We woke to find our continental breakfast had been delivered outside in a cute basket. So after eating and showering we set off. It was a tad chilly with the temperature in single digits and a weather warning in place for high winds and heavy rain.

First stop Dornoch Beach, the sun actually came out and we managed to walk just under 2 miles along a fairly beautiful beach before the rain arrived.  A quick nip into Dornoch Cathedral (quite impressive stained glass windows if that’s your thing as well as being the most northerly Cathedral in mainland Britain!) and we continued our drive up the east coast to Golspie.

We then did the Big Burn walk, a 2 mile round walk criss-crossing the Golspie Burn on little wooden bridges until we reached the falls. Very lucky with the weather with the majority of it done in sunshine. 

A quick refreshment break in the Golspie Inn and we were off to find Dunrobin Castle. 

After walking around the 18 rooms open to the public we ventured into the gardens for a very quick walk around as it was now pouring down. A warm up drink in the cafe was called for before heading further up the coast. 

Next on the list was Carn Liath, this is a broch, which is a sophisticated type of iron age settlement and this is one of the best examples around! 

Final stop of the day, Brora Beach. A beautiful beach with really golden sand, a mixture of sun and rain produced a lovely rainbow.

Then onto our B,B and B for the night, bit unusual this one as it has its own bar, so after popping out to La Mirage (famous fish and chip restaurant – very yummy) we settled down in the bar with the fire blazing and sampled a flight of island whiskies.