Life’s a beach on gem of a walk
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STATELY Dunrobin Castle is one of the oldest inhabited houses in Scotland, parts of it dating back to the 13th century.
Passing it on the A9 just north of Golspie gives only a tantalising impression of its grand stature.
But take the coastal path and it’s a different story. The castle’s towering conical spires make it look like something out of a fairytale from the shore, where it dominates the view.
A little further north is an even older structure – a magnificently preserved Iron Age broch that’s worth the very short detour to investigate.
But the real highlight of our trip came further on still, when golden beaches opened up before us as the tide went out and grey seals could be seen basking on the rocks in the sunshine.
I’m in training for the Highland Cross so teamed up with my running friend Ian Hunter to run the route from Golspie to Brora and back again, a total of around 12 miles.
For those with a more leisurely pace in mind it’s easy enough to get a train between the two villages to make this a one-way walk of half that distance.
We started at the free car park beside the Coffee Bothy café and public toilets (the most impressive in the Highlands, I’d say!) off Fountain Road in the centre of Golspie.
If starting at the railway station, turn right onto the A9 and follow it north through the village. From the car park go back to the main road and turn left to go the same way through the village.
Where the road bends left just after the geology museum, turn right onto Duke Street alongside some attractive old cottages and cross the river by the footbridge. Go through the gate straight ahead and join a grassy track leading along the shore.
Apart from the rabbit holes and a few stones washed up on the high tide, the surface is soft and a pleasure to run – or walk – on. With a view to Dunrobin Castle ahead we soon found ourselves on a track alongside the outer walls of the grand garden, just a stone’s throw from the sea.
The view to the castle, home to the earls and dukes of Sutherland since 1235, is phenomenal and the gardens and outbuildings are no less impressive.
A signpost in the woods beyond the castle told us we were four miles from Brora and we were soon out in the open again, crossing a series of fields with cows and young calves in them.
We made sure we kept clear of the young ones as we continued on a bumpy and in places boggy grass track, passing through a couple of vehicle gates. But the animals barely moved as we jogged past.
We passed Carn Liath Broch, deciding to stop for a visit on the return leg, and after an old farm building (currently used as a tyre dump by the looks of it) the surface improved again.
We stayed to the right of a fence, picking a line through the pebbles and grass until suddenly the beach seemed to open up for us. The tide was just past its highest and on the way out.
Ian ran ahead across the sand as the sun came out, shouting back at me about how fantastic this was. It wasn’t the fastest run we’d ever done but what a place this was to explore.
The final couple of miles into Brora were more or less all on glorious sandy beaches with bits of bedrock to negotiate here and there. A lovely little waterfall descends to the beach from the Sputie Burn just over a mile from the village. Crossing it was easy for us but I’m told it can be difficult when the burn is in spate.
As we continued along the beach we found ourselves just yards from the grey seals as we ran alongside the outgoing tide.
After one final beautiful stretch of sand it turned stony and we clambered up on to a grassy path above a sea wall to emerge a few yards from a car park and picnic area at the Brora end of the coastal path.
The way up to the village centre and railway station continues past the picnic area on a track and follows the River Brora upstream to the road bridge.
For us it was a chance for a quick breather before turning round and doing it all again.
With the tide now further out we enjoyed even more of these stunning beaches than we had on the way north – a real hidden gem, just a stroll from one of the the busiest roads in the north.
