If I asked you about finding the perfect pea, you’d probably think I was talking about food again. I’m not a fan of mushy peas, but petit pois are lovely when they have a bit of a crunch about them. And don’t get me started on big, fat garden peas.

This pea chat isn’t related to my initial question at all. The perfect pea is simple. PEA is an acronym.

P stands for peace.

E stands for exercise.

A stands for adventure.

And this type of PEA is what I need from my “me” time. So whether it’s a week on a far flung walking trail or a morning swimming in a remote loch, if I get some quiet time, muscle stretching and a sense of adventure, my reset button is pressed and I’m ready to fit back into everyday life.

And this week I managed to get out on a wee micro adventure that gave me the perfect PEA.

Staying with a friend on the Black Isle, a trawl of maps and websites threw up a few options for a quick adventure. The coast to the south of Cromarty is dotted with caves, and one called McFarquhar’s Bed looked worthy of a wander.

Our new van is almost ready, but in the meantime we’ve hired a van for this weeks holiday. I parked at the Sutors viewpoint, a little East of Cromarty and realised I’d not brought walking socks.

It was a “have time, will wander” type of moment so I got going anyway. The path was fine in some places, overgrown in others. I had to take a few gorse prickles in various body areas as I squeezed through a few overgrown bushes.

I saw dolphins in the firth. Or so I thought. It appeared black and white. Not being a dolphin expert I made a mental note to check up later which dolphins were black and white.

And to my surprise it turns out orca whales had been spotted all along the coast on that day and the couple of days after. So I’m pretty sure now, based on size and coloring I spotted an orca!

The final ascent was gorgeous. I could see what I thought was McFarquhar’s Bed from the top of the cliffs. Cliffs which were even more slippy and overgrown than the rest of my route.

I made it down to the shore in time to beat the high tide, although I could not get further north as the waters were already too high.

I found a small cave at the north end of the beach.

And then turned my attention towards the south end of the beach.

I found a couple of old fisher bothies. One was locked while the other had a new roof but no doors and windows.

Next up was my main objective. Apparently McFarquhar was a smuggler. And what a place to store your goodies.

The gorgeous sea arch.

And the cave.

Some lovely flora and fauna to be found.

This cave was something special.

After an hours exploring, I needed to get back as I only had a small window to be out, socks or not.

And quite simply, McFarquhar’s Bed was a perfect pea.