NC500 #2 Easter Ross along the coast

I hope you are finding our North Coast 500 trip interesting. We did east to west, the west supposedly the more interesting side. That was not my experience as I loved the wildness of the east coast - I am getting ahead of myself so ....

This east coast is known as Easter Ross  & it has a  long history of the ancient Picts  - who were early inhabitants of the northern Scottish regions. 

This part of the Easter Ross has many pretty fishing villages, including Balintore with the Mermaid of the North statue along the seaside. I have been to the one in Copenhagen, this one is larger & she has a commanding view out to sea. 

I have Pict ancestry through my Mothers line - the benefit of doing ancestry online is that the many master profiles connect to you & this connection led me to the Pict kings of Scotland, 30-35 generations ago. It's fascinating to see how we are all woven together so I was keen to visit some of the Pict stones on the Pict trail that leads along this coast.

The Shandwick stone  is a well known carved Pict stone - it is encased in a glass case to protect it from the elements as it stands high above the harbour of Belintore.  This is some info on the stone 

Elements of the carving on the Shandwick Stone are complicated and unusual and occur also on the Hilton of Cadboll Stone, the Nigg Stone, and on fragments found at Tarbat 

The Shandwick Stone or Clach a' Charridh stands encased in glass, in a magnificent location overlooking the sea near Shandwick, one of the Seaboard Villages on the east coast of the Peninsula.

This Pictish stone has origins dating back to 780 AD. It is a Class II stone, with the cross facing the seaward side, and the secular scene facing inland. The latter contains six panels, the first being a standard Pictish double-disc, the second being a Pictish Beast and the third being a possible hunting scene, with warriors depicted alongside an eagle, a boar, and various other creatures. The bottom three panels consist of woven patterns.

A layby has been provided not far away from the stone, and there is a path from the road.

How fascinating is it when there is so much ancient history in one stone? This forms part of the Pictish Trail 

Easter Ross gives way to Southeast Sutherland with its connection to the Vikings. It is characterised by moors, mountains, golden sands, fishing towns & cliffs. There is a feeling of space along this coast, of wild winds & the weather being in charge ... 

The 800 year old Dornoch Cathedral is Scotland's smallest cathedral & it was a good opportunity to stretch our legs & wander around this traditional  town. In 1224, Gilbert de Moravia became the Bishop of Caithness& began building the cathedral out of local stone & glass. He paid for it out of his own pocket & also built a bishop's residence alongside it; this is now the Castle hotel. 

This route out of  Dornoch took us along the interesting Loch Fleet nature reserve, past the small town of  Golspie,  suddenly a small sandbank close to the road revealed about 50 basking seals, as well as numerous sea birds. We stopped, got out the camping chairs & enjoyed watching these fascinating creatures swim & play on the sandbank. 

Helmsdale harbour with its pretty painted rows of houses, lobster baskets, fishing boats & a solid harbour wall protecting it from the wild weather was one of those attractive seaside towns that has hardly changed.

A second seaside statue of  Kenn & the Salmon from 'Highland River' caught our eye. The author Neil M.Gunn had been born in Dunbeath & this was in his honour. I love quirky things. The harbour had strong interlinking concrete shapes, known in Southern Africa as dolosse - the bones used traditionally but they interlink & offer protection against rough seas. It was interesting to see them along the harbour. 

Dunbeath castle is privately owned & sits high above the bay & harbour on the opposite hillside, visual with its light coloured building & grey slate roof. I'm sure it is very windswept in winter when the storms roll in. 

This part then brought us to Wick, our stop for the night. More to follow, thank you for stopping by, 

Dee