Student Bloggers

The campus is dead. The Residence Halls seem deserted, except for the ever present squawking of the seagulls. It is spring break here in Scotland.

My last official class was the last Friday in March, and I do not have exams until early May. I finished my essays by their respective due dates (some before Spring break, some in the middle of it), so that stress is over. Now I sit and wait…

Just kidding, let me tell you about my Spring Break so far.

My spring break plans may not have seemed conventional for a student studying abroad so close to continental Europe because I am stayed within the borders of my host country. Before I left on my own trip, I was envious of all my peers who were going to major European cities and posting such beautiful pictures from their experiences. I kept questioning if my plans were good before I had actually done any of them and I had to keep reminding myself that I had chosen this path. This was my experience, I needed to make the absolute best of it.

Somehow I packed a week’s worth of clothing, other basic necessities, and my travel journal into a backpack. It was such a tight squeeze that looking back, I do not understand how I even accomplished that miracle without ripping the seams, yet somehow I did.

I left Aberdeen on a rainy Tuesday morning. I caught the first train from Aberdeen to Inverness and then I immediately caught the next train from Inverness up to Thurso. Anywhere north of Inverness was uncharted territory for me, so I legitimately spent the 3+ hour train ride with my eyes glued to the window and gawking at all the sites outside. Every time I passed a place that looked remotely interesting, I wrote down the name of the nearest train stop.

After a while of simply staring out the window, I started making connections between the similarities of the landscape to places that I had visited in the states. For example, the further north we went, the less trees there were, so I immediately imagined the long stretches of highway in Texas heading out to Lubbock and the seemingly endless grasslands and rolling hills.

When I finally arrived in Thurso, it was mid afternoon and the weather there was not pleasant. At all.  It was bitter cold and it was raining and snowing simultaneously, but my excitement for finally being there allowed me to not let this hinder my time.

I stayed in a hostel in the middle of town which was located directly across from a Fish and Chips shop. (Hmm, so good!)  My first impression of Thurso was that it was quant little town that was grey and smelt like the fishing village. After checking into my hostel, I met one of my roommates.

My roommate, Marlene, was from the States, she had been traveling for a few months now. She had recently arrived in Thurso after previously traveling to Morocco and Spain. She had bought a bike somewhere in the UK and was riding all over the Scotland. I thought that was absolutely insane, partially due from my history with bikes, and partially due to imaging how difficult of a trip that would have been.

Newly acquainted with Marlene, I invited her to join me on hiking to Thurso Castle and out further to Harold’s Tower Mausoleum. We bundled up to the best of our abilities and began our short trek.

Thurso Castle was located on the other side of the Harbor, and was easy to access. However, we only got to see the outside of it due to it being privately owned. Most of the castle appeared to be in ruins, but we could clearly see where the owners of it had renovated a section and added own to live there. It was an odd mix of old and new, yet somehow it meshed.

Further along the trail we came across a turret from the castle that sat alone further away from the main body of it. The simple details on it were astonishing. It had the same rope pattern that was on the main ruins of the castle. Additionally, the holes that were once used for shooting arrows out of were shaped like crosses. It was interesting to get to see it up close.

Our next stop, Harold’s Mausoleum, was located in the middle of a field of sheep on top of a short hill. In order to get to the main road leading up to it from the coastal path we were on, we had to hop a few barbed wire fences. I remember laughing about not hoping through a barbed wire fence since I was a child and was practically drug out to the country every weekend with the family.

Harold’s Mausoleum is such a peculiar architectural site. Its walls are bowed out like something sat on it. Like the turret, it matches Thurso castle in specific detail, but the one thing that threw me completely off about Harold’s Mausoleum, was the unnecessary shape of the six short towers it had. They were obviously phallic shaped.

After seeing Thurso Castle and Harold’s Tower Mausoleum, we headed back into town because despite our layers, we were freezing.

I spent the rest of the day exploring the areas near the hostel and planning out my day trip for the following morning.  

The next day, I rose bright and early in order to catch the first bus from Thurso down to Wick. It was so early that I got to see the sun rise and shine over the Orkney Islands that you could see in the distance.

Some things you should recall before I continue my retelling of my trip. 1.) Whenever I plan a day trip it involves a lot of walking. On average it is roughly about 10+ miles of walking a day. 2.) If there are two paths, no matter if the path is clearly marked as to which is easiest, I will somehow always end up taking the more difficult one. 3.) I willingly chose to do this to myself out of my desire to have a great time.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Once in Wick I began my hike out to Sinclair Girnigoe Castle and Noss Head Lighthouse. It was a nice four mile walk out there to start my day. While on my walk, there wasn’t much to see other than sheep, however I was lucky enough to witness a Sun halo. Sun halos are naturally occurring phenomenon when thin cirrus clouds, filled with tiny ice crystals, drift in front of the sun and you see the refraction and reflection of the tiny crystals in a halo shape around the sun. It was pretty cool.

Sinclair Girnigoe Castle was on top of a cliff edge. The cliffs in this area where different from the Longhaven Cliffs that I had previously explored. The rocks were stacked in distinct layers that you could see. This castle was built out of the same rocks as the cliffs, so it appeared like it had been carved out of the cliff itself.

My intention was to walk out to Noss Head Lighthouse, but I could see it in the distance from Sinclair Girnigoe Castle, so I took some cool pictures of it and waved at it from a distance before heading back into Wick to catch the next bus to John O’Groats.

By the time I had arrived back in Wick, I had walked 10 miles before noon. Even though I was mentally prepared to walk the additional 19 miles out to John O’Groats, luckily the bus arrived on time and I was whisked away to the most northern tip of mainland Scotland, John O’Groats.

John O’Groats was such an interesting place to get to experience, because I stood at the most northern area of mainland Scotland, this is something that some of my native Scottish friends have never done or are just now doing in their early adulthood. At John O’Groats there is a pole with signs pointing in the direction of cities. Edinburgh was 273 miles away while New York was 3,230 miles away!

Looking north, you can see the outline of the nearest Orkney Islands. They seemed so close, yet so far.

Next to the John O’Groats Pole, there are some buildings that are painted bright vivid colors resembling the rainbow. They stood out among the surrounding landscape.

Of course, I noticed a coastal trail and hiked it out to a peak somewhere between the pole and Duncansby Lighthouse. There was a bench placed overlooking the sea, so I sat to collect my thoughts.

Everything that I had experienced was unique to what I wanted to do, and I would not change it for the world. I was glad that I had chosen to stay within Scotland and experience its natural beauty and castles. If I had chosen to go to continental Europe, I don’t think I would have gotten to experience Scotland the way I had, so I do not regret my decision.

After collecting my thoughts and basking in the moment to finally breathe, I noticed the oncoming storm that was headed directly for me. So I scrambled to get back to the tourist center to catch the bus back to Thurso.

By the end of the day my feet were dead, and I was left with a feeling of anticipation because I had set my worries aside and was excited for the rest of my journey that lay ahead.

End of part 1 of my retelling of my Spring Break Trip. Be on the lookout for part 2 coming soon!