Retail Dolphins

Woke up this morning to a beautiful view, sadly spoilt rather by two crows pecking a seagull to death 🙁 It even tried to fly off at one point and they attacked it and brought it back down again. Scarlett was very upset by it but it was too far into a very muddy field for us to do anything and of course it is just what they do. Talked a bit about nature / hunting / law of the jungle etc generally and she recovered.

We headed to Chanonry Point, mostly because we just felt like going there totally off season to see what it is like and whether the dolphins do indeed disappear or just hang out wearing jumpers instead. We stopped on the way to empty the loo / fill up the water and found ourselves handily close to the deli at Rosemarkie so popped in for cakes to take to eat at the Point.

It was very windy, bitterly cold (I should have worn gloves) and the sun was really low in the sky giving an odd early evening feel to it depsite it being before midday BUT we saw dolphins, loads of dolphins. Not doing anything except just passing by, in twos and threes, no jumping or beaching just the odd pair or three of fins rolling out of the water as they swam past but thrilling just the same and easily the largest number I’ve seen at any one time there. They don’t lose their magic, we were all grinning and pointing and being excited 🙂

We left there after the dolphins had headed off and our fingers were in danger of falling off and headed into Inverness again. This time our first destination was a laundrette, we have nearly 3 weeks worth of washing and it was becomming Urgent. We’d found one and put the postcode into the sat nav. It was close to a Tesco with a carpark so Ady and the kids sat in the van while I went and tackled the washing and drying. 2 hours and £12 later we have loads of clean underwear again :). The time of year and generally quite clean pursuits means we are not getting through too many clothes changes but it had been quite a big bag and we really don’t have many clothes.

Next stop was shoe shopping, a trial at the best of times each year with Scarlett. Fortunately both the kids were satisfied with some boys boots at Primark – Davies wanted some brown boots similar to mine and Scarlett just wanted what Davies had. I’ve no idea how much they’ll stand up to as £12 boots from Primark are primarily fashion items but they do have wellies too and if they only last til we finish up here then I’ll be happy with that. We also got sketch pads for the kids as they were wanting new ones, an all in one tiger sleep suit for Scarlett because she fell in love with it and we do need snuggly bedtime attire and finally the last item on our shopping list (apart from smaller jeans for me, but that needs to be a charity shop purchase anyway) a lantern. After lots of research we decided to go for a battery lantern rather than a wind up / rechargable one. We need it for the van once it gets dark as we can’t use the internal lights for too long incase they drain the leisure battery when we’re not hooked up. The nights are drawing in and cooking and eating by headtorch really loses it’s appeal after this long on the road. The batteries are pricey but hopefully will last a good week or more meaning the cost is pence rather than pounds per day and we can look out for special offers on them and stock up. I think it will be an investment worth making. We also got some small storage crates for everyone so general stuff (Lego, felt tips) can be swept into them each evening and stashed under the bed.

Back to the car after that spend up and ready to leave the retail world fully behind once more, we are all craving the remoteness of the highlands again. We drove around for a while searching for an overnight spot as we want to visit a red kite feeding place in the area tomorrow before heading back across to Skye and finally found somewhere just near the Cromarty bridge. We’re over looking seals and the Cromarty Firth which is very lovely despite the traffic noise of being alongside the rather busy A9. We’re looking forward to heading back to the wilderness again tomorrow, having decided towns and cities are not for us anymore at all.