Welcome back to part 2 of our Epic Northern Coddiwomple of June 2024, when we truly began to experience the “real” Scotland as we explored part of the east coast up to Helmsdale.

Tuesday 4th June

We woke early this morning to the sound of rain (we knew the sunshine wouldn’t last!) and set off in search of breakfast.

As we drove, Tim remarked: “When it perks up a bit, we can stop to make a coffee and have some brekkers.”

By then we were traversing the Cairngorms as per the video above!

We were heading for Rogie Falls, near Contin (or Rogan Josh as Tim renamed them). It was a 2-hour drive from Pitlochry and we were there by 9.30 and the sun was attempting to put in an appearance. 

The impressive and spectacular Falls are accessed by a well-marked, but fairly rough footpath down to a suspension bridge. The Black Water froths and tumbles down through rocks and small gorges, plunging 26ft at one point. A fish ladder has been built next to the rapids for the Salmon to leap during their breeding season.

There is also a longer circular walk which takes you up into the surrounding forests. We somehow managed to find that by accident and started to enjoy a beautiful walk through the woods until we reached a lake. Unfortunately we had to turn back as our car park time would run out if we went any further and we knew we wouldn’t complete the full circle in time, which was a shame.

Rogie Falls form part of the NC500 tourist route and the car park soon filled up with visitors from Australia, Europe, Scandinavia to name a few. We even met a chap from Rye (a local town to us in East Sussex!)

Coffee and food were called for after this longer-than-we anticipated walk and I wanted to go to The Black Isle and Cromarty before we reached our next B&B, so we thought we’d easily find something there.

No such luck! We stopped and asked a local where we could get a coffee and he only knew of the local pub and somewhere else that was permanently closed. However, after a wander through the pretty alleys and streets we found a bakery  – perfect! We took our spoils back to Campy, thinking we could sit by the harbourside and enjoy them, however a howling gale and a squally shower put pay to that and we huddled up inside instead and enjoyed the view across the Cromarty Firth. Lunch was delicious though!

Our B&B for that night was approximately 45 miles away, further up the east coast in Helmsdale. This scenic coastal route took us on the A9, through smaller towns such as Golspie.

We stayed in a room called “Song Of The Sea” in Selkie House situated right beside the tiny harbour. It was very quirky and Tim was delighted to find a silk robe hanging in the wardrobe. It was bright orange and he resembled a cross between Moriarty and Noel Coward! 

Lorna, the landlady was very warm and welcoming and more than a tad hippy-dippy, which appealed to me no end! She took time to explain where to find everything we needed, including “treats” laid out on a kitchen work top which consisted of tea & coffee, KitKats, Turkish Delight, biscuits, cakes, boxes of wine and huge bottles of whisky!

Helmsdale is one of the largest villages between Golspie and Wick, and is certainly very picturesque with a tiny grid of streets overlooking the harbour.  Evidently the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland used to be a frequent visitor! There was only one pub that did food that night (the Bannockburn Inn) and we enjoyed proper homecooked pub grub. The landlord explained how the NC500 tourist industry has saved many businesses in northern Scotland, creating more jobs and keeping the area alive. It’s really worth a visit.

Our room was on the ground floor and overlooked the harbour and it was to be our last night of “comfort” as we were booked into campsites for the next four nights.

We awoke to showery rain the following morning, and a delicious home-cooked breakfast set us up for the next leg our trip. We had only been away for three nights and our first night in Whitby was starting to feel like a distant memory.

Next time I will take you with us up and along the north coast. Here we got our first experiences of the narrow single-track roads and stunning beaches.

In the meantime, thank you for reading and I hope you’re enjoying our adventures so far. If you don’t want to miss the next instalment please subscribe to my monthly Substack newsletter here. 

See you soon!

Wendy x