Day 108 the John O’Groats Trail

Today I started off for John O’Groats. I can’t believe how close I am now to finishing, only 150 miles to go.

The weather was again cloudy and hazy as I headed for the Kessock Bridge over the Beauly Firth. I passed by a clock tower which was built from stone from Cromwell’s fort which was demolished on the orders of Charles II. Astonishingly this makes it the second oldest building in Inverness. Which seems odd as Inverness is older than that. Maybe a fire? Who knows? Or just an incorrect notice board?

The JOG trail guidebook is only a draft version and is definitely incorrect in places as the trail has developed so it can be a bit tricky. I followed the book as it told me to climb a fence and scramble up the bridge embankment. Tim however found a sign leading him up a set of stairs.

Having crossed the bridge I was now on the Black Isle. I don’t know why it is called that. I’m pretty sure we had a Tintin book (Tintin and the Black Island) that wasn’t set here. Anyway the path wandered around the Black Isle, climbing steeply through woods then winding round to the seashore. It wasn’t a great path, too many scrambly, not-sure-if-I’m-going-the-right-way bits. Sometimes it was well-strimmed though.

Once I’d struggled back from the seashore (think saltmarsh not sandy beach) to the road I decided to stop at the pub for a glass of Coke. I called in to the Allangrange Arms in Munlochy and once the landlord heard about my walk he gave me my drink on the house.

I left the pub feeling quite cheerful and strolled through some very pretty woodland where I had my lunch by a stream and met Dawn who was out for a dauner. (Her words, not mine -a dauner is a walk) who took my photo for her women’s walking group Facebook page. At the edge of the woodland was a clootie well

The well is dedicated to St Curetan or Boniface who was a Pictish bishop whose diocese was on the Black Isle. At the well which is a stream, you dip a piece of cloth (the clootie) in the water, tie it to a tree and as it rots away your ailment vanishes. This clootie well is particularly associated with healing sick children although slightly alarmingly you’re supposed to leave them at the well overnight. I think people stick to the bits of cloth these days. It was quite an amazing sight.

By now I had realised that the guidebook’s suggestion that today was to be a 12.5 mile day was very wrong. And so I took a shortcut along the road. I arrived just after 4pm. Tim was already there so we had a chat about trails winding around pointlessly before I went off for a shower and a cup of herbal tea. We had dinner together at the Culbokie Inn (apple crumble and ice cream for pudding) and I am now lying on my bed trying to stay awake as it is too early to go to bed.