We awoke
early after a somewhat shaky sleep in a very grey and foggy Aberdeen. Not to be
dissuaded we wander around the central town and checked some of the large grey
stone buildings. It was only about 7am so the city was largely still asleep. It
was all quite eerie being around in the fog in a largely empty city but the few
souls wandering the streets with us made us comfortable we hadn’t gotten lost
in a horror movie. After a breakfast of hot cross buns (it being Good Friday
and all) from Greggs we jumped on the bus to the airport where our rental car
for the rest of the weekend awaited us. By the time we left the airport carpark
the fog had virtually lifted and was promising a beautiful Spring Day. We had a
loose plan about where we would be going but were free to stop and change
things along the way as we saw fit. The main purpose of the trip was to visit
some of the places our ancestors were from (or possibly from). Our research hadn’t
exactly been rock solid but was enough to give us some ideas. The first stop
was the town of Ellon. It was near to the town of Tarves where Jess had a feeling
her Grandad Ken’s family was from. It was a pretty little town with a cute
bridge and river. We made the first of many stops at the local cemetery but
didn’t find any names we recognised. It was then back in the car and further
north to the town of Fraserburgh where Jess had a feeling some of the
Ritchie family might be from. It was built out of the same grey stone but the
sun made things look a bit brighter. It wasn’t really much of a tourist stop
though, the highlight being the lighthouse museum. We decided to avoid that and
instead filled up on fish and chips for lunch. Not the best we had ever had but
a darn site better than what you get in London. It was then along the north
coast to the village of Rosehearty. This was apparently where the Ritchie
family were definitely from. It was a nice sleepy seaside town. The view was
pretty good on the day we were there but we suspect that that was probably the
exception rather than the rule. We found the house where Jess’ Great Great Great Grandfather James Ritchie was born/died although it looked like it had probably been replaced by a
new block of flats since that time. A wander around town didn’t shed much more
light on Jess’ past however a chance glancing at no. 32 Pitsligo Street proved
that there were still Ritchie’s to be found in Rosehearty. We didn’t have the
guts to knock on the door but at least we knew we were on the right track. We
drove up the hill above the town to Rosehearty Castle which Jess decided was her own. It is basically a ruin
now but it was pretty cool being able to walk right through it and have a good
close up look at everything. Just up the road from there was Peathill Kirkyard, a cemetary
where apparently one or two of the Ritchie’s might also have been buried. We
started wandering around looking at the gravestones and one or two is probably
an understatement. If you check out the photos you will see that the place is
full of Ritchies, and a fair few Mitchells too. Didn’t manage to find any names
and dates that we recognised but still good to have a such a positive strike on
our first day. We then carried on south again to the town of Huntly. This time we were on the Hunt for Henrys. We had a bit more information from Marcus’ Grandma this time so it made it easier to find the places we were looking for. We checked out where Marcus’ Great Great Grandfather had grown up at No. 1 Old Road (now a charity shop) and where his grandparents had lived (seconds around the corner) at 49 Duke Street (now a motorbike shop.) A general wander around Huntly showed that it was a pretty and probably quite prosperous town. Not as bleak as the towns we had just been in on the North Coast. We made a quick trip our of town to check out Affleck Farm, apparently where the oldest Henry son had worked for many generations, but we couldn’t see that much from the road. After a quick visit to the shortbread factory and a look past Huntly Castle we were back on the road again and off to our last stop of the day Nairn just north of Inverness, the site of the battle of Culloden Moor, the final confronation of the Jacobite Rising in 1746 although that site is now just a big field. After sampling some of the local beer we made it to bed for a well earned sleep.
We arose
the next morning for a full Scottish Breakfast and with much food in our
bellies checked out the beach down the road before heading back inland
to Cawdor Castle, the home of the Thane of Cawdor, the most famous Thane being
MacBeth. It is more of a stately home set in gardens but was still very pretty.
It is still lived in so the current Thane has focussed more on the actual
history of the castle rather than Shakespeare’s version, although there is a
cauldron hidden just by the entrance for those wanting their fix of the
Scottish Play. After a wander through the gardens and the obligatory hedge maze
we carried on in the car past Inverness and up into the Highlands of Scotland.
It had been virtually flat up until now but as soon as we passed Inverness the
road rose and became windier and the hills began to loom on either side. We
stopped on our way westward for a walk to a waterfall. The walk from the
carpark was only about five minutes, but living in London we always appreciate
a chance at some nature. We continued onwards and upwards through the forests
and ever further westward as the forests gave way to rolling grasslands and low
grey cloud. We knew we were in Scotland now. We arrived in the cute seaside
town of Ullapool where we were staying at an excellent B&B called Birchgrove. It
wasn’t time to go there yet though. We had a lunch of tea and cake at the Pink
Teapot Coffee Shop down on the waterfront and then continued winding our way
north to the Coigach peninsula, this time on the hunt for Morrisons. Again we had a
bit of information to go on with Marcus’ great grandfather having come from
Polbain before coming to New Zealand. Getting there was no easy task. The road
was only paved in parts and was only one lane with little laybys that you
needed to duck into when there was an oncoming car, and the locals didn’t seem
too interested to stop for anyone. We made it in one piece however, so were able to
see what we had come for. We checked out the family house at 196 Polbain which the
local shop owner told us was now owned by a German writer. We carried on along
the coast. We weren’t quite sure which of the ruins was “The Fever House” but
as that isn’t actually our ancestors we weren’t too worried. With the help of
Lynn and Dave’s instructions we found the grave of Isabella Campbell at the Coigach
Badenscallie cemetery. After checking out a house where we think an earlier
generation of Morrisons may have lived we wound our way back to Ullapool. We had
a tasty fish dinner at a local pub before a walk along the seafront and falling
into bed.
After
another full Scottish Breakfast we were back in the car and heading back the
way we had come before turning south to take the coast road down to Skye.
Although we had been lucky with the weather so far it had finally decided to
let some rain come down on us. This didn’t stop us having a look at another
waterfall, this one being more impressive than the one from the day before. The
countryside through here was again very rugged, this time in a more dramatic
way, with large mountains on one side and the sea on the other, or driving
through the middle of the mountains and all of a sudden it would open up into a
loch which was capturing all the rain as it fell. We eventually arrived in Kyle
of Lochalsh. Unfortunately illness meant that the B&B we had booked could
no longer take our booking. They found us some alternative accommodation but it
left us feeling a little bit confused. Nonetheless we didn’t let that stop us.
The sun had now come out again so we crossed the bridge into Skye. We didn’t
really have a plan of where we were going but we saw a sign directing us
towards a traditional Highland Cottage. We went in the direction of the
sign…and we went….and we went….until we eventually arrived at the Clan
MacDonald visitor’s centre at Armadale, the ancestral seat of Clan MacDonald.
Although not exactly what we had anticipated we decided as we were there we
would have a look around the grounds of what is now a ruin and visitor’s
centre. The visitor’s centre gave us a bit more of an insight into the history
of the people of Highlands and Western Isles. We never did find that
traditional Highland Cottage though….After another big day we made our way back
to our B&B for another well earned sleep.
After yet
another cooked breakfast we were off again on the last day of our trip around
Scotland. We stopped along the way at Eilean Donan Castle, but as it wasn’t yet open
decided we wouldn’t hang around with the tour bus crowds and instead got some
photos of one of Scotland’s most romantic castles, situated on island just off
the coast, before making our way inland to Scotland’s most famous landmark,
Loch Ness. You come driving through the mountains and then all of a sudden
there it is, sprawled out to your right. It isn’t that wide but it stretches for
miles. We attempted to spot Nessie but unfortunately she was having a day with
her feet up when we were there. After some lunch, and like the many American
tourists we stopped in at the ruins of Urquhart Castle on the shore of the Loch.
Although impressive it did feel like yet another ruin. We then continued our
way slowly winding around the western shore of the Loch until all of a sudden
it was gone and we arrived back where we had been two days before at Inverness.
Inverness is a small but pretty city built around a river, even though the
coast itself is not that far away. After a less than enthralling visit to the
Scottish Kilt Museum we decided to just go for a wander around the town. We had
promised Andy and Cami that we would pick up some Haggis while we were there,
so never one to shirk a responsibility we grabbed a couple of small haggis
before nestling in at a local bar for some dinner and drinks and then meandering
our way down to the train station and back on the overnight train to London
bleary eyed and probably not at our best, but still functioning, for work on
Tuesday.https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/ScotlandApril2011
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