Wednesday 3rd May - travelled 64 miles Moved up to the John Muir owned Blairmore car park, half way up the hillside in the morning to get ready for our walk into Sandwood beach ( 4 miles each way along a walking trail ) The car park had toilets , fresh water tap at the back and recycling bins , also good for wild camping .We decided to join the John Muir wildlands trust to provide a donation .Glorious sunshine again, feeling so euphoric about the weather this week compared to last week .We set off at 9.00am; the trail took us over lochs and lochans, and moor land ; we greeted wild ( canvas ) campers half way there who were returning from Sandwood beach after 2 nights. A deserted beautiful beach, Caribbean feel, huge slim stone stack at one end , pristine blue/green waters , achingly cold even when we dipped our toes in briefly , spotted one tent only wild camping in the grasses/dunes leading down to the beach .Picnic lunch on beach As we left , crowds of walkers joined us ( Carnegie club event ?) So we set a pace to overtake them and made it back to the car by 2 pm. We drove on, in wonderful sunshine , 18c, along the winding coastal route through the North West geo park, stopping to take lots of photographs and finally on to Lochinver where we wild camped in Calug community woods on the way to Inverkirkcraig, next to a small saw mill. Smoke from burning heather drifted over the loch from nearby hills towards us , depositing white ash on the roof skylights , but having turned the van towards the road for a speedy exit in case the heather caught fire near to us, we settled in snug- like in our cosy wildcamp spot overlooking Lochinver and watched Game of Thrones ,Lord Ned Stark , the hero gets decapitated at the end of series one ( shock,horror) and the horse cheiftan ' my sun and stars' also dies , in mourning .....

Tuesday 2nd May - travelled 24 miles Stayed another night at Sago sands campsite , walked up a beallach( pass) behind the camp site with a well defined rubbly path to views of Loch Eribol and then back again (10 miles) Called in at Smoo cave hotel for a coffee sat outside in the afternoon sunshine and set off to Kinlochburvie. We settled by the small quay at the bottom of the hill (Droman quay ) bit claustrophobic for me , I prefer more than one exit route and which doesn't involve swimming ... Quiet ,brill sunset and amazingly carved picnic benches

Monday 1st May Durness ( struggling to download photos on web site due to poor wifi reception will download later in week when signal stronger) After a wild, windy night requiring a trip outside to tape down banging flaps at 2.45am, it settled down to become a glorious sunny day with manageable winds.We walked the coastal path to Faraid head, walking along a peninsula with stunning beaches along one side, culminating in an MoD defence target range for warships at the top of the headland. We caught a glimpse of Cape Wrath A ruined church at the base of Balnakiel Bay has the grave of Elizabeth Parkes an aunt of John Lennon . We walked on to Balnakiel crafts village for coffee and tasty bagels at the Whalebone cafe with a range of cool second hand books, Kerouac, Banksy, Kafka etc ,an oasis of alternative culture Walked back to the campsite and on to Smoo cave, a deep limestone cave with a blow joke accessed from the beach, with an inner cave only reachable by boat, and finally onto the beach nearest the campsite with an impressive range of rocks dotted around the beach Last drink in the pub and got chatting to a NZ cyclist,cycling from Fort William to John o Groats .He ran a horse trekking business and said he was impressed by the grandeur and scale of the scenery here , and exhausted battling head on winds the last 3 days Home to watch the finale of Line of Dirty , Game of Thrones and so to bed Happy to be walking longer distances (10 miles today )

Sunday 30 April travelled 35 miles Drove on to Talmin for an horrendous 3mile coastal walk picking our way around a cliff path, across streams , through bog , uneven ground with vertical smooth slabs to clamber over and a precipitous drop below us ...last time I do an intermediate walk from a local walk book or trust Andy's judgment that ' it will be fine ! ' Talmin harbour itself delightful and photogenic On to Durness via roads around Ben Loch and Loch Eribol where we stopped for a coffee at a loch side caravan and camping site tea room run by an elderly couple from Yorkshire for the past 17 years, (his wife being the ceramic glass artist ,) Called in at Caennebeinne beach for a frolic ,simply stunning azure sea, hopeful surfers , bright sunshine stacks freezing cold ! Recommended.... Tucked up for the night at a proper campsite at Durness (Sango Sands) for 2 nights , on the headland overlooking 2 beaches, next to a pub , a SPAR ship and a visitors centre Had hot non chlorinated showers - bliss , drink in pub and settled in for an episode of Game of Thrones ( sadly no reception phone or with fi here either )

Saturday 29 th April 87 miles travelled Walked the beach coves /harbour at Sandside and went to Douneray Nuclear plant viewing platform on the opposite headland, soon to be decommissioned ( in 2023) , no visitor centre , still major employer in the area (Thurso didn't seem as economically depressed as Wick) First station to provide mainland UK with electricity apparently So how much radioactive waste being stored there still has seeped into the water table? Walked to Strathy point, very blustery , stop at Bettyhill for services and quick beach walk and then headed inland on the Strathnaver trail with points of archaeological interest dotted along the way , e.g. cairns, brochs ( burial mounds and fortress towers 8 th century) Stunning scenery towards the end of this 30 mile inland trail . We drove on to Kyle of Tongue for a wild camp by the lochside , bought a book of local walks and did the shortest walk up to the ruined castle overlooking Tongue village with clear views of the mountains and the loch itself below . Food at the Ben Loyal Hotel excellent ( noisy bar) Andy had delicious hand cut home cooked chips ( beef dripping maybe ?) Camped in the middle of causeway overlooking the loch on one side and the sea on the other , too cold and blowy to venture out , although sunny and very clear and very beautiful.