NEW : See my campaign to establish a National Coastal Path here
Leave Nigg Ferry and follow the road that leads up the hill of the North Sutor. It is not possible to follow the coastline due to the high cliffs, so follow the road down the hill and into Nigg Village. Passing through Nigg village, keep on this minor road which is a national cycle route all the way till you reach Balintore. Balintore and Hilton are more or less the same place, and they merge in the middle where the community centre is.
The walk started off with a steep climb up the North Sutor, which gave wonderful views back along the Cromarty Firth. It had taken me a while to walk around the Firth of Cromarty and I was looking forward to moving on towards Portmahomack, which is, as far as I can ascertain, the only place on the east coast of Scotland that actually faces west. Descending into Nigg village, I stopped off at the old church at Nigg in which the Pictish Nigg stone was kept. This part of the country has a number of Pictish stones and was part of the Pictish Trail, the trail was signposted as I went along. The walk carries on along a long B road that was plagued with flies, but then it would be in the hight of summer. Karen was with me and faitly yomped along and it was hard to keep up with her as Im more used to doddling along at a steady and leisurely 2 and a half mph. Eventually we came over the hill and saw the second stone on the Pictish trail which was protected from the elements by a perspex case. This stone is called the Shandwick stone and lies just above the small village of Old Shandwick. From the hill it was an easy descent into Balintore and then a short walk took me to the neighbouring village of Hilton of Caboll, where we stayed the night parked across from the village community hall.
Distance Covered: Walking: 10 miles
