Scotland and Guernsey – 2018



Air Transat to Gatwick with Easyjet connection to Inverness. Pleasant city but not much to see or do. River Ness flows through the city and affords position for the castle overlooking the water
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Two nights at The King's Highway Wetherspoon in Inverness. Very good dinners at

Rented car and drove to Dornach for two nights stay in the Castle  Hotel. Explored area of Rogart, home of Mathesons before they escaped the Clearance by immigrating to southwest Ontario.


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Dornoch is famous for its golf links

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Looked for home of “Bob Matheson” in the rugged highland but with limited guidance unable to find it.
137 East Langwell,Rogart, Sutherland, IV28 3XH

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Mist in the Highlands around Rogart

Found St Callan's church and cemetery. Rebuilt in 1777 on the site of a medieval church with grave stones for Matheson but not sure if any relationship.
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Visited the BalBlair distillery (www.balblair.com/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to Wick, home of Pulteney Distillery (https://www.oldpulteney.com) and night at MacKay Hotel  (www.mackayshotel.co.uk)
Wick is a sad town now when once it was a thriving fishing port centre to a large herring industry.


Headed south with stop at Badbea (pronounced bad-bay) a former clearance village perched on the steep slopes above the cliff tops of Berriedale on the east coast of Caithness, Scotland.
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Looked for accommodation on Black Isle but no luck so travelled on to Nairn near the airport. Where we got a lovely room at the Golf View Hotel on the shores of Moray Firth on Seabank Road

 


 

 

Then return to airport and flights to Gatwick and on to Guernsey and first night at La Barbarie.

Moved to St Georges for four nights and the Literary Festival:
Duncan Barrett: Hitler’s British Isles
Martin Edwards: The Golden Age of Murder
Rachel Joyce: The Music Shop


Dinner with Steve Foote at the Slaughter House on Friday

Spent Saturday afternoon looking for Jill Downie’s old friend, Eileen Berry in St Martins.
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Saturday dinner at La Nautique

Meet Lynda and Alan off of the Condor Ferry from St Malo. Went to Evensong at Town Church and dinner at Mora on the Quay in SPP.
Monday we moved to La Barbarie and lunch with Tony Gillett
And dinner at The Captains pub

Tuesday took the 91 around the island, hiked to Tower Hill and Priaulx
Back to Barbarie for last supper with Alan and Lynda
Flight to Gatwick and train to Brighton where we stayed in the Ibis hotel and enjoyed a very good meal at Polpo (20 New Road)
Thursday flight to Toronto