LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

I left my car in the accommodation car park and walked into Thurso. I headed straight to Tesco's Café for my breakfast. Suitable refreshed I walked from the superstore directly to the A836 main road towards Castletown, passing the impressive circular floral display, reading 'Welcome to Thurso'. I had a steady walk uphill from the town and into the country, with fields of mainly pasture, for sheep and cattle. I followed the perfectly straight road towards Castletown, making sure I was off the road when the traffic approaching me was on my side of the road. The road was busy with cars travelling towards Thurso, with the occupants shopping or working in Thurso. As usual there were very few opportunities to sit and rest on the roadside, so I plodded on steadily towards Murkle and Castletown. As I entered Murkle I soon reached the sign for the road to West Murkle, with its added message 'The Murkle Magic'. My mind boggled and thoughts went to the recent Royal Wedding between Maghan Markle and Prince Harry. As I left Murkle behind and headed towards Castletown, the views of Dunnet Head Cliffs appeared through the mist, with the mist very slowly clearing. But, not clearing quickly enough, because I reached Castletown before the views were at their best. I sat on a garden wall by a bungalow on the edge of town, for a rest, when a lady with a shopping bag approached me and chattered about Scotland and its beauty. That's one of the advantages of walking rather than cycling or motor biking around the country, it's easy to chat to people. Usually a quick question is sufficient to start the conversation, eg. Can you tell me the time please', or 'where is the nearest convenient store please'. I walked down Castletown Main Street with its traditional stone buildings, passing the Drill Hall with its castle like design, including turrets, situated next to the fuel station. Further along the Main Street I passed the unusual designed War Memorial. Many lives lost in Scotland, it seemed like every town & village had lost many loved ones to another senseless war. At the road junction to Wick I chatted with a young man who had his foot in a 'Boot'. Again he was delighted to live in an area of natural beauty. At the southern end of the Dunnet Bay Beach, I walked into the car park to enjoy the view of the beach and the Dunnet Head cliffs. A stone seat by the car park seemed to be the perfect place to sit and absorb the view. As I continued walking along the road towards the sand dunes, I noticed a walker getting closer, so I crossed the road for a chat. To my surprise he (Lucus Reed) had just completed the same walk as me, Land's End to John o' Groats, the day before. We chatted for quite a while as we discussed walking routes and before we went our separate ways we agreed to try and keep in touch. Lucus wished me luck for the short walk to my goal, then started to walk in the opposite directions, Lucus to Thurso and me past the huge sand dunes on the edge of Dunnet Bay Beach. As usual I looked for somewhere to sit for a short rest, without success. That is, until reached Dunnet Forest Car Park with a low wall. My legs were very pleased to have my weight taken from them and as usual after a couple of minutes I was ready to start walking again. Very soon after the car park, I found a milestone, so I took another rest. Just like buses, nothing at all, then suddenly several seats all come along at once. Again I could see more great views of Dunnet Head cliffs as I approached Dunnet Village, and the Dunnet Bay Distillary. But, even with the attraction force of the 'Wee Dram', I wasn't tempted to enter, well not this time. After the village I passed St John's Loch and the cemetery before the open fields near the coast. At the Greenvale Crossroads, my original planned destination for the walk, I passed several Wind Farm Generators. I continued to the Whitebridge Junction where I ran out of energy, so I waited for the bus back to Thurso. The bus duly arrived on time, so I sat on the right hand side, or offside, of the bus, facing the coast with its views, hoping the mist had cleared. The mist had cleared but the driver didn't slow down enough at the places with good views, very strange. I alighted the bus by Tesco's, near the town centre, to collect provisions. This was another magic day walking in the varied British Countryside. But, most of all, I only had one more day's walking to reach John o' Groats. A bitter sweet thought. Do I stop walking, or do I walk back to Land's End? Continue reading my adventures folks or you will never know what came next.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, -
Start: at KW14 7HY - Thurso, at Duncan Street & West Church Street.
Finish: at KW14 8XT - Whitebridge Road Junction on A836, & Burn Road, by Celtic Lodges and Burn of Rattar.