Getting Myself Up to Sutherland
Right, so I decided I needed a proper change of scenery. Heard about Sutherland, up in the Scottish Highlands, sounded remote. Just what I felt like, getting away from the usual noise. Didn’t do a massive amount of planning, to be honest. Just thought, “Scotland, north, sounds good.”
Packed a bag, mostly warm stuff, you know how the weather can be up there. Got in the car and pointed it north. The drive itself, well, it took a while. Started on motorways, easy enough, but then the roads started getting smaller, twistier. Scenery started changing, getting bigger, more open. Felt like I was really heading somewhere different.
When I finally got into Sutherland proper, the first thing that hit me was the space. Just huge, wide-open spaces. You hear people say the Highlands are sparsely populated, and yeah, you really feel it. Not many houses, not many cars, just… land. And sky. Lots of sky.
What I Actually Did
Found a little place to stay, nothing fancy. Dumped my bag. Then, for the next few days, I just sort of… existed there. Did a fair bit of driving around, no real plan. Pulled over loads just to look at things. Hills, lochs, the sea when I got near the coast. It’s rugged, you know? Not polished.
Did some walking too. Not hardcore hiking, just pottering about on trails. Found some amazing beaches, totally empty apart from maybe some birds. The air felt clean. It was quiet, properly quiet sometimes. The kind of quiet that makes your ears ring a bit at first.
- Drove along coastal roads – some were single track, bit hairy at times!
- Walked up a couple of smaller hills – the views were something else.
- Stopped in tiny villages – had a cup of tea here and there.
- Spent ages just watching the weather change – it does that a lot.
Thoughts On It All
It was quite an experience. Different from your usual holiday. It felt raw, untamed maybe? The landscape is powerful, makes you feel quite small. It wasn’t always sunny, had my share of wind and rain, but that’s part of it, isn’t it?
Definitely cleared my head. Being somewhere that vast and quiet does something to you. Glad I went. Just driving, walking, looking. Simple, really. If you want hustle and bustle, it’s not the place. But for sheer space and a bit of peace? Yeah, Sutherland delivered.
