Our road trip to the far northeast coast of Scotland took us to the once-busy herring-fishery town of Wick, now rather run-down, with many buildings empty and boarded-up, yet it retains the original planned design by the British Fisheries Society.
The coastline to the south of Wick is formed of high cliffs cut by a sea that exploits the joints in the horizontally-bedded strata of Caithness flags. The cliffs are dark, indented, and often, as on our recent visit, shrouded in sea mist.
In some places the cliffs fall back and the sea comes in across almost flat platforms of rock. At this particular point the shingle which has accumulated at the back of the beach serves as the unlikely nesting ground for....
....a small colony of terns. Their nests - one is seen just to the right of the adult bird - are little more than scrapes lined by grass and straw, but the chicks are wonderfully camouflaged - there's one at top right in the picture.
It's a busy place. While we were there the warfare between the terns and....
....massive, three-storey square tower built in the twelfth century as home to the Earls of Orkney and Caithness. It's typical of the castles of its time, built of local rock and mortar, the walls two metres thick and almost devoid of windows, so it must have been a dark, smokey place to live. Although no longer visible, it was protected by outer walls and surrounded by small buildings - extra accommodation, kitchens, stores, workshops and bake houses - all squeezed on to an exceptionally small site.
A more bleak location for a home can hardly be imagined but it was built to last: it is one of Scotland's oldest castles.
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