UK2026: Day 5: A Shmoo and a Coo

Location: South of Durness

Let’s talk about wind! Gusts to 95kph and steady state in the sixties. The RV never stopped rocking and complaining. We did get some sleep but nature really fought us. The waves breaking on the shore of Stroma Isle, part of the Oarkneys, were incredible to watch in the near distance (but through consistent light rain). No pictures as that involved going outside.

It was our first opportunity to dump the cassette toilet. So far we have disliked having a cassette toilet. The good news is the dumping is not the worst part! My hands remain faeces free to this day.

We popped over to Duncansby Head Lighthouse to have a look as the skies were clearing a bit. We walked around the cliffs edge hoping to see puffins or other cool stuff. We did see seagulls and really cool cliffs. It was still very windy and we had a light rain. Good thing we brought our rain and cold weather gear!

Our goal today was to complete the north coast portion of the route. Even though we did research, we didn’t do enough. About 60% of today’s drive was along single track roads. We did not hit any other cars, that’s good! We also did not loose any mirrors off the vehicle. Funny story, Zoom Motorhome has a spare driver side mirror in the RV. I guess they know their customers.

We saw coos! (That’s the local way to pronounce “cows” but we use it to refer to highland cattle). We were driving along and there they were in a field, next to road. We turned around, parked mostly legitimately and went to meat (careful on the spelling) them. It was a wonderful experience.

Our first stop was Dunnet beach. A large and beautiful beach. We did not see any sea mammals today but they do frequent the area. It was six degrees out and partially sunny. Even though we really thought long and hard about it, we didn’t not go for a swim. Not because of the cold, but really because of the high winds and tide probably created rip currents. That’s the reason, really. We did touch our hands into the North Sea. That was a cool thing to do.

Next we stopped in Thurso at the Tesco and then to get some diesel. Fun fact, my great-great-grandfather and gggrandmother settled in Thurso, QC when he emigrated from Ireland.

When driving between cities on our roads at home, you can usually look at the distance and assume 100km/hr. Here, the GPS will tell you that there is 75 km left and an ETA of 2 hours. It really means it.

Next stop was for a picnic lunch break at Sandside Beach. Pictured below is the warning sign on the side of the toilets. We stayed in the van observing the beach and bay.

We got back onto the single lane hilly winding road again to continue along the coast.

We saw some more coos. This time they were on the road and the farmer was trying to lure them back home. We passed slowly and carefully to avoid the big horns (and the farmer).

Our next stop was Shmoo Cave. We were running a bit late but knew we couldn’t miss it. The 107 steps down to the cave were worth it. So were the 107 steps up from the cave.

We had hoped to get our first meal of fish and chips in Durness, the town the cave is in but the chip truck was closed. This made us sad. Somehow we mustered the energy to continue on and we stopped 15 km later at our parkup on the side of the highway. Checkout the views.

Dinner was prefab Chicken Korma from Tesco’s. It was acceptable. Let’s hope that review persists!

Post dinner I had a snack with local flair. Tesco crisps and an IRN BRU. Crisps are fine. I don’t think I like IRN BRU. Mrs Milddogs and I agreed that’s it’s like cream soda with a dash of NyQuil.