Hell's Mouth

Trip Start May 11, 2011

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188

Trip End Jun 11, 2011

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Flag of United Kingdom Duncansby Head, Scotland, United Kingdom
Thursday, June 2, 2011

HVM found himself racing towards John O'Groats tired and as night closed in [ISA 8.5]. We on the other hand are fresh as daisies and it’s a glorious sunny morning. For some reason we still find ourselves racing the last few miles to the northern extremity of our trip. I don’t know why this is. Might be the weather or the fact that it’s taken us nearly three weeks to get here or it might be 101 Power Ballads on the stereo. It’s probably a combination of all three.

On the outskirts of John O’Groats we turn off for Duncansby Head [ISA 8.6]. This is because it’s actually further north than John O’Groats and by all accounts hasn’t disappeared under a pile of gift shops. Our information is good. It hasn’t.

At Duncansby Head there is a lighthouse (now automated) that looks out over the Pentland Firth where the North Sea meets the North Atlantic

Issy taking breakfast in the sun lounge

. This is a vicious bit of water that been called various things by sailors over the years one of the repeatable ones being Hell's Mouth.

I’m surprised to be able to see islands directly off the coast, I thought they were miles away. We’re actually looking straight into the entrance of Scapa Flow between Hoy and South Ronaldsay where the British Fleet used to live.

A short walk to the south are the Stacks of Duncansby. Enormous pillars of sandstone just offshore looking far, far too impressive to be real. I do find myself thinking that occasionally in these CGI encrusted days.

As we walk back towards Beddie a cry of "Hush Puppies" from a South American lady reminds me that this is about the fifth time we’ve heard this on the trip from people as diverse as German, Japanese and now South American. That was obviously one very smart bit of advertising.

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