Day 119 Not Very Restful Rest Day 19

Today’s rest day wasn’t particularly restful. Because I made a late decision to walk directly to Wick I couldn’t stay for two nights in the same place which meant I had nowhere to go in the middle of the day.

However, I had things to do. First task was to find a cardboard box in which to post my camping gear home. Eventually I ran one to earth at a seeds and fertiliser warehouse. Wick post office is only open from 10-2, and only allows one person in at a time so I joined the queue in the street.

Mission accomplished, I headed for the Caithness Seacoast Tours office and booked myself onto the last place for today’s trip. I had an hour or so to kill so wandered around Wick reading the plentiful notice boards. South Wick was developed by the British Fisheries Society who commissioned Thomas Telford to design it. The area was called Pulteney town. I had hoped to visit the Wick Heritage Centre but it was, of course, shut.

The boat tour was quite exciting. We were each given waterproofs (and life jackets) and put out to sea in a Rib. It was quite bumpy and splashy but seeing the cliffs from sea level was amazing. We ventured into caves, watched seals, and admired the geology. Unfortunately it was too windy for us to go to Whaligoe. In fact, the wind got up suddenly so we had to head back to the harbour (and got a 50% refund). And no, I haven’t taken any photos, it was a) too splashy and b) I was gripping the seat rail firmly with two hands throughout the whole trip.

I was now ready for lunch which I had at a cafe called Wickers World. Then it was off to the Co-op to buy lunch for the next two days before collecting my backpack from the hotel and going to tonight’s Airbnb.