Thursday 26th May.

Departure again about 10:00, Charlie turned off a few miles back up the road from Port Skerra, and headed to Helmsdale across a road reminiscent of our Gentle Annie (Taihape to Napier,) fifty years ago, Single lane pretty well all the way, no fences to the sides, with the occasional fence at right angles to the road , going for miles in each direction and a cattle stop (grid) in the road itself. Even the terrain was of a similar nature; with high ranges towering over the valleys.

Arrived Helmsdale and it was time for morning tea...3/4 of an hour before we got mobile again.

Followed the east coast down for several miles, (a reversal of our trip up to Orkney,) to Inverness.

And went looking for a 'Nessie' (the Loch Ness Monster) tee shirt for bathy's boy Ross. What a bloody Mission! Round and round in circles looking for a park, eventually succeeded, then had to walk up and down bloody hills to get back to the shops!
And then had to search the shops. Found a couple eventually, and bought them for him...Crikey Gary, if Ross doesn't like these bloody shirts I'm gonna rip his arm off and beat him over the head with the wet end!
(Just jokin' mate; just jokin'. Don't scare the poor wee bugger!) But we drove out two hours after entering the place.

Headed out of Inverness looking for a munchy by now; so Charlie stopped at the first place out of town: The Dairy at Daviot. So lunch was at 3:30 today.
Quite a flash place; with a large playground with swings, slides, trampoline, moon-hoppers etc for kids to entertain themselves, while the ground was covered with large machine-masticated chunks of rubber chip.
Left here about 4:30 and headed for the Ailean Chraggan Hotel at Aberfeldy for the night.

Arriving about 6:30.