On a high road to Highlands to escape rat race

I RECENTLY moved to Caithness in the Scottish Highlands – this is my story.

I sold my bungalow in West Yorkshire in June, and at the age of 70 made a life-changing decision to move to the Scottish Highlands with my three little dogs and build a bungalow near the sea.

When we arrived the weather was gorgeous, everything you could ask for after the last two summers. The only drawback was the midges who gave a very painful bite, resulting in nasty lumps – fortunately I’d packed some antiseptic cream which eased the pain.

It’s only five minutes to the nearest beach, which is golden and unspoilt.

The most people I’ve seen enjoy it was in the school holidays. The removal men loved it and thought I was very lucky to move there.

They had a barbecue on the beach and swam in the sea 
before returning reluctantly to Yorkshire.

The dogs were in unfamiliar surroundings. They were born at my previous home and cried every time I left them for shopping etc. This continued for three days. Eventually they settled down and loved the big garden where they could turn around and play.

There’s not a lot of big shops here. If you need more choice you travel to Inverness which is six hours return by coach. There are no markets like we had in West Yorkshire.

You can travel for six miles over the moors and not see another car, only the odd cottage, small-holding and sheep.

At the moment I’m renting a cottage until my bungalow is completed in two to three months. Then I have a huge task of making a garden from the two acres of mostly heather and gorse.

After four months I’d definitely say it’s a life-changing experience, different to anything I’d imagined.

It’s a slower pace of life – no rushing about. You see birds and animals you’ve heard about but never seen. I saw a baby cuckoo one morning being fed by its tiny ‘mum’, and a pine martin running along a wall top.

My advice to anyone thinking of leaving the rat-race (and plenty of English people have, there’s a lot living here) give it a try, if you don’t like it you can always return to it!