Arriving in Thurso was a bit of a wakeup call as it was the first really built up place since Ullapool - We are even talking wide roads, shops, houses, people, and traffic!
Didnt stay too long as we had an appointment with Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the mainland. Not to be confused with John o’ Groats.
It was definitely worth the diversion the road was a narrow single track fella which wound its way along a spur of land up over a bit of a hill and there you were. Nothing fancy and pretentious - a small(ish) car park, a lighthouse and some stunning views out over to Orkney.
Dunnet Head & Orkney in background
Just to prove it
We pulled up just after 10 in the morning, so it was still nice and quiet. The sun had come out by now and was warming the place up a bit, but the wind was still doing its thing.
Rob trying his best 'Ewan' pose
I tried doing a ‘Ewan’ pose, but I started getting all annoyed and saying things like - “must be nice having it all paid for” and stuff like that!
Anyway - Its a bit of a bleak spot really, with a lighthouse and a few old army buildings still surviving from the war. Servicemen stationed here kept a watch on the coast and the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow. In an odd kinda way it was quite good being there when it was so quiet as it gave me a few mins to smile and think.
Looking inland from Dunnet Head
Bikes at Dunnet Head
After spending quite some time wobbling round and taking in the views it was off to the next stop off point. So it was back down the great single track road to the A836 and on to the Castle of Mey a few miles down the road.
I had a big smile on my face as two motorbikes pulled into the nice quiet carpark where there was a cafe with people having coffees. How to make an entrance - all eyes were on these two noisy bike - loved it 
Didnt stay here long as it all looked a tad tripper, so took a few photos and off to JOG. But not before getting all confused with a strange one way system that brought us out down the road.
Castle of Mey
A short hop back on to the A836 to take us to John o’ Groats. By now the sun was out and the day was warming up quite nice :-) Now JOG (as it was known throughout the trip) is as far as Im concerned a bit of a god forsaken place, and yes I know people all have their own thoughts and ideas of the place this is just mine.
JOG is quite often said to be the most northern point of the mainland (which it is not) its also said to be the most northern settlement (which it is not) Its famous for being the northern point of the longest distance between two points on the British mainland. So there you all know now.
The bikes at the signpost
One of the traditions is to have your photo taken at the signpost showing distances to Lands End and your home town. This signpost is privately owned and so is the little pitch of land around it (you can see it in the photo above) So because of this you have to pay to take a picture of yourself with your own camera! Or you can pay the onsite photographer something like 10 quid and he will do it for you! God I wish Id thought of that!
So being true Yorkshire men we didnt pay - just parked up and took a quick photo from the road
Just to make the place look even more rundown there is an old hotel down on the front that used to look quite impressive - alas now the once white paint is grey and peeling, and the building is fenced off and derelict, so thats really not helping my impression of the place - and and the loos cost 20p!!!!
But there is a nice coffee shop and tourist information shop that sells more souvenirs can you can take in without hurting your head
Me having a coffee at JOG
Thats me above having a coffee at JOG before heading off on the next section of the trip.
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Me and my wife enjoyed reading your blog post. Keep up the good work.