Day 4: Loth to Dornoch

Distance: 23.8 miles
Time: 8 hours (including 30 mins delay)
Weather: Sunny
Cumulative distance: 81.0 miles

A long, but very rewarding day, with a couple of "incidents" towards the end of the walk.
After a delightful and filling breakfast, I set out in the knowledge that this would be a long day. The footpath across the golf course didn't materialise (probably overgrown), adding yet more additional mileage. Finally, a conversation! Spoke to an Australian couple who were touring Britain in a motor home. The were charmed by the Scottish scenery, but also thought that Britain was very clean!
The next part of the walk was the best to date. I finally left the A9 for a while and followed a footpath along the coast to Golspie. I walked along deserted golden sands for a few miles and came face to face with two groups of seals basking in the sun at the water's edge. The path ran parallel to Dunrobin castle, the largest house in the northern Highlands. This is the ancestral home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland, some of whom were notorious for their role in the Highland clearances.
At Golspie, a JOGLE cyclist waved me over and passed on good wishes from Alan & Lynne at the Wick B&B - he had stayed there last night and they had asked him to look out for me!
I had my first mishap when I stopped by a bridge to get my sun hat out of my rucksack. A gust of wind blew my map holder over the edge and ten feet down a bank into nettles. Luckily there was was an outlet pipe which I was able to stand on to support me as I climbed down to recover the holder. A near miss!
I made good progress towards Dornoch and was heading along the A9 in open countryside, when suddenly a car braked sharply and pulled over on to the roadside right next to me. I crossed over to investigate - they were Italian tourists and had just had a puncture in their hire car. Unfortunately, they didn't speak a word of English so I ended up calling the hire company for them, then spoke to the RAC after being transferred. This all added half an hour to my day, but they seemed very appreciative. They saw my Cancer Research t-shirt and I tried to explain what I was doing. They obviously understood as they had collection and donated 50 euros!
Just five minutes later, I had an embarrassing fall. I somehow stumbled and the weight of my rucksack pushed me towards the gravel. I landed on my hand - luckily nobody was around to see it. Twenty minutes later I arrived at my B&B with my hand covered in blood, looking totally disheveled! Hopefully no lasting damage....