Return to Inverness and London

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 Having achieved the most northerly station, I'm now returning in brilliant sunshine so I hope I'll get a forwards-facing window seat on the train (that's a rear-facing window seat from Thurso because it'll reverse at the first station, Georgemas Junction).

Here we are back at Forsinard around 5pm

River Helmsdale, we follow this for a while

To Helmsdale. 
There's a good visitor centre here and my wife's favourite clothesline - it's beside the harbour and was full of washing every time we visited. Helmsdale also had a famous cafe/restaurant, all in pink, run by a jolly local female impersonator and frequented by Dame Barbara Cartland and Clarissa Dickson Wright (one of the Two Fat Ladies TV chefs) who recommended the fish & chips as the best you could get in Scotland.  La Mirage changed hands about ten years ago.

Helmsdale station, note the painted windows

Helmsdale from down the coast.
Much of this line is coastal like Dawlish Warren line in Cornwall but here we have over 20 miles next to water i.e. no roads between railtrack and the water.
...and today the weather is perfect!

Culgower

Brora, about 6pm

Dunrobin Castle station building
and the road to the castle. That's the main A9 road crossing left to right

Loch Fleet, many seals here and Osprey too

Invershin and Kyle of Sutherland

Ardgay station. With that view I'd prefer to let the train go!

Dornoch Firth, it's now just 7pm

Tain station.
All the stations on this line are clean, tidy and welcoming.

Cromarty Firth and Nigg where thy used to build oilrigs, now they repair them and build giant windmills. I don't know what they are building now. 

The promontory on the right is the South Sutor, can't quite see the North Sutor but they each have WWII gun emplacements on them and it is said that they gave Alistair MacLean the idea of his novel The Guns of Navarone.

Here are some rigs in for maintenance, or just parked.

Many fields had ewes and their lambs, there must be 30 lambs here scared by the train

My bowls club liked this one, a bowling green right next to the station at Invergordon.  
Large cruise ships call here regularly, including the QE2.  They take excursions to Culloden Moor, Loch Ness, a distillery and Inverness.

A rig parked just off Invergordon

Cromarty Bridge, about 1 mile long.
Many years ago I used to see how fast the hire car could go across here when I went to Dingwall for the papers on a Sunday morning. (probably too much information!)

Clachnaharry. 
The train has just very slowly crossed a swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal the other end of which is at Fort William - see my next blog in three weeks when I go to Arisaig via Fort William.

Arrived Euston spot on time 7:49

I can't use my Freedom Pass on buses until 9am or Trains 9:30am so find a Metro paper and do the cryptic crossword in the First Class lounge with free drinks etc.

Finished with a 91 to Charing Cross, the 9:37 to Ladywell and a 484 home arriving 10am.

Stats:

Stopped at 74 train stations
Travelling time 30hrs 53min
Waiting time 9hrs 50 min
Distance 1500 miles
Average speed including waiting 39mph
Total cost ~28p/mile

If I were to drive this 1360mls today, driving 6hr/day plus comfort and food breaks would take 2 days each way. Petrol and three hotels approx. £675. 
That's at least 49p/mile, takes 15hrs longer than the train and I'd be knackered! 

So: Do It By Rail

Here's the Westernmost trip: west-arg




Location: Helmsdale, UK

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