Wednesday, March 19, 2025
It’s another sub-zero start and another beautiful blue day. We’ve been so lucky with the weather.
We have a big drive planned today – up to John O’Groats and back. Before I write another word, let me say that today’s drive is possibly the most scenic drive we’ve ever done.
We stopped at Brora and bought a late breakfast – a pie for me and a pineapple iced neenish tart for Grant – and ate it down by the water watching sea otters. Yes, sea otters. Be still my beating heart.
This village would be the perfect location to set a series of books, and my brain is full of character ideas already. So many ideas, so little time.
From here, the scenery is stunning. Crazy stunning. Wows around every bend. I took so many photos from the car, even though I know I’ll end up trashing most of them. One side of the road is lined with yellow, and beyond it lies the sea. It’s magnificent.
As we drove through Wick, I’m reminded of the old Billy Connolly joke about how Wick can get so windy that when a dog pisses against a tree in Wick, someone in Norway wipes moisture from his cheek and says it tastes like dog piss. There’s no wind today, though.
Wick’s claim to fame is the world’s shortest street, Ebenezer Place. At just over two metres long, it has just one address – part of Mackays Hotel. We whizz through without a photo, so you’ll need to take my word for it.
While there are the expected touristy shops there, John O’Groats is (thankfully) less commercial than Lands End was and we’re able to take our photo with the sign without having to pay for it (not that we did pay in Lands End, but if we’d wanted a selfie at the sign down there we would have had to – pay, that is).
At Thurso there is no one – literally non one – in the main street. It was weird, like one of those dystopian novels where everything seems normal, but nothing is. We were very relieved when we walked back up the high street after lunch to see people (bottom pic).
Lunch was at a bar/restaurant a block or so back called Y Not. We shared haggis popcorn (surprisingly good) and mac cheese with salad and fries.
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), the drive back is as incredible as the drive up was. While we knew we didn’t have time to do the whole North Coast 500 this trip, it has made us both want to do it—and the islands—someday.
We had dinner tonight at The Highlander. I had the Chicken Balmoral (chicken with whisky sauce and haggis stuffing) and Grant had the haggis, neeps and tatties. My meal was good, but Grant had been looking forward to his haggis and was a tad disappointed.
The music, provided by a band called Tartan Paint, was good. Thigh-slapping, trad Scottish fiddling good.
The stats…
Temperature: -1-11
Miles travelled: 250*
*Even though we work in kms in Australia, all signage in the UK is in miles, so that’s what I’m going with.
These posts are taken directly from my travel journal … you can find the series here.
And Anyways... 
I’ve never been up there. Thurso does look rather abandoned!
Ah, happy memories of arriving in John O’Groats nearly a year ago after cycling nearly 1000 miles, starting at Land’s End (as you say, hideously commercialised). Thurso is a shabby and strange little place. We had lunch there from a bakery. The ride from Bettyhill to John O’Groats was stunning. We’re planning to do it again next year!
The soup of the day was ‘Whiskey’?! I absolutely love that! ❤