23 May 2013: 15km. Started 10:00. Arrived 16:00.
Having managed to pack my tent and possessions in the relative dryness of the camp site laundry room and then wipe down the room to leave it as I had found it, I set off on my short walk in wet and windy conditions. I saw my first sign for John O’ Groats – 85 miles the direct way – that was really exciting.
Fortunately there was a pavement along the side of the very long bridge across Dornoch Firth. Once at the far side, I scrambled down an embankment on to the unclassified quiet road to Dornoch.
Given the short length of my walk and the wet weather, I spent some time looking at the cathedral in Dornoch built in the 13th century under the auspices of Bishop Gilbert (later became a saint). The first service at the Roman Catholic Cathedral was held in 1239 although it sounds as though construction was not complete at that time. The building was almost completely destroyed in a clan feud in 1570 then restored over a protracted period. Following the Reformation it became part of the Episcopal Church for a short time and then passed to the Church of Scotland. Although the Church of Scotland has no cathedrals because it has no bishops, the term cathedral appears to have been kept to reflect the previous history. There are several impressive stained glass windows including one which commemorates the coming of St Gilbert. This window, which was paid for by visitors and townspeople, was dedicated in 1989 (750th anniversary) in the presence of Prince Charles.
The Ell at Dornoch is an interesting old stone slab in Dornoch Cathedral graveyard used for measuring lengths of cloth. Its name came from the Latin for arm ‘ulnia’ and was assumed to be the average length of a person’s arm but the Scottish Ell was standardized in 1661 to 37 inches This stone is marked with two metal points which measure 39 inches so probably pre-dates standardization. It would have been used during fairs in the Mediaeval Period. There are only two other known examples of Ells remaining in Scotland. I also saw further evidence of Mediaeval Trade in the town in the form of the Meer Cross.
Market Cross 
Plaiden Ell
I ate dinner of hunters chicken at a very pleasant pub restaurant looking over the main square. The waitress was concerned that the bad weather was reducing the tourist trade. As I ate dinner, I saw two express buses travelling between Inverness and Thurso cross in the square one going in each direction. After dinner, I looked around some more and did some shopping including visiting the post office where the man was clearly accustomed to stamping LEJoG sheets. Overall I spent two and a half hours in Dornoch.
I was fortunate that the weather improved – although windy it was dry. Arriving at Embo, I headed for the camp site as I could not see any B+B signs. It was actually more like a holiday park and cost £13 even though the tent pitch was a long way from the site facilities. Reception told me where I could camp and gave me a token to put on my tent to prove I had paid. There was a big school group already at the allotted place and the teacher made it clear that I wasn’t welcome – I suspect potential safeguarding concerns on their part although to be honest I wasn’t keen on camping there as I thought that it would prove to be noisy.
I ended up camping in the lee of an unoccupied mobile home, which wasn’t where the management would have wanted me to be. However I was tucked away and felt confident that it wasn’t so windy that the mobile home would blow on top of me in the night.
In the dry wind, my tent dried out beautifully. Moreover, lying in the tent with the tent door open in the early evening I solved my flysheet problem. There was an adjustable strap on each end of the tent and I just had to adjust those after putting up my tent and the flysheet would be nice and taut – not touching the inner at all. It had taken me two damp nights to realise and almost led to the early end of the entire expedition.
I was planning to camp again the next night (so relieved at my new discovery to enable me to keep dry) but phoned a booking to stay at a youth hostel in Helmsdale the following night.
Incidentally I did have a shower that evening – and changed out of my walking clothes to sleep. After all I was at “Grannie’s Heilan’ Hame” so needed to maintain standards!
Where's Kathryn? 