To Thurso and then a tourist in Orkney

After leaving Stirling I headed up to Thurso.  This was a delightful trip on the train.  As we went through Pitlochry I could see the massed bands getting ready for the Highland Games that were held that day.  Most of the crowd on the train were heading there, and at the next stop the football crowds got on getting in good voice for the game to be held in Inverness.  As we followed the coast the mist kept appearing but it stayed away as we headed inland, and I was able to see the beautiful moorland, heather and moss, with the the mist not really coming in till after I settled into my hostel.

I liked Thurso. The gardens were lovely, bright and cheerful.

The dry stone walls gave real character the town, and it is interesting to see the flat stones, topped by upright stones.

A close up of one of the walls.

I had an email from a friend suggesting that I should visit Orkney while I was so close.  I took her advice and headed over to the Islands, for a planned two nights, which changed to three.  

Orkney has an amazing history / heritage.  I made friends with another Australian woman, Cathy, and together we visited a couple of sites ranging in age from 5,000 years, one of about 3,000, a Cathedral about 800 years old, and then a world war two site.  In between I saw magnificent countryside and wonderful coastlines - when it wasn't shrouded in mist!

The ferry left from this village, Scrabster, a couple of miles from Thurso.

The view as we left for Orkney.

And a view from one of the little streets in Strommnes, the village I stayed in for three nights.

The grey building with the two windows was the waterfront cottage I was upgraded to, and which I shared with Charlotte - all for £20!  The kitchen and lounge look out those windows, right across the harbour.

Above and below is the village of Strommnes.  I liked it so much I stayed an extra night.

The harbour at Strommnes, and the ferry heading back to Thurso.

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This is an Australian connection to Orkney.  This was the home of Eliza Fraser who was shipwrecked on the Great Barrier Reef and  who Fraser Island is named after.

 The 5,000 year old house, called Skara Brae.  You can see the "Dresser" against the back wall, and beds at the side.  This is the original of the replica house below.

Cathy has to bend right down to get into the room of the house.  This is a replica of the house, which allows people to see close hand what the house looked like, but saved the original from too much traffic.  The dry stone walls are amazing, but it is because the houses were made of stone that they have survived in such good condition.

 When we visited the other 5,000 year old building, which was a burial tomb, we had to haul ourselves through the opening tunnel on the trolley that Cathy is on.  There was not a lot of room, and a rope from the roof of the tunnel helped us move the trolley.  This site was called the Tomb of the Eagles, because sea eagle tallons were found inside.

 Fortunately the sun came out when we got to Saint Margaret's Hope.

We visited the Italian Chapel, a chapel that was built by Italian prisoners of war who were building the breakwater.  The authorities allowed them to build this chapel from two Nissan huts.

 The painting behind the altar.  St Francis and St Catherine of Siena are on each side.

 St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, the largest town in the Orkneys.

The following pictures are all scenes from the coastline near the Tomb of the Eagles. The bus didn't run to this part of the island and so Cathy and I hitched there.

The ferry left from St Margaret's Hope, in the mist!  I couldn't see a thing, but these boats were just by the ferry as I left.  This was two days ago and the mist has yet to lift.

Today is Thursday, voting day.  I have passed several polling booths on the first day of my new journey.  While on Orkney, I saw many signs for "Yes", but sometimes I would get a surprise and see a burst of "No's".  We shall see what the results bring.  There are many passionate people on the Yes side as well as the No side, but talking to people there are also many undecided.

My journey has begun, but I will tell you about it next post.  

I know where I'm going - sort of!

Well, this post is farewell to Italy and hello to a jittery Scotland!  Jittery, because it is anybody's guess as to what the result of the upcoming election will be!

Leaving Rome had its moment's!  I caught the shuttle bus out to the airport, but the poor mans airport used by Ryan Air is not the organised airport of its cousin's! What a shambles it was.  Queues that took forever to work through, people pushing and shoving, and then hundreds of passengers squashed into one holding area, shoulder to shoulder.  I had a very fleeting thought about how we would cope with an evacuation, but promptly pushed it aside - it didn't really bare thinking about!

 A final look in the ornate Italian Churches, compared to the grey, rather austere ones I have seen thus far in Scotland.

Part of Bernini's great sculpture of the ecstasy of  Saint Teresa of Avila. 

The ceiling of the church.

That aside, my window seat managed to give me wonderful views of the Alps as we crossed them, and then of Scotland as we came into land.  This too gave rise to a fleeting thought, which I have tried to push aside.  As we flew into Edinburgh I could see bright shiny patches on the ground as the sun reflected off pools of water in the fields and on the hillsides, and also on the many little streams.  The other thing I observed were the many wind turbines on the hillsides.  These observations gave rise to the thought that seeing all the water implies "wet" underfoot, and the windmills imply an abundance of wind.  Both things might affect how far, and even how much I enjoy each day!  Oh well - I have had the visual warning.

I said in the title of this post that, as the song says, "I know where I am going".  At last I do, for most of Scotland, and after that I am not sure.   I spent considerable time in a bookshop choosing guide books, and time with shop assistants in outdoor shops where I picked their brains for information, and purchased a few essentials like a compass and gaiters.

For those who are interested in my proposed path, here it is:-
Firstly from John o'Groats down the highway (carefully) through Wick to Inverness.
I then turn off onto the Great Glen Way, followed by the West Highland Way to the outskirts of Glasgow.  These paths take me along some well known loch's - Ness, and Lomond and past Ben Nevis (which I may or may not climb, depending on the weather.).  From here I will then pick up a path called the John Muir Trail to Edinburgh.  The next couple of days will be a bit hazy, but somehow I will work my way South, eventually picking up the Saint Cuthbert's Way to Lindisfarne, and from there I will follow Saint Oswald's way to the outskirts of Newcastle.  This gets me into England and as far as I have got in the planning.  You will have to wait for another instalment to find the rest of my plans.

 Looking towards the Royal Mile, the castle being out of site on the right.

 The sun brought people out, and many relaxed on the lovely lawns.

 St Mary's Cathedral, where I had my first "sing" in the UK!

 Dismantling the stands after the Tatoo, which finished a couple of weeks ago.

Saint Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh.

 This was one of the cleverer adds re independence!

I am spending the night in Stirling!  How could I go past and not stop here?  It is a lovely town, all abuzz at present because this is quite a stronghold of the " yes" vote for the upcoming referendum non Independenceext Thursday .  I was accosted frequently by both sides and I just said that the Stirling I came from was in another country, and therefore I couldn't vote!  Tomorrow I head to Thurso and will try to make my way to the Orkney Isles and continue being a tourist for a few more days, and hope to begin the End to End about next Wednesday.  The weather is extraordinarily mild at present.  I have my wet weather gear, but not warm gear yet - Emrys will courier that to Inverness for me next week, so hope it continues mild for a little while longer.

 The sign at the railway station.

 The station was blue and white.

 The boy's club building in Stirling.  The Boy Scout emblem is on the right of the door.

 Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling.  This was the church where John Knox conducted the coronation of  Mary Queen of Scots son, James VI of Scotland and James I of England.  He was baptized as a Catholic in latin, crowned as a protestant in English

Flags in the street - hard to see, but Saint Andrew's flag of Scotland in the front row, the Union Jack of England the other!  The battle continues.

Rieti to Rome

We are now in Rome.  What a journey we have had over the past month, and the last 100 kms from Rieti have been just as interesting as the first 100 kms!

Thankfully this part of the way has not been QUITE as steep, though it has had its moments!  The path has gone along roads, through forests, and we have had short bits that could have been called "bush bashing".  We also managed to get geographically embarrassed on our second last day, though not through our fault - the signs just dissapeared!

 Downhill, followed by a steep uphill.

 We left the medieval village on top of the hill, and passed through this deserted one, crossing the bridge and heading uphill.

Yes, this was the path!

 Walking through the streets of Poggio San Lorenzo in the early morning.

 Almost a touch of bush bashing to come.

 Julie negotiates what we think is the path

 On our penultimate day of walking we shared the path with a bunch of horses and their riders as they went for an early morning ride.

We lost the path at one point, and were eventually directed to the " white road".

No, South Aussies - it's not the road  to Kuitpo, but a road that leads to Rome!

 These twowanted to say hello as we walked past.

As we got close to Rome (only about 15 kms away here) the signs deteriorated.

On this leg we have stayed in a luxurious agriturismo that served us a delicious gourmet dinner, and in basic accommodation in a convent, sleeping on fold up beds.  We have had the luxury of being able to stop at bars for refreshments along the way, and on the last day the added luxury of walking less than 10 kms!

 Our agriturismo accommodation.

 The convent where we had folder beds.........

......... and the church where we eventually found the priest who could stamp our credential,.....

....... though he met us after mass at the bar.  Not only did he stamp our credential, but shared a drink with the boys at the bar.

When we got to the outskirts of  Rome we eventually found a hotel where we got a fifth floor room, and a fantastic view over the city!

Arriving in Rome, we decided that we couldn't cope with walking past our hotel to St Peter's Basilica, and so we stopped at the hotel, saving the last few kilometres for Monday morning when we knew we could get into the Vatican to collect our Testimoniums.  Sunday (the one day when it is not possible to collect the Testimoniums) was a leisurely day.  After showering, we took ourselves outside to a bar where we had a late lunch and waited for Jim ( Julie's husband) to arrive, and then it was leisurely drinks while we caught up with each other's news.

At the Vatican we took some time collecting our special certificates.  We had to go through two police checks before reaching an office where, on surrendering our passports, we were issued with a pass which allowed us to go to the next spot where we had to wait for midday prayers to finish before we eventually passed our credential's in for their final stamp.  This exercise wore us out and so, after a leisurely lunch we returned to our respective rooms for a much needed siesta!

 Our arrival in Rome

Our destination the next day.

 With our Testimoniums, and the second lot of police (Swiss Guards) we had to pass to get around the end of the white building on the right.

Feeling quite pleased with ourselves!

It has been an interesting journey.  The early days were far harder than I had imagined, and poor Julie coped wonderfully well with some very difficult days, being thrown in the deep end on her first pilgrimage.  We learnt a lot, not only about Italy, but about that extraordinary man St Francis.  We have seen some wonderful things - the hilltop towns, the forests, and of course the buildings and artwork in them.  I think it will hold a special place in our hearts for both of us.

 One of the last hilltop villages we passed through.......

.......and a last lot of narrow roads,.........

The end of the grandiose......

......... almost!

Last night the three of us met for a final dinner.  Jim and Julie are headed to Lucca today, and I head to Edinburgh tomorrow.  As is the way though on this trip with unexpected treats, I have spent this last evening in Italy with a friend from home, Jo, who has been walking a week or so behind us and has caught the train here to fly home tomorrow.

Those of you who are observant will notice that a postscript has been added to the introductory  paragraph at the top of the page.  As it has been hard to know what the situation in Jerusalem would be in a couple of months, my friend Neil and I decided that it would not be prudent to walk there thus we have changed plans.  He is walking in Spain, and I am off to the UK to complete Jogle, otherwise known as the "End to End".  Jogle is the abbreviation for John O'Groats to Land's End (ie from North to South).  The opposite way is known as Lejog.  Thus my next post will be from Scotland, and I will be there for the referendum!