Thurso to the Orkneys


The Old Man of Hoy is a challenge for the hardiest climber*
The Old Man of Hoy is a challenge for the
hardiest climber

The campsite at Thurso is at the extreme north-west of town, and it gives you a marvellous view from the Old Man of Hoy across the Pentland Firth, around to Dunnet Head and then past various stately homes to Thurso itself, with its castle and the spires of its churches.

Curiously, the campsite is walled in with thin slabs of stone, a technique we first encountered up in Norway and which we haven't seen anywhere else in Britain except up here in northern Scotland. I can't help but wonder if the idea was brought across with the Vikings, who ruled up here for many centuries.

The film finishes as we sail across the Pentland Firth heading for Stromness. We were delighted to find that we sailed fairly close to the spectacular rock pinnacle known as the Old Man of Hoy, but rather less delighted that the weather made it difficult to pick it out from the cliffs behind it. I've had to do a bit of tweaking in post editing, but believe me, it is far more impressive when you see it in the flesh - er - the rock.