Bettyhill

Autumn Adventure - Day13 (NC500 - Day 5)

More wind and rain moved in again during the night. I had a short walk to the beach by the Dunnet Head campsite this morning (see third Extra photo from yesterday). It was pretty wild, so I didn’t go far!  I left the site late morning and stopped in Thurso for some food and petrol. Thurso is known as a surfing spot, and it would have been a good day for them, but I didn’t take the time to see if any were out there.

Even with the wild weather and the low clouds, the drive today was beautiful. There wasn’t always a spot to pull over to take pictures, but I did find this one - Bettyhill Viewpoint. It’s near the village of Bettyhill but it isn’t a view of the village. Through the clouds you can just see the mountains Ben Loval and Ben Hope.

This area is known as Flow Country (historically Flow is pronounced to rhyme with Cow). It is the largest area of blanket bog in Europe and covers 4000 square km (1500 square miles). It’s an area of deep peat with bog pools, important for both wildlife and the mitigation of climate change. It’s being considered as Unesco World Heritage Site. Please DO watch the video in this link - its beautiful!

I had a sandwich for my lunch while sitting here looking at the view. It was pouring when I arrived but the rain stopped just long enough to get out and take a few pictures. There’s a waterfall a short walk away but I decided to save that for next time when hopefully the weather won’t be so wet!

I didn’t push myself too far today. I arrived in the little town of Bettyhill very ready for a hot drink. I can always make one in my van of course, but I knew that there was a popular local cafe in Bettyhill so I decided to go there and I’m SO glad I did!  See the first Extra photo. They had a huge selection of cakes - I had a hard time deciding but ended up choosing a Victoria sponge cake to have with my pot of tea. Look at that roaring fire!  I enjoyed a long visit there and got chatty with a couple who live in the southern part of England but own a static caravan in Bettyhill and come up here several times a year. That’s a long way to come for a holiday home!

There was a small campsite in the village where I decided to stay. It’s under new ownership and is being redeveloped. It looked a bit like a building site with a new toilet/shower block under construction, but the temporary facilities in a couple of containers were clean with plenty of hot water, and there was a hard pitch with electric hookup, so I was perfectly fine with it. The site was very relaxed - turn up, choose a place to park, and the lady running it will come in the evening and take your money. Or pay via a QR code if you’re going to the pub for dinner. I saw the beautiful view of the bay and beach below before the sun went down (see second Extra photo). Hopefully I can enjoy a walk down there tomorrow morning!


I’m very, VERY late posting my blips from my Scotland trip!!  I’m trying to catch up. Scroll back if you want to!