Log No 46. Thu 23rd May 2013 - Nigg Ferry to Portmahomack, 19 miles (782 miles walked)

My tent survived the army tripping over the guy lines all night and they didn't even make much noise when they started to dismantle their tents and equipment at 04.30, I was awake anyway.

There was no evidence of a coastal footpath from Nigg Ferry itself or on the map so I was going to use the cycleway to get to Shandwick.

The only problem was that I couldn't get back to Nigg Ferry on public transport and I wasn't going to spend 1 1/2 hours walking there or trying to thumb a lift, I might never get one. In the end I started the day from a different location but covered the same distance, if you follow me, one piece of road is pretty much the same as another anyway.

I eventually got started at 10.15 and it was not much of a day, very strong winds and heavy rain rain showers.

Coming into Shandwick I went to look at a Pictish stone, what a site Orkney would look if all it's stones were in glass cases.

The three connected villages of Shandwick, Balintore & Hilton make up the Seaboard Villages and an information board said there was a Seaboard North path (10 relatively easy miles) and a South path (7 hard & steep miles) which must have gone to Nigg Ferry.

The North path was shown on the map but the South one wasn't.

I had a quick bite of my lunch at Balintore on a bench overlooking a statue in the sea.

I never met anyone on this easy 10 mile stretch, there was a path right enough but in places it was almost overgrown with gorse.

The path ended at Tarbat Ness, I did look to see if I could continue on the coast but decided that as there were too many cows in the fields I would just use the road to get to Portmahomack.

The gale force wind was blowing right into the campsite and there was not much shelter.

I pitched the tent between two unoccupied caravans but it is still blowing about like mad as I write this, and it is still bitterly cold.

18 miles today.