The final dash

By now we have announced that we have made it to the end of a long but unbelievable journey.
However for the sake of completeness I'll give a quick outline of our last 3 days on the track. Although we were forced to take to tarmac through lack of public footpaths we were still able to enjoy the route.

Leaving Helmsdale we were able to take advantage of a new section of the A9 which cut a little distance off the walk for the day and gave us a wider verge to escape from the traffic which continued to roar past on its way north. The road snaked its way up a steep hillside on the Ord of Caithness, the high cliffs being punctuated by narrow inlets (geos). We passed but didn't visit the lost village of Badbea, the ruins of which commemmorate the 80 crofters which following eviction struggled to make a living ina bleak and desolate location. We plunged down to the hamlet of Berriedale before zigzagging up once more to take a more level approach into Watten. It was a fine and sunny day and at the top of the rise we were greeted with our first views of the coastline stretching towards John O Groats - cause for celebration!! The coast road continued north into Dunbeath and the spectacular privately owned Dunbeath Castlebefore reaching Latheron another former herring fishing village. Passing one of the few native broadleaf forests we struggled on to Lybster our stopping place for the night.

The following morning we manged a quick look at the tiny harbour in Lybster before heading off the A9 a short distance north and on a long, direct and quite deserted road towards Watten.
Some distance along the road we passed the Grey Cairns of Camster which were most worthy of further inspection. Two large neolithic chambered cairns, one round and the other long they were pretty much intact after some restoration work and we were able to crawl through a narrow passage into the inner chamber of the larger cairn. Built in the Stone Age about 4 - 5000 years ago they were thought to be huge burial tombs for local chieftains - a bit of a creepy experience but thankfully no skeletons!! As we approached Watten the country became even more desolate with mainly moorland and the occasional pasture supporting some sheep.
We were pleased to reach Watten, a small town supported by the excellent fishing on the nearby loch, but after a short rest decided to walk on past Loch Watten towards JOG for a couple of hours to shorten our journey on the final day. We returned to Watten for the night.

The final few miles from our stopping place were accomplished fairly easily the following day.
Although the day was fine and a bit chilly views of the northern isles were a bit misty much to ur disappointment. However we were able to appreciate the starkness of the both the island of Stroma and of the Orkneys, Stroma being privately owned and the Orkneys being accessed by a number of ferry services one of which departs from JOG. Suddenly about 4 -5 kms out of JOG we were able to see the outline of turrets of the now disused John O Groats Hotel our final destination. The last few kilometres seemed to take forever but then we were there!!
Tired but elated and probably relieved that we could now give our feet a rest!!

A heartfelt thanks to all those people who have supported us throughout the last 3 months especially Richard without whom the walk would not have been possible and the people who kept things going in Hobart while we have been away. Also many thanks to our sponsors.
It is great to think we will be able to make our contribution to the work of Dr Catherine Hamlin and the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. And it is not too late for last minute contributions if anyone is interested.