Bring a few things.......

"There are a few things I'd like you to bring......".


So after packing and repacking the car and the trailer I  just   got everything in . This included having bags and boxes stacked on the passenger seat.

and the trailer was just as full



I'd initially wanted to do this trip from Aberdeen -a five hour drive and then a 5 hour ferry, rather than drive up to Scrabster, a 8-9 hour drive and then a 90 minute ferry) but the road north of Inverness is a single carriageway and some climbing round the sides of the hills. Very scenic but a pain of you are stuck behind something really slow , and I didnt want people stuck behind me. The climb I remember is the one that comes after Helsmdale. we have stopped there for lunch  on a previous trip - a very pleasant small village, with Poppys-Too cafe that we tried out (recommended) .   The car does struggle a little on big hills with the trailer.
So the bit I was concerned about is the climb out of Helmsdale ,  here .

But the bit i was concerned about was  OK.  There is a hairpin at Berriedale Braes, a bit further along the A9.

So with a first gear crawl round the hairpin ( Google maps link  here ) all was well and and we were on our way.There is also a youtube video of the Berriedale stretch of the A9 here

The rest of the trip was uneventful - a dash across Caithness  , past Halkirk and I made the lunchtime ferry with 5 mins to spare.

But I think I would still have preferred to go from Aberdeen.