An early rise saw me catching the 8.10 train from Carluke to Argyle Street Station. I stopped off at Primark to buy a warm top as I had forgotten to bring one with me. A visit to Sainsbury's to get a sandwich etc for the train journey was next before a quick walk up to Queen's Street Station where I collected my tickets from the ticket machine. (A Club55 ticket from ScotRail meant that the return price from Glasgow to Thurso was only £18.)
The train left on time and a lovely day through beautiful scenery soon passed before I arrived in Inverness and my change for Thurso. The next part of my journey seemed to last forever. Perhaps it was because of the early darkness but it took what seemed like an eternity before I arrived in Thurso to be greeted by rain and wind.. I asked a fellow passenger about a connecting bus to Scrabster Ferry Terminal and, as I suspected, there was none, so we agreed with another passenger to share the cost of a taxi. We were at the Terminal in 5 minutes.
Checking in was easy and it wasn't long before I was onboard and the MV Hamnavoe was setting off for Stromness. I was starving so I quickly found myself in the self-service restaurant with a plate fish and chips and small bottle of white wine while the ferry crossed the Pentland Firth towards the shadow of the Old Man of Hoy.
An hour and a half later and I was disembarking in a windy but dry Stromness and searching out my lodgings for the night - the Asgard B&B. I was to pass by the house and found myself having to backtrack, but with only a little time wasted, I was soon settled in to a comfortable and warm ensuite room.
A wander back out around the town was finished with a drink in the Royal Hotel before returning once more to my room and bed at the end of what had been a long and tiring day.
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