Dun Dornadilla Broch View all content for Dun Dornadilla

The story behind the photo..... It is early October 1990. I have driven all the way from Cornwall to Fife in a 1000cc Suzuki 4x4 with a dodgy radiator. After a few days in the Kingdom to recuperate and take on liquid (me, not the car) me and Brian head north to bag a hill or two. We reach a pub in the middle of nowhere as the "sun" sets over the hills. Here we eat before carrying on up the road to the foot of Ben Hope. It is dark by the time we reach the broch....and it is also blowing a gale. The car has only got a canvas top but with the spirit of adventure flowing through our veins we settle down for the night. Settling down means several spliffs, a packet of chocolate hob-nobs and John Peel on the radio. My lasting memory of that night is the cold, the rain and a Vietnamese version of "A hard rains gonna fall". Daylight arrives at last and the full glory of Sutherland is upon us. It is a land of rock and water and very little else. The broch stands proud beside us, the only thing that could have withstood last nights storm. If I remember rightly it has inner walls and a passage way all the way round inside. We breakfast within its shell before setting out up Ben Hope. That's another story...what a beast of a mountain. It was so cold we got to the top and turned right round and came straight back down. As for Sutherland, it is a wonderful wild place. I am not sure how many TMA sites there are to visit but the landscape is just stunning. Sandwood Bay at the far North West tip is possibly one of the finest beaches in the UK. One day I might get back there.

Posted by Mr Hamhead 31st March 2004ce

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