DUNCANSBY HEAD & STACKS from john o'groats

..... po bardzo dobrej nocy spedzonej w Natural Retreats I ogromnym sniadaniu przyszedl nareszcie czas by ruszyc w teren :) (mialam ogromna nadzieje ze skoro jestesmy juz tak daleko na polnoc to moze bede miala szczescie I noc bedzie bezchmurna.. I moze jakas zorze udaloby sie zobaczyc.... niestety noc byla grubo zascielona chmurami I nawet padalo.... no ale tymbardziej cieszylysmy sie z pieknego poranka!)

strzelilysmy kilka fotek przy przystani oraz slynnym kierunkowskazie (poprzedni post) I ruszylysmy na wschod. mimo ze mialysmy mapke, nie od razu udalo nam sie ustalic gdzie dokladnie przejsc (ploty), ale ostatecznie doszlysmy co gdzie I jak.

tak wiec od przystani/duzego parking/centrum informacji turystycznej (mniej wiecej wszystko w tym samym miejscu) trzeba pojsc w kierunku pola namiotowego I przez nie przejsc. na koncu pola jest brama (zaraz przy morzu). po pokonaniu bramy pozostaje juz tylko podazanie sciezka lub zwyczajnie wzdluz brzegu. przez caly czas widzialysmy przed soba latarnie morska duncansby head, nasz pierwszy cel. od latarni poszlysmy szeroka sciezka (jest drogowzkaz) do ostancow duncansby stacks. bardzo przyjemny spacer, widoki niesamowite. no I nikogo poza nami. dla tych o twardszej glowie polecam wszelkie mozliwe sposoby by znalezc sie jak najblizej klifow - sciezka czasem prowadzi nieco dalej od krawedzi I nie widac az tak dobrze tego, co rozposciera sie ponizej. przyznam ze ja wystawilam glowe poza klif kiedy tylko sie dalo I kilka razy przyprawilam beate niemal o atak serca hahah poza tym pieknie, ze udalo nam sie zrobic pierwsze fotki dnia przy wschodzie slonca, ostatnie fotki przy ostancach byly juz klimatyczne przy cieplym swietle wczesnego zachodu.

wrazenie z odwiedzin duncansby stacks jest niesamowite. po pierwsze zielonosc trawy dookola, niebieskie niebo (wiem, mialysmy wielkie szczescie) I nawet nie wialo az tak bardzo. huk fal rozbijajacych sie o dol skalistych klifow, krzyk mew. nikogo. w takich miejscach I chwilach czuje sie jednoscia z otaczajacym mnie swiatem, czuje sie blisko Boga.

FILMIK -polecam poswiecic minutke na obejrzenie filmiku z duncansby stacks.

czas przejscia 3 godz

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.... after a very good night sleep at Natural Retreats and a huge breakfast, we finally were ready to go and explore. I admit, I was hoping to be lucky enough to have a clear night sky and maybe even see the northern lights as we were so far north.. but it rained at night and the sky was covered by thick  clouds.. the more we enjoyed that beautiful sunny morning later on :)

after taking few pictures at the harbour and the famous john o'groats signpost we were ready to go. thou we had some problems with location of the exact point where the walk started (walls and fences).

so, from the harbour/large car park, tourist information (all in the same place actually) we walked towards the campsite. there is a need to walk thru the campsite actually, on the opposite side of the site is a gate and a path going along the shore. after crossing the gate the world is your - you can follow the path or just walk on the field. at all times we could see the duncansby lighthouse in front of us, that was our first destination. from the lighthouse there is a signposted, wide path going south, to the duncansby stacks. a very nice walk, amazing views. and nobody else around :) if you have a good head for heights I would recommend to keep as close to the cliff edge as possible (maybe even cross the fence once or twice.. I never said that!) as the path goes a wee bit further from the cliff edge sometimes and to see and enjoy the views it is just better to stick to the cliff edge. I admit, I was as close to the edge as possible, didn't want to miss a thing of what's underneath, but I was aware I almost made Bea having a heart attack on couple of occasions.

I guess we were extremely lucky with the weather and also the fact that our first photties that day were taken in the soft sunrise light and the last ones taken at duncansby stacks were already nice and warm sun-setting light.

impressions from the visit to dunsansby head: amazing, beautiful, breathtaking. firstly, the juicy green grass around, secondly -the blue skies (I know, I know how lucky we were!) and the wind wasn't too bad neither. thunder-like noise of waves crushing into the rocky cliffs, seagulls' cries. in places like this I do feel one with the nature and the world around me. In places like this I feel closer to God.

SHORT MOVIE from duncansby head stacks, take a minute and watch

walk time approx. 3 hrs

trasa dnia I atrakcje   /  route of the day and points of interest

map copyright Ordnance Survey

nasza sciezka I widoki w strone john O'Groats

our path, looking back to john O'Groats

ness of duncansby

duncansby head    

latarnia / lighthouse

bay of sannick

duncansby head

w oddali, ostance duncansby stacks

far end, duncansby stacks

the knee

duncansby stacks

thirle door & the knee

duncansby stacks  (looking from north....)   /  patrzac od polnocy

duncansby stacks  (.....looking from south)   /  patrzac od poludnia

warto bylo przejsc sie kawalek dalej niz same ostance by moc podziwiac je w swietle zachodzacego slonca oraz wkomponowane w zupelnie inny krajobraz :)

it was worth to walk further than the stacks to be able to see them in sunset light and composed in a different cliff-view

bay of sannick

w tle / far background     -  the orkneys

muszle :)   /   shells

john O'Groats         poczatek zachodu slonca   /    the sunset begins

JOHN O'GROATS

jak to powiedziec... nic tam nie ma.. ale w pewnym sensie jest wszystko czego duszy potrzeba...

wizyta w john O'Groats byla dosc spontaniczna, w skrocie tylko powiem ze tak w ogole to mialysmy leciec do rzymu, ale to co przekonalo nas by pojechac jednak na daleka polnoc szkocji to byla.. POGODA.

a ona byla piekna, wspaniala szczegolnie jak na zimowe warunki... prawde mowiac bylo duzo cieplej niz kw oncu kwietnia na hebrydach zewnetrznych :) prawde mowiac, pomijajac wiatr, pogoda byla majowa :)

john O'Groats (jadac od poludnia A99) wita kierowcow znakiem 'witaj w john O'Groats, tam gdzie konczy sie droga'. owszem, konczy sie I droga I generalnie wszystko sie skonczylo, bo dalej na polnoc sa orkneje, dzieli je od johna dokladnie 8 mil morza.

pierwsze wrazenie jakie john na mnie wywarl to 'odludzie', 'plasko', 'spokojnie', 'klimatycznie'. niby nic, ale miejsce zdaje sie miec jakis pelny spokoju klimacik.

mnie bardzo podbilo kiedy wieczorem patrzac na polnoc, na horyzoncie widzialam tylko ciemne zarysy wysp nalezacych do orknejow I niezliczona liczbe latarni morskich na nich...

my dojechalysmy do johna wczesnym popoludniem, 1 stycznia, bez wczesniejszej rezerwacji noclegu I generalnie na 'sponton'. nie wpadlysmy na to ze rzeczywiscie tam nic nie ma. a to co jest, jest albo zamkniete na nowy rok, albo otwarte tylko w sezonie (wielkanoc -wrzesien). z noclegiem, przyznam, byl problem. mialysmy tylko dwie opcje w sumie, albo spac w 'seaview hotel' (rudera nieco I niby czynna, ale pozamykana na 4 spusty, cena za pokoj 80f) albo w natural retreats (wypas!, cena za pokoj 90f). wiadomo jak sie skonczylo :) w koncu to nasz swiateczny prezent dla nas samych mial byc :)

niestety najblizszy pab, oddalony o 7 mil tez byl zamkniety wiec obiad okazal sie chlebem z drzemem :)

a propos, na powitanie dostalysmy od szefowej hotelu torbe z zarelkiem (swietne wyczucie czasu!) ziernisty chleb, domowej roboty drzem sliwkowy (mniam!!), lokalnie robione ciasteczka owsiane, butelka wina (juz nie lokalna)  hotel polecam bardzo, nie dosc ze swietny standard to wszystkiemu dodal blasku widok z okna -  wprost na morze I orkneje.  ahhh :)

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what should I say... there is nothing.... but somehow there is EVERYTHING that the soul needs...

our visit to john O'Groats was very spontaneous (as usual), to cut the story short: we were planning on flying to rome, but what really made us choose john rather than rome was... the WEATHER.

and the weather was amazing, really good, especially as this was January.. and to be honest it was much colder when we visited outer Hebrides in late april. disregarding the wind, weather was brilliant!

when entering john O'Groats from south (A99) we were greeted by a signpost 'welcome to john O'Groats.. where the road ends'... so true!

not even the road, everything seems to be ending there, further ahead are only Orkneys (and shetlands), Orkneys exactly 8 miles away.

first impressions on john: 'remote' , 'flat', 'peaceful', 'atmospheric'

somehow the place seems to have a peaceful ambiance

I really loved when, in the evening, looking north, all we could see were silhouettes of Orkney islands and dozens of lighthouses along the horizon. very special thing, believe me.

we arrived to john in the early afternoon, 1 January. no reservations, no accommodation booked. I never thought it will be so difficult to find the accommodation there. there isn't much of the hotels and b&b anyway. but what IS there, was either closed for Christmas & new year, or closed till easter (high season starts from easter and lasts till September). there was a great problem with the accommodation, at one point I actually got wee bit stressed that we will have to sleep in the car :)

finally we managed to find two options: 'seaview hotel' -scabby building, apparently open but still closed with no view to anyone taking care of it (£80 per room) or try natural retreats hotel and convince them to take us for 1 night only (they book for at least 3 nights), superb castle-like building, luxurious and £90 per room.

guess what we chose? the trip was our Christmas pressie to ourselves anyway, so we decided to treat our good selves :)

unfortunately, closest pub was 7 miles away.. and closed anyway (as we found out when got there) so we were left without much food, with no dinner anyway! luckily we got a hamper from a hotel and so for our dinner we enjoyed artisan bread, home made plum jam, local oatcakes and a bottle of red (not locally produced, shame...!   lol)

I do recommend the natural retreats hotel, great location, just at the sea with brilliant views to Orkneys and dozens of lighthouses.. everywhere you look.

natural retreats hotel, john O'Groats

nastepnego ranka, na przekor temu co mowili tubylcy, zaswiecilo slonce! I niech mnie, ale piekny zimowy wschod slonca 'u johna' zlapal mnie za serce I strasznie ucieszyl :)

next morning, against all odds and local's forecasts, sun came out beautifully and made such a show when rising!

daleko od domu.. ale wciaz jakby w domu.....   /  so far from home... but still, somehow AT home

natural retreats

cdn  / tbc

CASTLE SINCLAIR GIRNIGOE

ruiny zamku w polaczeniu z odwiedzinami latarni morskiej noss head (http://www.around-scotland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/noss-head.html) sa zadowalajacym, wartym dojazdu od wick spacerem.

sciezka zaczyna sie od parking dedykowanego dla latarni, spacer okolo 10-15min.

zamek Sinclair girnigoe polozony jest na ciekawym skalistym klifie, w poblizu znajduja sie dwa ostance. warto sie przejsc.

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remains of castle Sinclair girnigoe are worth visiting, especially combined with visiting the nearby lighthouse on noss head (http://www.around-scotland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/noss-head.html)

definitely it is worth driving from wick and having this wee stroll.

path starts at the lighthouse car park, is marked for the castle, about 10-15mins walk.

the castle is located on a rocky cliff, two sea stacks nearby. it was a really good idea to build a castle in such place :)

NOSS HEAD

 noss head, latarnia morska polozona na interesujacym skalistym I klifowym wybrzezu w poblizu miejscowosci wick.

noss head samo w sobie nie jest az tak ciekawe, ale w polaczeniu z odwiedzinami zamku Sinclair girniogoe (10 min spacerem od noss head) nabiera duzo wiecej sensu

JAK DOJECHAC:

nawigacja satelitarna tom tom sprawdza sie swietnie, jak rowniez dojazd do latarni noss head jest oznaczony znakami, z wick.

ogolnie mowiac w wick (polnocny kraniec miejscowosci) skreca sie na wschod, kierunkowskazy na staxigoe. od staxigoe sa oznaczenia na noss head, zreszta latarnie widac przed soba wiekszosc drogi)

czas dojazdu z wick okolo 10 min

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noss head lighthouse is located on a very interesting rocky cliff, nearby wick.

noss head itself is not so very interesting but combined with visiting castle Sinclair girnigoe (10 mins walk away) makes much more sense.

HOW TO GET THERE:

tom tom satnav is pretty accurate, there also are signposts for noss head lighthouse.

generally speaking, from wick (north end of the town) turn east, follow signposts for staxigoe. in staxigoe follow signposts for noss head lighthouse, which is clearly visible most of the way anyway.

approx. 10 mins drive from wick

noss head lighthouse   /  latarnia

map copyright ordnance survey

WHALIGOE STEPS

whaligoe steps (schody z whaligoe) prowadza do jednej z najtrudniej dostepnych przystani w UK. coprawda przystan nie jest juz w uzyciu, ale latwo dostrzec slady jej uzytkowania w przeszlosci. strone, zakrecone schody prowadza brzegien klifu az do ukrytego zakatka gdzie wciaz latwo poczuc potege I sile morza. na samym dole, pod pionowymi skalistymi klifami grzmot fal rozbijajacych sie o skaly robi niesamowite wrazenie.

schodow jest podobno 365, wykutych w kamieniu, miekscami bywaja sliskie, ale nie powiedzialabym ze jest niebezpiecznie czy strasznie, co wiecej schody pokonuje sie w sumie bez wysilku. warto tego doswiadczyc.

WSKAZOWKA:

whaligoe steps nie sa oznaczone, jadac A99 nie ma zadnego znaku zdradzajacego ich lokalizacje.

wiec jak je znalezc? jadac A99 na polnoc mija sie tablice ULBSTER I zaraz za nia po lewej stronie jest kierunkowskaz na CAIRN Of GET. zaraz za tym kierunkowskazem trzeba skrecic w prawo, na nieozkanowana uliczke, zakonczona po 100 metrach parkingiem. z parking kierowac sie w strone morza, minac zamknieta kafejke (na budynku jest tabliczka 'parking tylko kafejki' stad wiadomo co to w ogole jest) I po prawej stronie budynku podazac sciezka prowadzaca wprost na schody.

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whaligoe steps take you to one of the most difficult to reach harbours in UK. the harbour is not in use anymore (no wonder!) but it is very easy to spot ghosts of the past.

very steep steps lead down to the tiny harbour where all you hear and experience is the power of the sea. under those high, rocky cliffs the sound of waves storming the coast is like thunder.

apparently there are 365 stony steps, slippery in places but I don't think they are neither too dangerous nor scary... and very easy to climb back up.

HOW TO FIND IT:

whaligoe steps are not marked with a signpost. driving A99 north, pass the ULBSTER signpost, just after it there is a signpost to CAIRN OF GET (to the left) and just after the signpost there is a small road to the right. take it -it goes along the cottage and after 100yds ends with a car park. leave the car there and walk towards the cliffs. pass the closed café ('café parking' sign on the building, that's the only way to know that this actually was a café), follow a path to the right hand side of the building and after 30yrds the steps are reached.

typical Scottish experience - what seems to be a smoke.. actually is a waterfall 'falling' UP due to high winds coming from the sea below.

maps copyright ordnance survey