North Coast 500 - Day 1: Inverness to Wick

Left Inverness this morning and stopped first at Chanonry Point, just across the Moray Firth, which is widely regarded as one of the best places in the area for dolphin spotting. But no luck for us today - only a few seals to be seen [see Extra, and also Extra of Chanonry Point lighthouse].
Then north to Dornoch, a lovely town; had a wander around, although being a Sunday it was pretty quiet.
Next stop - Golspie, where the high tide was battering the waterfront [Main photo].
Just north of Golspie is Dunrobin Castle [another Extra]. Built in the style of a French chateau, it has beautiful gardens, turrets, and 189 rooms. We saw the gardens and turrets, but sadly none of the rooms - arriving on the 16th October, when their season finishes on the 15th October, was a bit of an epic fail!
Finally further north to Wick for our overnight stay. Thankfully the rain had stayed away from us all day. Torrential rain battered down for a while not long after we arrived at our B&B, then went away before we went out for an (excellent) evening meal, so we have stayed dry so far. Here's hoping that continues - we shall see!!

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