Bay of Lopness

What a splendid day to leave the Orkneys and travel south to Kinloss on the Moray Firth where we’re staying with family for the next three days.

It was a glorious sunny morning so after leaving the Airbnb we drove up to Lopness for a last look at the seas and beaches. The shore was covered in birds , mostly sanderling rooting through the seaweed. It was then onto 59 degrees N for a coffee and finally to catch the ferry back to Kirkwall.

The crossing was pure magic, hardly a cloud in the sky, the sea a deep blue and the islands a verdant green. The journey was over far too quickly. The extra is from the ferry as Sanday receded from view.

We stopped for lunch at Sheila Fleet’s cafe at Tankerness then drove on to St Margaret’s Hope for the ferry to Gills Bay. Another magical journey as island after island glided by layered between the lighter cloudless skies and the indigo seas.

The 160 miles to Kinloss was the best road trip we’ve ever had in the Highlands - once the potholes north of Wick had been negotiated. The scenery, light and skies were breathtaking.