate maker....... sigh......

As you can see from the photo above I brought a little home for myself. Yup all for ME! Well it's going to be a loooong winter so I need something to help my mental health and wellbeing.... Does fruit covered in chocolate count as one of my "five a day"? I wonder if I could apply to be their chocolate taster for new flavours........ a girl can only dream - sigh. At least I can buy the goodies online - I already have the site bookmarked. Oooh I just checked it and it said "Your shopping cart is empty" - I shall soon have to remedy that. Well maybe in a week or two. (Visitors please note - do not expect to be offered any of my supply of chocolate - bring your own!).

Durness, NW Scotland

As promised some photos from my recent holiday in Durness. The photo above was from the window of the cottage where some friends and I stayed on the edge of the Balnakeil Craft Village just by Loch Croispal.

Upside down sheep?

The craft village itself is - er - interesting in appearance! It was built in the 1950's as an early warning station in case of nuclear attack - this was the time of the "Cold War" remember. Anyway although built by the military it was never used and was eventually reborn as a craft village in the mid 1960s and has continued since as a place for local crafts, and also includes a great bookshop which serves wonderful soup and lunches among the books, and the most wonderful chocolate shop - more about that tomorrow (chocolate deserves full attention)!




Durness is a great place to explore the North West tip of Scotland, and there are fantastic beaches all along the coast.



Not to mention intrepid surfers.... (or rather I think they were "body boarding"? or whatever the correct term is?). Completely bonkers......

Nope - not Orkney.....

OK I confess - I've been on holiday "South" - to the North West of Scotland, Durness to be precise. Got home yesterday so still catching up on emails, post, and the usual tasks associated with returning home - such as mowing the grass around the house as the neighbourly "ground staff" has hurt his knee, or was it his toe? The story changed during the telling ;-) - either way I felt I ought to mow the grass myself for once (well OK using a walk behind mower but you know what I mean). And I'm having to console poor Button who got beaten up yesterday by another cat. Her beautiful face is quite a mess but thankfully only superficial and the fur will grow back. Her pride is hurt too - but I suspect she gave as good as she got.....

Anyway had a lovely holiday and will share more later in the week. Meanwhile enjoy the picture of the mountain (and no I didn't climb it but admired it from afar).

Skara Brae

I've had a colleague from far south visiting for the last couple of days. Among the talk of work etc we did find time to take a quick look at Skara Brae which is located in Skaill Bay (see here for loads of info). As well as investigating for ourselves this important neolithic village, we had also to sample the wonderful home bakes sold in the cafe - for quality control purposes you understand. It's important these are tasted regularly to ensure they come up to the high standards expected by tourists.....

Anyway - just sharing some pictures with you. Must dash - lots to do, may not be around for a few days - so hopefully these photos will keep you going.......

These photos are of one of the houses in the village



This shows the famous "neolithic" dresser - where objects made of bone and pottery were found when the site was excavated.


The village is now right on the shore and in danger from coastal erosion, but evidence suggests that it was much further inland when originally inhabited. The green mound in the bottom left corner is the top of one of the houses.