The day began under an overcast sky but soon transformed into blazing sunshine.

We started our day at the stunning beach where John Lennon spent his teenage holidays with his family at Sango Sands Bay, Durness. They stayed with his auntie Lizzie, who lived in the area. Inspired by these memories, he penned the song ‘In My Life’. He visited his Aunt Lizzie’s cottage with Yoko in 1969.

While perhaps not as magnificent as Strathy Bay, this beach still ranked among the finest we had ever encountered. It was absolutely stunning.

Our next stop was Balnakeil Craft Village. Despite the mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, we found it delightful. We visited several studios: Mudness Ceramics, Balnakeil Glass, Cast of Crafts, and Cocoa Mountain, a charming chocolatier and café.

A short drive brought us to the breathtaking Smoo Cave, a magnificent, cathedral-like cave that was free to visit.

Our journey then took us down the stunning West Coast toward Scourie. This involved driving down 14 miles of twisting single-track road. Despite several cars and camper vans on the road, the many pull-in stops meant I did not have to practice my reversing skills.

The West Coast scenery was nothing short of extraordinary, outshining even our cherished memories of New Zealand’s landscapes. The highlands offered an endless array of breathtaking vistas. Amazing.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Crofters Kitchen, a food wagon in Scourie that serves the fresh seafood caught by local fishermen. We can’t recommend it highly enough; the food was wonderful.

In the afternoon, we set out to discover Wailing Widow Falls. We had heard you had to walk up a stony path and scramble over small boulders, but we found it a little more demanding than people had made out. Despite this, we made it to the falls and witnessed a powerful waterfall cascading 50 feet from Loch na Gainmhich.

We are staying at Ardmore House Bed and Breakfast in Lochinver, which we can highly recommend. Jo, the lively, outgoing owner, enthusiastically welcomed us and delighted us by showing us around the house and our bedroom. She even offered us a laundry service, which we gladly accepted. Our spacious, well-equipped, spotlessly clean bedroom features excellent Wi-Fi, a rare find in the highlands.

The house is nestled down a long driveway, offering an isolated and peaceful refuge. This evening, Jo’s chickens made a charming escape, frolicking in the garden, and while Sue sat in the sunshine, she spotted a couple of deer gracefully wandering by.

Another glorious sunny day, we have certainly struck lucky with the weather.

We have spent the first four days traveling up the East Coast from Inverness to John O’Groats. The highlands remind us of New Zealand. Everywhere you travel, there is stunning scenery; from what we have heard, the West Coast is even more beautiful.

Today, we started traveling along the northern part of the highlands. Our first stop was Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of mainland Britain. It was windy, but the views were stunning.

We then travelled to Strathy Bay, where we found the most stunning beach we have ever seen. If you are in this area, it’s a must-see location. Unfortunately, it’s not the easiest beach to find. You will not get to it if you try to use Sat Nav. Looking on Google Maps does not help either.

Directions to find it: Approach on the A836 heading towards Strathy from Melvich. After the ‘Welcome to Strathy’ sign on your left, you go over a cattle grid. Immediately look over the other side of the road. See what looks like a dirt track, which takes you up past the side of the North Coast Parish Church of Scotland, Strathy. Follow this single-track road, which twists and turns for a mile or so until you see a cemetery on your right. Turn into the beach car park immediately after this.

On our way to Durness we saw another stunning beach at Coldbackie but we could not see how to get to it from the road.

We then traveled on to Ard Neackie Lime Kilns. We parked in the lay-by that people recommend, but it was a long walk to the kilns. We would have had to walk on the road for quite a distance before making our way across a sand causeway. We decided it was not worth it.

The road from the Kilns to Durness takes you nineteen miles around Loch Eriboll with fantastic views of the loch, islands in the loch, and the hills around it. The challenge was that the road was single-lane, which I was very nervous about. My reversing skills are not good, so the thought of meeting another car or camper van and returning along the road filled me with dread. But there were lots of pull-in points and so it worked well and I did not have to practice my reversing skills.

We are staying overnight at the Wild Orchard Guest House, Durness. It’s not a guest house but a small hotel with eight identical bedrooms. It is spotless, well-equipped, and maintained, and we received a very warm welcome from Hanna, the owner. They have a small, award-winning restaurant that seats 12 people. Jack, Hanna’s partner, does the cooking. We had dinner, which was superb. It was like eating at a five-star high-end restaurant. The downside was that the bedroom was small, with little space to move around or put luggage. It had a small double bed and a tiny shower, which made it challenging to have a shower.

Another sunny day but with a strong breeze.

We had hoped to go on a 90-minute rib tour coastal adventure with Caithness Sea Coast Tours, but unfortunately, they moved it to the afternoon, which was no good for us.

So we had a leisurely morning, not leaving our hotel until 10:30 a.m. We then looked around the Wick Heritage Centre and Museum. This volunteer-run museum is housed in three old cottages. There was a fascinating range of rooms covering numerous different aspects of Wick’s history. The place had the feel of the Tardis, as you kept finding new rooms and levels.

In the afternoon, we visited Castle Sinclair Girnigoe. These are the ruins of two castles, the 15th-century Castle Girnigoe and the early 17th-century Castle Sinclair, located in a stunning coastal setting. One gruesome tale concerns the 4th Earl of Caithness, who imprisoned his son John Sinclair in Castle Girnigoe on suspicion of rebelling against him. He was held for 7 years, after which his father fed him a diet of salted beef with nothing to drink, so that he eventually died insane from thirst.

We ended the day at John O’Groats, which most people consider the most northerly point of the British Mainland. This title should go to Dunnet’s Head, which is 2.35 miles further north than John O’Groats.

John O’Groats was disappointing; there is very little to see, and it has a rundown feel. More interesting is Duncansby Head, which is a short drive away. Here you can follow the coastal path to see the Geo of Sciaites, a huge gap in the cliffs on which there are thousands of sea birds, and a little further on are the very impressive Duncansby Head Sea Stacks, which rise 60m from the sea.

We stopped overnight at John O’Groats Guest House (https://www.johnogroatsguesthouse.com), which we can highly recommend. It’s run by a lovely couple, Adam and Leonna, who were very welcoming. Our bedroom was immaculate, large, and well equipped, and we had a pleasant evening meal and breakfast.

Another gorgeous sunny day. We have been fortunate with the weather so far.

In the morning, we headed for the Big Burn Walk in Golspie. Golspie is closely associated with the Duke and Countess of Sutherland and their central role in the brutal Highland clearances.

The Sutherland estates amounted to some 1.5 million acres and formed the biggest private estate in Europe. But when they realised they could make more money rearing sheep, they brutally and forcibly removed 15,000 people from their land. Some displaced people were resettled in coastal communities to work in the herring boom. Others were shipped abroad to Australia and North America.

Big Burn Walk is a lovely walk. It is an easy stroll through a beautiful woodland, where you can see and hear many different birds and sounds. Unfortunately, I lost my phone on the walk, and despite retracing our steps, I did not find it.

Then it was a short drive to Carn Liath Broch, which occupies a terrace overlooking the shore. The remains of the broch are impressive. The interior is deeper than the exterior, which remains partially banked. In the entrance passage, there was a cavity possibly used to guard the broch, and on the opposite side was a set of steps within the wall leading to another level.

In the afternoon, we visited the Timespan Heritage Museum in Helmsdale, a sleepy, picturesque village, and then went to Camster Cairns. These are two of the best preserved Neolithic chambered cairns in Britain. The two cairns are very different in appearance. One forms a circular structure 18m in diameter, while the other sprawls along a ridge line for 70m. There are very narrow and dark passages leading into the cairns, which you can access, but given our age and creaking bones, we chickened out and decided not to risk it.

We stayed overnight at Mackays Hotel in Wick. The welcome we received, our bedroom, and dinner were all excellent. But breakfast let them down; the staff did not appear to know what they were doing. We sat in the breakfast room for an hour, and while Sue got her porridge, my breakfast never arrived.

Another beautiful sunny day. Our first stop was the picturesque village of Cromarty. Unfortunately, our early arrival (10 am) meant that most of the attractions we wanted to see were yet to open. However, we found joy in exploring the quaint streets of this charming, peaceful village. This contrasted with looking out onto the Cromarty Firth and seeing several towering oil rigs parked in the waters.

In the afternoon, we had a very enjoyable short walk to see two small waterfalls at Fairy Glen Falls. It is easy to see why this is called Fairy Glen Walk as there is definitely magic in the air as your walk through this hidden gem.

As for the fairies, it’s said that long ago, children would decorate the spring near the falls with wildflowers as a tribute to the fairies to keep the waters clear for drinking and washing. We did not see any fairies, but we did see a couple of ducks at the Mill Pond.

We ended our day in Portmahomack at The Oystercatcher, a charming bed and breakfast run by an elderly couple. The woman manages the front of the house while her husband, a self-taught chef, prepares the meals. The food was excellent, featuring the best homemade bread we have ever tasted and numerous appetisers served. The house was filled with antiques, and each room, including the bedrooms, had delightful little touches that made it feel old-worldly and special. Unfortunately, while they advertised having Wi-Fi, the signal was poor, and I couldn’t connect to the internet.

A delightful first day in the Scottish Highlands. Lovely warm sunny weather.

We spent a fascinating morning at the Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre, learning about the Jacobite uprising in 1745 and the battle of Culloden.

In the afternoon, we travelled to Inverness and enjoyed a 90-minute walking tour learning more about the city, its history, and notable buildings.

We are staying overnight at the North Kessock Hotel, which is set in a lovely, peaceful location overlooking the Beauly Firth. Very nice hotel, which we are happy to recommend. The Beauly Firth is an outlet for the River Beauly and the River Ness.

One challenge is the very modern and high specification hire car, which has far too many annoying gizmos, some of which I am struggling to get to grips with and understand. It also occasionally has a mind of its own. It was quite disconcerting when I got a little bit of my lane on a dual carriageway and the car automatically moved me back over!!