Durness & Clachtoll
Durness is only a short drive from Dunnet Bay and also part of the NC500 route, and this time we are staying at another beach site, a place called Sango Sands Oasis (sounds like it’s from Star Wars - or is that just us). So we are right on the coast again, sunny and with a couple of guys surfing when we arrived 😃
Apparently there’s no need to book ‘we’ve got loads of space’ is what Tubbs was told when he called earlier in the week…bugger…it was absolutely heaving by the time we got there! Then you literally are told to drive around and find a spot. No sea views but we found a flat spot, plus it was next to another couple of VW Crafters, one of which was the guy from Absolute Camper Conversions who was great to talk to and had done some serious work to his Crafter.
Now it was time to open a tinny and put some tunes on… no electric hook up, but that’s fine, the truck has solar and the batteries were well charged. So fired up the central heating, got a beer out for Tubbs, a vino for me, and we chilled out. Tubbs’s turn to cook tonight, and guess who knew there was a restaurant next door doing take-aways! So Tubbs rustled up a gourmet burger with bacon, cheese and chunky chips 😋
Another great start to the day (sunny - in Scotland?!?!) so we headed up the road to Smoo Cave - another NC500 must see! It’s basically a massive cave that was formed by a burn that runs down into the rear chamber as well as erosion caused by the sea. Stunning cathedral size entrance, supposedly one of the largest entrances to any sea cave in Britain at 50ft high. As you walk inside you can hear the freshwater falls and as you go deeper into the cave you see the falls 👀👌🏼
Next stop was a small coastal fishing village called Clachtoll, not too far from Smoo Cave, so we made our way there early afternoon. There seems to be only one access road to get there which is a single track road with numerous “passing places” through stunning scenery of streams, rivers, hills and mountains all around. However, we could see the gorgeous weather that we had enjoyed over the past few days was about to break so quickly found a pitch and headed straight to the beach, only 2 minutes away - result! Another little oasis with soft golden sand and breaking waves, the pups got to run riot for an hour in their happy place. Well we timed it just right because about a minute after closing the van door the heavens opened. With no internet or phone signal we consoled ourselves with a beer and a glass of wine over a game of cards and a lovely cosy evening!
Not sure where we will be next, nothing booked, so watch this space …
Lots of love T&TA ❤️🏴
