Day 3: Dunbeath to Loth

Distance: 19.4 miles
Time: 6 hrs 10 mins
Weather: Cloudy
Cumulative distance: 57.2 miles

A quiet, uneventful, lonely Sunday in northern Scotland. Today was a hard slog down the A9. Pleasant scenery comprising sea views, gorse covered moorland and a single red deer, but again my only conversations (if exchange of 'Hi' classes as such) was with three cyclists and two dog walkers.
I had an unplanned deviation from the route when I joined a pedestrian and cycle track, only to find that it did not rejoin the A9 immediately but sent me on a very scenic detour which added half a mile to my distance! I'd read that the A9 would be busy and even dangerous, but it was reasonably quiet today and at times you would never guess that it is an A road (see photo below).
The toughest part of the route was in Berriedale, where the road drops steeply to cross a river, then climbs steeply for a longer distance. Even the cyclists struggled!
I experienced some blisters for the first time on the journey, but I'm used to dealing with them, so hopefully this should not be a problem.
My B&B tonight is very comfortable - it's a restored Victorian farmhouse overlooking the sea. It was a pleasure to soak my feet in a hot bath for the first time - to avoid any doubt, I've had showers until now! Catriona served a delicious 3 course home cooked meal.
It struck me today that this is the furthest I've ever walked in 3 days, so it's new territory from now on. Tomorrow's walk to Dornoch is one of the longest of my entire journey.