Thurso, John o`Groats and Moray Firth: "Dinner is at two o`clock!" - Unusual road trip to Scotland

Adventure approaching! When the final trophies were awarded at the closing party in Japan at the PWA Foil Slalom Final, my photo season was officially over. After an exhausting fourteen-hour flight back from Tokyo, I finally landed back in London and was looking forward to some well-deserved time off with my family. But as I picked up my luggage at Heathrow, my mobile phone buzzed - a WhatsApp message from Timo Mullen. I hadn't even set foot in my house yet and I already knew what it meant: another wild adventure was about to begin.

I was proved right. The message was a screenshot of the weather forecast for Thurso in Scotland in three days' time, which reported monster waves of 6.5 metres and 40 knots of north-westerly wind for Saturday.

The plan: twelve hours of travelling for one session

Normally I would ignore a message like this for at least a day or two - I get about three a week from Timo! But Thurso has always had a special place in my heart; it can be a dream place to photograph, despite the huge effort required to get there. But even if the temptation to set off straight away was strong, there was a potential stumbling block: my wife had already arranged lunch with friends for Sunday at 2pm. If I didn't make it back in time, well, let's just say there would be consequences.

While travelling home in the taxi, I called Timo. Over the years we've done some crazy journeys; travelling many hours each way for just a few hours of windsurfing is nothing unusual. But this plan, it surpassed them all.

Timo had the following plan: We would set off for Thurso on Friday, drive twelve hours (without long stops in between, of course), surf all day Saturday in extreme conditions and then, watch out, get straight back in the car after the session to drive another twelve hours home. All in time for the commitments on Sunday lunchtime.

Cocker spaniel on board

I'm no novice when it comes to intensive travel plans, but even I had to admit that it was too much. Three days later, my mind had changed and I even got the green light from my wife, as long as I was back by Sunday lunchtime. Timo had taken care of the logistics and hired a car, which he had calculated would be far cheaper than his gas-guzzling van, even when you factored in the hire costs. So we would be travelling in style, or so I thought ...

The temptation to start straight away was great - if it wasn't for Sunday lunch."

The crazy mission finally began on Friday at 11am at the ferry terminal in Southampton, where we met up to prepare for the 1,200 kilometre journey to the far north of Scotland. The plan was to drive to Inverness (930 kilometres), where we would sleep in a Travelodge for a few hours and then finish the journey to Thurso in the morning. The first little problem was that my luggage wouldn't even fit in the car, which was already filled to the brim with boards, sails, masts and booms. Once we had managed what I thought was the impossible, I opened the front door to make myself comfortable and was greeted by Timo's cocker spaniel, Freddie, stretched out in the front seat. My dreams of a comfortable journey were quickly dispelled. It was clear that the word luxury was out of our vocabulary for the next few days. As we drove off, my first words to Tim were, "You do realise we're absolutely crazy!" "Yes," he replied.

With Timo at the wheel, we finally made it to Inverness that evening, slept for about four hours and were up at 6am on Saturday morning to explore Scotland.

John o' Groats

At 8am we were battling 50 knots of wind while trying to take the obligatory selfies with the famous John o' Groats sign. With the swell in the background, the conditions looked extreme and the waves were exploding off the rocks of the offshore islands. This was going to be a crazy day in Scotland, that much was certain. After a quick stop at Thurso Tesco for some much needed bacon and sausage sandwiches (5 stars from the Motley Crew!) and supplies for the day, we made our way to a place we call "The Spur" (Murkle on the map), which is on the road out of town towards Dunnet Head.

The Spur/Murkle

We now had one last bumpy track to negotiate to finally reach what we had come all this way for. At the end of the road was a tiny car park with barely room for one or two vehicles, but it didn't matter as we knew we would be the only ones there today. We were greeted by hailstones the size of golf balls - a traditional Thurso welcome!

Massive waves were breaking on the huge horseshoe-shaped reef directly across the bay from the starting point. I had brought my drone with me in the hope of taking some aerial shots, but with winds still over 50 knots it had to be left in the bag for another day. It was of course freezing cold - we were in Scotland in a wild north-westerly gale after all. The temperature in the car was five to six degrees, outside it was perhaps even less. Timo wasted no time, getting dressed and into his new ION winter wetsuit and rigging up his 3.7 E Duotone Super Hero, which was attached to his smallest E Duotone D/Lab Grip 4. I prepared for my own battle with the elements and packed three jackets, waterproof trousers, wellies, gloves and my trusty Sooruz woolly hat! Freddie was overjoyed to be able to poke around in the dunes after the long journey to the wild coast of Scotland.

Moments like these make you feel alive

Finally, the time had come. The tide was still a little high, but after watching the full moon disappear behind the clouds, we knew it would go down quickly. The waves were relentless, crashing against the rocks that I could normally walk along the beach in front of. Instead, I had to cross a couple of farmer's fields to reach the perfect spot. After getting tangled in a barbed wire fence, I reached my vantage point where I battled the howling wind to set up my tripod and large lens.

From my high seat, I could see Timo battling with the elements and occasionally getting shredded by the fierce gusts of 50 knot winds. As I watched him out there, a question came to mind: are we completely crazy, especially Timo? Maybe we are. But it's this shared madness that drives us to such extremes. For this moment, we were riding all night long. I can't think of another windsurfer who is as dedicated as Timo, always chasing the perfect conditions, whatever the cost. His determination is unrivalled and it's moments like this that remind me why we do it; why we brave the storms, the cold and the seemingly insurmountable challenges. But in that moment, you feel alive.

Timo is always chasing after the perfect conditions - whatever the cost. He makes you feel alive."

Thrills in wave walls

Over the next two hours, as the tide ebbed, conditions continued to improve. We were treated to some spectacular light as the sun occasionally broke free from the fast-moving clouds and cast a golden glow over the scene. Initially Timo struggled to get to the top of the reef, but eventually found his rhythm and allowed himself to be pulled into some insane one and a half mast high breakers. Meanwhile, I was struggling with my own problems. I had realised that my tripod head was a bit more wobbly than it should be, but at least it was still functional. After catching the first four or five waves, disaster struck: The bolt that attached the tripod head to the legs snapped clean in two. Great, just what I needed. I managed to balance the lens provisionally on the tripod, but it felt wobbly and unsteady the whole time. Meanwhile, Timo was having a lot of fun out there, taking wave after wave. I estimate that he had ridden about twenty waves by the time he returned to the starting point. So far there were no big aerials or crazy 360s, but I think just the thrill of riding down these massive walls and surviving was enough to get him excited.

Back at the base we met up again, the dog was fed and we nibbled on our own snacks while we made the next plan! When you're travelling with Timo, you know damn well that he would never come all this way for just one session. After a few phone calls with Ross Williams and Hamper, Timo's local surfer friend, we decided to surf a blistering point break that lies in the lee of the world's most dangerous shipping channel, the Moray Firth. Although we'd been to Thurso several times over the years, this particular spot had always eluded us. But today, it seemed, was finally the day to tick it off the list.

Perfect point break on the Moray Firth

Half an hour later we found ourselves on the cliffs, from where we could make out a perfect point break in the distance. The only slight problem was access, as what we could see was at least a mile away over boulders without any kind of path. Despite the obstacles, the conditions were too perfect to let any hurdles stop us. So we decided to give it a go. At this point it was already 2pm, so we only had a few hours until dark. There was simply no time to lose. Armed with my two trusty Canon R5s and my not-so-trusty broken tripod, I set off on the long walk over the rocks to the photo spot while Timo rigged up his 4.2 for the next round.

It took me a good 45 gruelling minutes to get into position. I had to concentrate fully with every step as the boulders were covered in slimy seaweed and incredibly slippery. Timo finally emerged from the starting area and made his way to the surf, where Hamper and two other surfers were already slicing up the clean, perfectly breaking waves. The conditions were breathtaking. Sideshore wind, smooth waves and just enough wind to get back out around the reef. In the meantime, I had made friends with my shaky tripod situation and somehow managed to take the photos I had envisioned. Timo put in some epic wave rides, and we even lucked out with a brief ray of sunshine during one of the biggest waves. After an hour and a half on the water, capped off by a rain shower, Timo finally took his last wave and made his way back to the beach.

Two extraordinary sessions

Now I just had to make my treacherous way back over the rocks, which were particularly slippery due to the fresh rain. And I actually lost my footing halfway down and fell. Fortunately, my camera equipment was unharmed, but I hit my back on a rock - I'd rather not repeat the curses and screams I shouted into the Scottish sky. Eventually we both made it back to the car, both physically exhausted from the day's action. Underneath all my layers, my t-shirt was soaked with sweat, but nonetheless I felt like a hero - we had delivered in Thurso and all the effort had been worth it. Timo was also in high spirits, having even had two different, quite extraordinary sessions on the water.

Now we only had a twelve-hour journey home ahead of us. We calculated that if we booked a Travelodge halfway, we could get four hours' sleep and still be back in time for the next few days' commitments. To pass the time, we indulged in some entertaining quiz games, including argy-bargy and highly competitive arguments, and made a welcome stop in Inverness to enjoy a roast dinner with former PWA event organiser Andy Groom and his wife - a break that felt like a godsend.

At the table on time for dinner

We arrived at the Travelodge in Carlisle at 1am. We were both exhausted and had a three-hour beauty sleep before the alarm clock rudely woke us up, signalling that it was time to get going again. The last few hours of the journey were brutal, but Timo finally dropped me off in Southampton on time so I could catch my ferry home to meet my 1.30pm curfew!

I know that there will be many more wild escapades like this one with Timo - I'm already waiting for the next call."

Thinking back on the trip, we were on a great adventure, experiencing the harsh elements of Scotland's wild north coast and surviving to tell the tale. Who knows when the phone will beep next, but I'm sure there will be many more crazy escapades like this!