This summer, I wrote a piece about living on the popular ‘North Coast 500’ route through the lens of my own experience as a resident of Caithness. Entitled ‘Poo, Potholes and Park-Ups – Why Highlanders are Tired of Scotland’s North Coast 500 Route,’ the article was probably more even-handed than the alliterated headline might suggest.…
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Last year, I wrote an article on the ‘summer of discontent’ on Scotland’s ‘North Coast 500’ road trip. As a resident on the route here in Caithness, I spent a lot of time writing about responsible travel and repeating the phrase ‘let’s hope things improve.’ A summer of littering, outdoor toileting and inconsiderate ‘wild camping’…
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As travel restrictions ease across Scotland, many people in the North Highlands are feeling nervous about the resumption of tourism. 2020 was a challenging year here in the far north, and memories of irresponsible camping, inconsiderate motorhome parking, and the litter and human waste left by a minority of visitors will be difficult to erase.…
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Exactly a year ago, on the Sunday before the UK entered lockdown, I was out walking with my son here in Caithness when a man pulled over in his car and rolled down the driver’s side window. He asked us where he could find a place to eat and have a cup of coffee. The…
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Since its inception in 2015, The North Coast 500 – the re-branding of an existing 516-mile loop around the North Highlands – has attracted visitors from all over the world, keen to experience the untamed beauty of this area of Scotland. Originally the brainchild of North Highland Initiative – a non-profit organisation set up by…
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It seems like forever since I wrote a Little Loves post (to be honest it has been a while as I don’t join in with Little Loves in December). Whereas most people join up with the linky on the last Friday of every month, I just do it when I can manage (which usually ends up being about a week after…
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Last weekend we visited Dunbeath Castle Gardens for their annual summer open day. Staying at home more than normal over the holidays has encouraged us to check out some of the attractions on offer on our own doorstep (or at least within a 30 minute radius of our house 😉 ). And what attractions they are – Caithness has…
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There is a road I see from the front door of my home in Caithness that forms part of the North Coast 500. As kids, we knew it better as the road ‘up west’, a passage imbued with the promise of beaches, picnics and sand between our toes. These days, the route has a new title…
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Welcome back to Life Within Four Corners, where I share some of my favourite photos, and the stories that went along with them each season. I used to do this on a monthly basis but to be honest, so many weekly and monthly commitments were getting too much for me to keep up with on…
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