Monday 13th July Wagons west.......to Ullapool Of all the Scottish names of towns we have come across we cannot figure out how the name of Ullapool might have originated as it sounds rather unScottishlike. However that was where we are heading for today on the Scottish West coast. With no cooked breakfast included in our low overnight rate(we had found out that the rate for this hotel was usually GBP110!!!what a bargain we got at GBP39)we dined in on yogurt and toast. First stop and attraction for today was the large and very impressive fort built by the British a year after they defeated the Scots of Bonnie Prince Charlie at nearby Culledon Moor in 1746. Fort George was built on the coast on land that juts out into the Firth of Moray,the wide bay/inlet that ... read more

Saturday 11th July Peterhead,crime capital of the NorthEast Alan,our host in Edinburgh and a part time circuit judge taking in Peterhead,had warned us that Peterhead with its maximum security HM Prison,was a town of some criminal repute. It was only 35 miles or so up the coast so we planned the morning in Aberdeen city to take in some shopping as this could be the last occasion for a couple of weeks that we may have time for some retail therapy. The weather today is a grey overcast and it’s not very warm at 12 deg.However this is Aberdeenshire and they say that this coast has the coolest and wettest weather in Scotland and probably in the UK. Finding a park was easy and we walked into the CBD and a shopping mall where M&S was ... read more

Thursday 9th July More family history secrets revealed Today is our last full day in Edinburgh and after the revelations of Tuesday during our research at the Registry Office we decided to put in another couple of hours to see how much more progress could be made on tracing the ‘rellies’. I moved RR back to the street where she could safely stay for the day and we had breakfast and planned for the day in the city. We thought going for the day might be a bit much on the concentration and anyway the weather was again fine and pleasantly warm(for Edinburgh,low 20’s)and we wanted to also take in the Botanic Gardens which would take us through the streets of the city and give us some more sightseeing on foot. First place to visit was ... read more

Tuesday 7th July Tracing the ancestors and some relaxation Another overcast day and the forecast is variable so we have decided that this morning we will spend some time at the Registry Office in Princes Street to see what we can add to the Benvie Family Tree. Scotland is renown worldwide to have very good records of its people from their birth to their grave and there is a 2 hour free ‘taster’session available for a limited number of places twice a day at the Registry Office.Our other option is to pay 10 quid for a full day to search the records to fill in the gaps on the family tree. We thought that it would be best to take the free offer first and see how much progress we make and then we may continue ... read more

The fine weather of yesterday has left us for the time being and we have awoken to grey threatening looking clouds and a forecast of heavy showers. Being Sunday we gave ourselves a lie in as we doubt that the attractions and especially the one we want to visit today won't be open too early. We have decided on Edinburgh Castle for our sightseeing and then we will see what the afternoon brings. After another hearty breakfast that included bacon and eggs we set off for the castle downtown. We were on the last few metres up the road to the castle and we felt spots of rain....and then a clap of thunder.Was this going to spoil our plans or did we just push on regardless of the weather?? We sheltered under one of the grandstands ... read more