Ullapool to Bettyhill and Beyond

After two days of blue skies and sunshine we awoke to what we were assured was sea fog. The locals all said it would “burn off” but as we drove away around the coast and into the mountains of Northwest Sutherland the grey clouds and misty rain descended. This gave the landscape an altogether foreboding aura but at the same time magnificent appearance.



The high rocky peaks, lakes and tarns, boggy flats and wild rivers all in their muted brown and green colourings were once again familiar, alien and surprising. There was an emptiness only punctuated by the occasional village or farm, the sheep, the deer and other vehicles.












Our first stop was Durness which had a restaurant called “Mackays Rooms”, a craft village that was interesting but which had an air of struggle about it and the renowned Smoo Cave. We ate lunch at a lookout just to the West of Durness (bought from the supermarket in Ullapool in an attempt to save money and more importantly cut down on the amount of food we are eating) then pushed on to Bettyhill.






Bettyhill is an isolated little community with not much going for it really apart from farming fishing and tourists passing through. We stopped there because it is the heart of “MacKay Country” and the home of the Strathnaver Museum. The Museum is housed in the old Strathnaver Church and houses a room (not a very big room mind you) dedicated to MacKay Clan History. To get to the museum we walked through graveyard and almost every second grave belonged to a MacKay, quite uncanny really. The graveyard is also the home of the Farr Stone an ornately carved grave marker dating from 800 – 850AD, it is a beautiful piece of work an even more so when you consider the tools and technology available at the time it was carved.

The Museum was enlightening as it gave some history of the area covering the Pictish occupation, the Viking settlements, Clan influence and battles, the military contribution of the clans of the area, the clearances and the at the consequences. The curator at the Museum was incredibly interesting and gave us pointers on what to see and do as well as telling a delightful story about J R R Tolkien and the link between Bettyhill and the “Lord of the Rings”.

After we escaped we drove back east to the borgie Bridge and after finding a place to park walked out to the beach at Torrisdale Bay. We have been trying to see Otters but they are proving as elusive as the cheetahs did in South Africa.

Our walk was very pleasant both in terms of scenery and exercise however we did suffer a major catastrophe. While helping Deidre across a stream I dropped the camera and I can tell you that digital cameras do not like water. Despite attempts to dry it it is well and truly dead. I am taking picture with my phone now but can’t download them so until we buy a new camera photos may be patchy.

The Hotel at Bettyhill where we stayed was okay although the building itself has seen better days. The staff were friendly and the meal and the Guinness & cider were good. They have Guinness here too and it is almost as good as in Ireland.

Beyond Bettyhill.

We awake to a very thick fog and were assured that it would “burn off when the sun got up a bit” so after breakfast we headed off into an every improving day. Our drive took us west through Reay (the ancestral seat of Lord Reay the Head of the MacKay Clan) and onto Thurso. Thurso is a bustling town with a nuclear power plant right beside it and its claim to fame, at least this week is the O’Neill Cold Water Classic. Surfers from all over the world come here each year as part of the Cold Water Series to compete for a first prize of 50,000 pounds in water that is rarely warmer than 6 degrees C.

After Thurso we turned south, the landscape here is very different from that to the west of Thurso, well established farms more like something you would see in South Otago/Eastern Southland/Central Southland are the norm. We passed through Latheron, Dunbeath and Helmsdale before stopping at Dunrobin Castle for a look at the gardens (we are about castles out now) and then some lunch. After lunch it was off to the Black Isles before backtracking to our B&B at Dornoch.

The Black Isles are part of the old Clan MacKenzie/McKenzie territory and it was good to visit Cromaty, Rosmarkie and Fortrose. Fortrose was particularly lovely and the Isle itself is fertile, green and lush even this early in spring.

We have done a huge amount of driving and are very tired at the end of each day however it is worth it when we reflect on what we have seen and done each day.

Scenery in the mountains of Northwest Sutherland