Day 204 - Golspie, Sutherland with Girl Guides

Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and former county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland Council area. The county town and only burgh of the county was Dornoch. One of the settlements is Golspie and that was the location for my walk today; the 204^th day of my BRIT 2012 mile walk.

The name Sutherland dates from the era of Norse rule. Although it contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain, it was called Suðrland ("southern land") from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness (the location of my walk tomorrow on day 205.

As well as Caithness to the north and east, Sutherland has North Sea (Moray Firth) coastline in the east, the former county of Ross and Cromarty to the south, and Atlantic coastline in the west and north. Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in the whole of Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. The area is shown in dark blue below;

Golspie is a village in Sutherland which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie. It has a population of around 1,650. The name derives from the Norse for “gully village”. 

Golspie has award-winning safe bathing beaches to the north and south of the tidal pier. The golf course has a mix of links, parkland and heath and there are central facilities for tennis, bowling and football. Around Golspie there are opportunities for walking, bird watching and botany study, fossil-hunting and gorges and waterfalls. There is loch and sea angling, as well as sailing and yachting in the bay. In 2006 mountain bike trails were opened on the slopes of Ben Bhraggie.

Centred on Loch Fleet, three miles south of Golspie, is a National Nature Reserve with wading birds, wildfowl and seals basking on the sandbanks. 

There are four hotels, several guesthouses and bed and breakfast premises as well as self-catering cottages. Dunrobin Castle, the seat of Clan Sutherland, is nearby and has falconry displays.

I walked with the Girl Guides today and our walk along the coastline to Dunrobin Castle http://www.dunrobincastle.co.uk/ was absolutely stunning.  Dunrobin Castle is owned by Lord Strathnaver.

Dunrobin Castle has been called home to the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since the 13th century and was first mentioned as a stronghold of the family in 1401. The Earldom of Sutherland is one of the seven ancient earldoms of Scotland and the Sutherlands were one of the most powerful families in Britain with many important matrimonial and territorial alliances.

The Earldom of Sutherland was created in 1235 and a castle appears to have stood on this site since then, possibly on the site of an early medieval fort. The name Dun Robin means Robin's Hill or Fort in Gaelic and may have come from Robert, the 6th Earl of Sutherland who died in 1427.

With the County Commissioner for Ross-shire Girlguiding, Dr Moira McKenna

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with the Guide Leaders and the Girl Guides and finding out more about this super organisation. I was delighted to be presented with Girl Guide badges at the end of our walk together. If you are interested in Girl Guiding, this is the link to their website; http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/home.aspx

Girlguiding UK is the United Kingdom's largest voluntary organisation for girls and young women, with around half a million members including about 100,000 trained volunteer adult leaders and supporters. 'Girlguiding UK' is an operating name of The Guide Association.

What do girls in guiding do?

Rainbows
- age five to seven
(four to seven in Northern Ireland)

Rainbows have fun! They play games, have parties and make things while developing life skills. Find out about Rainbows

Brownies
- age seven to ten

Brownies do it all! Their meetings are full of challenges, games and activities, usually ones that the Brownies have suggested themselves. Learn more about Brownies.

Guides
- age 10 to 14

Being a Guide encourages girls to develop by undertaking challenges and pushing the boundaries of their experience.
Read more about Guides.

Senior Section
- age 14 to 25

Our Senior Section offers an exciting and flexible programme with a huge variety of challenges, activities and opportunities for personal development.
Find out more about the Senior Section.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities in the Girl Guides, please click here; http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get_involved/volunteer.aspx

With Girl Guides on Day 204 of my BRIT 2012 mile challenge in Golspie, Sutherland

Day 204 was a super day. I learnt a great deal from the Girl Guides about Girl Guiding and also about their aspirations and interests.

Girl Guides in the beautiful countryside of Golspie in Sutherland

One of the highlights of the day was seeing Sea Otters close up. As we were walking along the coast we saw Sea Otters in the distance. The girls waited patiently for me on the country track (and in the rain) as I slowly made my way across the beach towards the sea. I stayed downwind and approached the Sea Otters as they were feeding on a rock jutting out of the sea in shallow water. There was a bitch with her two pups (whelps) and I managed to lean on a rock about 10 metres away from them and take a couple of photographs. It was a magical moment as I watched them eat and then slide into the sea and play. It was perfect end to the day and we then all walked the three miles back.

Downwind from, and about 10 metres away from Sea Otters -
a mother and two cubs resting on a rock in the Golspie Bay, Sutherland

My thanks to the Girl Guides for looking after me today and making me feel so welcome. 

I finished Day 204 with 705 miles to go.

Best wishes,

Phil