This Is Wild Camping

Although here in Scotland wild camping is really a term used only for tenting, I have to say spending the night at Dunnet Head lighthouse is as wild as I ever want to camp. We were parked on the edge of a cliff with a spectacular view all around. The Atlantic in front of us and the North Sea beside us. We also had a beautiful view of the Orkney Islands. There is a famous lighthouse here that was manned until the late 1960s. There is also a small Coast Guard installation and some bunkers left over from WWII. Oh, and sheep, lots and lots of sheep. Our trip from the Black Isle to Dunnet Head was very exciting, we went through some quaint little towns, checked out a French manor house, and got totally turned around looking for the ruins of Sinclair Castle only to find the road to the castle closed indefinitely. We were disappointed there was no place to park at the Whaligoe Steps, but we did visit Kiess Beach and the town of Kiess. We also drove on our first single-track road. Fortunately, it was on fairly level ground, but there were lots of twists and turns. We only had to pull over a few times to let others pass. When we were getting close to our stop for the night, we started seeing vans pulled over in the tiniest of spaces. We were hoping the lighthouse parking would have a little more room. We weren't disappointed. The car park at the lighthouse had quite a few spaces. We were able to get a spot facing the water and only had to pay 10 pounds to park for the night. We took a nice long walk around the grounds and met some very friendly dogs. The wind and rain were unbelievable after dark. Our little camper moved around a whole lot more than the narrowboat ever did. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. I am so glad we had a chance to visit this beautiful and remote place.Read more