Beach Combers

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“Quick, get in the car!” was the sound we heard from Matt as he broke the silence whilst Ros, the boys and Kerry relaxed in the caravan this morning. He had gone out for a drive around to see what is in the local area and had found a colony of grey seals basking in the sun only a 5 minute drive away from camp.

We quickly gathered the camera bags, leaving everything else where it was and locked the caravan before jumping in the car in hope of seeing the seals before they moved on somewhere else.

Wow! He wasn’t kidding. After driving down a little goat track that leads to an old boat ramp we discovered what all the commotion had been about. Wow! There were loads of them. Young and old grey seals surrounded the area in which we now found ourselves. There was one group right at the end of the concrete boat ramp, ready to roll back into the water at the first sign of danger. The boys went for a walk around the nearby rocks, where there were more seals enjoying the sunshine, leaving Kerry to slowly creep down the boat ramp, bit by bit, closer and closer, in search of the ultimate shot! Joined not long after by Zane, we managed to get to within about 5 metres of the seals.

We then went for a drive around the local area, exploring the coast and it's views. We even went for a drive to the nearby village where we could see some kind of castle in the distance. As it turned out, after driving down some very dodgy little roads and avoiding the signs that stated 'private' we found what we thought was a 'public' road in towards the castle. We were quickly greeted by a stately gentleman who told us very politely that this was a private castle. After giving his home numerous compliments he then told us it had been in his family for many generations... his ego appeared to like the compliments. We then headed back to camp.

One of the biggest joys we have found in staying in a caravan park right next to the beach is the beach combing. Matt & Kerry enjoyed a lovely coffee overlooking the water (while Ros and the boys relaxed in the van). They then headed down to the shore for a romantic beach walk. What a perfect way to end another wonderful day of exploration.

Tomorrow: John O'Groats boat trip. Just hope the weather is as perfect as it has been so far in Dunnet Bay!

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