RADIOACTIVE
Today’s quest looks like we will have to find shelter from this storm, anywhere exposed is going to be too wild to handle. We quickly load up on Tesco’s finest bacon and sausage rolls before hitting the A836 headed towards John O’ Groats.
After our first spot check at a spot we call The Spur, just out of town, Timo already has already called Sandside Bay as the spot, although sailing 3 k.m. to the west of the Dounreay Nuclear reactor does have it niggling worries.
Put it this way, over 50 nuclear particles have been found at Sandside Beach since 1984 – each one of these is a radioactive and is roughly the size of a grain of sand.
These particles are said to have been flushed into the sea in the 60s and 70s and, although specialists from the plant claim the danger from exposure is minimal (I guess they would!), there’ve been recent movements to shut the beach down completely until it’s declared officially safe.
