Pentland Firth

A packed day, spent travelling north to begin our fortnight's holiday in Orkney. We called in to see Dad on the way past and found him in good form: post-physio, pre-lunch. Then carried on up the A9; met my mum at Dornoch beach, the boys had a grand run on the sand and in the sea, then on to Gills Bay to catch the catamaran ferry.

There was a haze across most of the country - with patches of thick fog in Caithness - and it continued on up to Orkney. The crossing was very calm, a most unusual state for the Pentland Firth. No sign of the northern lights.