Rob-n-Hild Take the High Road!

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Aberdeen to Thurso Drove 339 km in 5:13 hours with maximum altitude of 276 metres.

It was a wonderful day that started off with rain and ended in sunshine. We only stopped for picnic lunch in Inverness.

The picnic spot Rob chose was on the banks of the Beauly River in Merkinch Local Nature Reserve. It was a bit windy so we put our coats on as well as scarves-into-hats. Sandwiches and tea were yummy all the same.

We arrived at high tide and watched the water level drop. What looked like a river with no obstruction suddenly had a sand bank in it.

From our lunch spot we could see the Kessock Bridge we were about to drive to cross the Beauly River.

There was quite a bit of rain during our drive so not very tempting to stop and take photos. We did grab this photo as we drove across the Dornoch Firth Bridge. There is a lot of good-looking agricultural land along this route with wheat, barley, potatoes, and so much more. Of course: lots and lots of cows and sheep.

As we have become accustomed to, there are a lot of wind turbines in Scotland. Driving through Hasary Wind Farm it felt like they were everywhere, and so many of the turbines were not even turning.

It was easy to find our campsite on the outskirts of Thurso. When we arrived the wind had died down and there was blue sky and sun instead of rain. The view was so clear that we could see Hoy, one of the Orkney Islands, in the distance. It is only 25 km away as the crow flies, although the car ferry goes around the back to Stromness on the Orkney mainland around 42 km away.

We quickly set up the tent and got the office organized with computers, screens, keyboards, and mice. Very convenient to get some work done.

Percy, Dominic (the tent), and a new wind shelter are now organized as a little team to stand up to strong winds. We are hoping to stay ahead of the wind direction as we have learnt that it changes alot here.

Then chef Rob kicked into action and prepared an excellent 30th wedding anniversary dinner. He used the Trangia camping stove to cook rice as well as lamb steaks. It was delicious served on Ciabatta rolls with mint sauce. Enjoying lamb meat on our anniversary has become a tradition now, so we were happy to find meat at the local LIDL supermarket.

We enjoyed some chocolate and cookies with our tea while reading greetings from family members. Liz made this beautiful arrangement using pearls. How creative. Thanks, Liz! We miss you.

As promised we now include some photos where we combine photos from our wedding on 24 June 1995 with photos taken last week in Norway. Here is one with the happy couple in 1995, and the casual phone-browsing couple in 2025.

Here is one with Rob and Hild being bored in 2025 waiting for the happy couple to kiss outside Valle Church in 1995. You will notice, as we did, that our legs have been chopped off in nearly all photos from 1995!

A quick recreation of the kiss...

Then a photo with us and Nina and Basudha at Valle Church in 1995.

...and us doing high-five over ourselves in 2025.

Finally, the entire wedding party gathered on the stairs to Valle Church on 24 Jun 2025. We have so many great memories and love remembering who was there with us on that day.

Coming up: Thurso and surrounds

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