Day 20: Scrabster Mission

Sitting in the Fishermen's Mission in Scrabster. A good cuppa and great piece of toffee and banana cake. Picture shows Lesley and James, Lesley has transformed the menu and hospitality of the mission which is full of the stories and tales of local fishermen and visiting seafarers. A marvellous hub, service and ministry in this community. Keep it up the Royal National Mission To Deep Sea Fishermen.

One more night against the quay and we set off west tomorrow morning; the weather quickly settling down.

Yesterday I went for a 5 mile hike past the lighthouse around the headland.
Incredible winds blowing the sea up through blowholes in the cliffs. Photo. A dramatic stack with sea birds, I was blown so much that twice I lost my footing; waterfalls over the cliffs were being blown back up over the tops like rain. Came across a disused slate quarry which has made Thurso famous for its large flat slate paving slabs. They make great walls locally in this old viking town. Scrabster harbour is in the midst of major engineering reconstruction and change as it is becoming a port hub for tidal energy support vessels one installations are made using the powerful tides of the firth. Strange that we crossed the Pentland Firth a whole week ago, and despite going our farthest north to Stromness, we have only progressed 15 miles west along the north coast of Scotland.

Got some haggis and bottle of malt gravy for my half century supper tomorrow which I hope will be in Loch Laxford where I'm not confident of a signal; so, best wishes to you all!