Sutor’s view

First stop was Black Isle Veg Boxes where Dan is rendering his new straw bale house. It’s unbelievably square, erected by two pros who attend straw bale construction conferences. Apparently I shouldn’t have used rebar to pin the courses together because a) pinning is now considered unnecessary and b) humidity condenses on the metal. (The barn is also pinned with rebar & appears unharmed after20 year’s occupation.)

Since he wwoofed with us back in 2007 he has taken over his father’s croft, sired two children, erected some serious polytunnelage, and assembled an unenviable collection of old caravans. The family lives in a small wooden house, surrounded by arnica, and will decamp into the straw house when it’s ready.

Ailsa and I take the scenic route to Cromarty and walk up South Sutor, through lovely woodland. At the top there’s a viewpoint & the only presence is a large white teddy looking over at North Sutor.

We try to follow a footpath sign to McFaquhar’s Bed, but end up at a locked fence with “Danger Asbestos”, “Caution Wild Boars”, and “Dangerous Buildings” signs. So we walk back to Cromarty and stuff ourselves on Sutor Creek’s famous pizzas.

Ailsa drops me at the airport, I pass through the stuffy departure hall, and install myself in the cooled lounge. We board the flight on time, but departure is delayed by thunderstorms down south. Still, we arrive barely 20 minutes late and my hire car is waiting.

Twenty miles of the M4 is speed restricted as they ‘upgrade’ it to SMART motorway status. I’m not sure what improvement that will bring, but it slows me down today. I still get to mum’s before 11 and she’s awake to welcome me. I’m ready for bed.