Another great cycling day. The weather forecast kept changing - possible fog all day or even later in the day thunderstorms. In reality it was a bit foggy when we started off but then became sunny again with the temperature about 20 C. No side trips had been planned but then Neil remembered an old school friend (from Gordonstoun days) had owned a hotel in Dornoch so we did a side trip to this interesting village with a history of involvement by Andrew Carnegie who bought a castle nearby. It turned out Neil met a woman who knew his friend but found out that he had died. There is even a Church of Scotland Cathedral (they do not have bishops), an old courthouse (now a cafe) and a famous Golf Club (The Royal Dornoch). I learned that both golf and curling were first played in this part of Scotland. We crossed the Cromarty Firth in a small ferry and observed where many oil rigs are constructed and the disused ones left at anchor. I counted a total of 10 rigs in the Firth. Cromarty was initially created in 1767. In 1774 "The Hemp Works" were completed and became one of Scotlands first factories. It has seen many activities since including in the two world wars. The latest seems to building the towers for ocean wind turbines. We cycled about 52 KM to-day.
The Cathedral in Dornoch.
High street Dornoch.
An oil rig in for refitting in dry dock.
Towers being built for wind farms.
This car was about to back off the ferry. Our two bicycles were the only two vehicles on the ride over to Cromarty. It was the first day of the season for the ferry to operate (June 1st).
No comments:
Post a Comment