2 August 2018
Join us on a 800 miles (1300 km) roadtrip in the Scottish hightlands with a short story about the places we drive through and the castles we visit.
After a night at the hotel The Place, we picked up the rental car from Avis: a VW 2018 Golf with registration number GM67 JKE.
Today
Today we are driving 138 miles (222 km) from Ullapool to Thurso.
Ardvreck Castle
We have now driven 25 miles (40 km), and we are at Ardvreck Ardvreck Castle. The castle was built i 1590 by Clan MacLeod, and destroyed in 1672 by Clan MacKenzie. 
Durness
We have arrived at the north-west edge of Scotland: Durness (Gaelic: Diuranais). The name was originally Norse "Dyrnes", meaning "deer / animal headland".
The area has been inhabited since the stone age. Today: around 400 people live here.
Thurso
We have now reached today's destination: Thurso (Gaelic: Inbhir Theòrsa), the most northerly town on the British mainland, with around 8000 inhabitants.
The history of Thurso goes bak to at least the era of Norse Orcadian rule in Caithness, which ended conclusively in 1266. Da er vi kommet til dagens destinasjon: Thurso (gælisk: Inbhir Theòrsa). The Norse name of the hown was Þórsá, in Norwegian Torså. The town was an important Norse harbour and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. Most of today's town is from the 19th century.
Ferries sail from Scabster, just outside Thurso, to Stromness on the Orkney Islands. The distance is around 30 miles (50 km).
And we are staying at Holborn Hotel.