Strathy John O' Groats

The sky to the west was cloudy and dark but it was brighter out to the east so we decided to go to John O' Groats. Neither of us had been before and we sort of expected it to be very touristy, full of gift shops and tourist tat. So, after a lazy morning we set off. The further east we went the brighter and warmer it got.

The drive was nice enough, and within the hour we were there. As expected it was very touristy, and there were plenty of gift shops but in fairness, it was nothing like the horror that is the Loch Ness visitor centre.
It had been a late start and so we were ready for lunch, and there were plenty of options. we settled on a cafe with outside seating so that we could sit in the sun. The food was simple, good, and not too expensive.

After lunch we went and took the obligatory photograph at the famous signpost. I had not realised how close Orkney was to the mainland but there it was just 8 miles away. We had several wonderful holidays there. We wandered around working our way around the gift shops that were mostly selling the same stuff. However, there were a couple that had proper scottish crafts, one had the best selection of Sheila Fleet jewelry I have seen, and another had a great selection of Ortak, as well as hand forged items made in a local blacksmith and art by local artists. I get very annoyed when going into a gift shop in Scotland and finding 'Scottish' things that are made in England, or China, or Thailand etc. We have superb artists, potters and craftspeople here, and I think we should celebrate that, wherever possible I try to buy scottish made goods and Scottish grown foods.

After some Orkney ice cream, we headed back to Strathy Point. John O' Groats had been better than I thought it would be, though to be fair I can't imagine wanting to come back.Read more