Our road trip from Inverness around the NC500 initially took us north to Helmsdale where we overnighted after having a quick peak in at the classic Dunrobin Castle. Our plan from Helmsdale was to see the delights of Wick, John o’ Groats and Thurso before driving to our next stopover at Armadale House past Melvich. We soon came across the evocative Badbea ruins and learnt about the dreadful clearances. Wick didn’t inspire us to get our cameras out but the nearby Noss Head and Castle Sinclair ruins certainly did. John o’ Groats was surprisingly OK and we could see the nearby island of Stroma. Travelling west across the north coast was not as captivating as we had hoped. Thurso also didn’t trouble our cameras but the Castle of Mey and the nuclear waste disposal facility at Dounreay were interesting and we started to capture a sense of the scenery to come as we approached Armadale House.
