We hadnt made up all the time lost following our late departure from Dover but we finally dropped anchor at 9.45am, which meant some of the early tours were late leaving but our Scenic Highland Drive went as scheduled.
As expected on a tour of passengers aged 50+ the tours are described as Panoramic, Easy, Moderate or Strenuous. Our days of strenuous tours are long gone !!
The morning was a mixture of weather, mist, cloud, drizzle and sunshine but that didnt spoil the tour which was very scenic.
Our guide was full of interesting snippets about the area, as well as historical & geographic information we learnt of the connections to the area with Mohamed Madonna & Guy Richies son Rocco, William Henry Perrins (Worcestershire Sauce) and several other familiar names.
We had a short stop at Dornoch with its small but beautiful cathedral. We passed through the Ardoss Forest with its spruce, larch and pine trees. The larch were covered in lichen.
Unfortunately by the time we reached Struie Hill view the mist had appeared but it was still a nice view.
Back in Invergorden we passed several of the public art murals which certainly brightened up the streets.
Back on board, the sun was shining now so it was time to enjoy the warm sunshine sitting on the balcony. All cabins on this ship have balconies which is so nice especially on a sunny afternoon enjoying the view across the Firth.
Tonights dress code is formal, its been a while since we dressed up for a formal night, thankfully David remembered how to tie a Windsor knot (His grandad showed him years ago and it always looks so neat.)
Tomorrow the original port of call was to be Scrabster/John OGroats but northern winds will make docking unsafe so were off to the Orkney islands instead and now look forward to visiting Kirkwall.
