Macca's Meanderings

WEDNESDAY - After some last minute shopping in Horncastle we drove south-east through the Fenns to Hingham near Norwich. This is where Ann Lys lives. Ann's maiden name was Dawbarn and therefore she and Bryan's father and aunty's share a common great, great, great grandfather - Richard Bunbury Dawbarn. Ann and her eldest daughter Alison welcomed us very warmly into their home named Normandy House, which dates back to 1690. After a cuppa we started looking into family trees etc. THURSDAY - After breakfast we continued our family history research before Ann's cousin dropped in for lunch. Ann's father John Dawbarn had done a lot of work on their line of the Dawbarns. John served at Gallipoli with a Manchester Unit. Claude Macdonald was also there however this was before he had met and married Grace Dawbarn. In the evening Deborah, Ann's second sister join us for an evening meal. It was great to meet more relatives. We shared a common ancestor however our family li...

FRIDAY - With only about a week to go before we will be leaving the UK and returning back to Australia and being at the very north of Scotland we really needed to start travelling south. We also had arranged to spend some time with some old NT friends, Donald and Bev in Inverness. We initially took the road following the Strathnaver along the River Naver. We were told that fisherman pay 2500-3000 pounds for a weeks fishing on this river. Trout and salmon being the main target fish. Sadly, fishing is not all that this area is remembered for. During the clearances in the 1800s, around 1,000 families were cleared off their crofts. Those who did not move by the notified dates were forced to move and their houses burnt. An eye witnesses to some of these events wrote; "Many deaths ensued from alarm, fatigue and cold. Some old men took to the woods and precipices, wandering about in a state approaching to, or of, absolute insanity; and several of them, in this situation, lived on a...

WEDNESDAY- After Leaving the Isle of Skye we headed north through the western highlands of Scotland. Driving in this part of Scotland involves many twists and turns around the numerous lochs and mountains and plenty of climbs and descends. Around every corner there was more grand scenery. The weather was good although the cloud was building and the wind was starting to freshen. The forecasts for tomorrow were not good. Late morning we stopped by a loch for a coffee break. Across the loch were some high peaks. On the map we noticed a minor road that climbed up into these peaks so decided to take this road. This road is called 'The Pass of the Cattle'. From sea level we climbed over 2,000 feet in a short time along a narrow, windy road to the pass and then back down to the sea. Very interesting! While driving along the coast we stopped for a photo. There was a ketch sailing north and a couple of other powered vessels heading south and we also noticed a submarine heading south...

MONDAY - The ferry arrived back in Uig on the Isle of Skye around 6:00pm. We had booked a B&B called 'Seabound' around the north eastern side of Skye so took the road north from Uig. It follows the coast most of the way and we were treated to some spectacular coastal scenery. Those who watch the TV program 'Grand Designs - UK' may recall a program where two ladies bought a block of land on the Isle of Skye and then built a turf roofed house which overlooked a bay. The design was very different to any of the other housing in the area. Well, as we were driving to Seabound B&B Nancy recognised the house. The Seabound B&B was quite literally right by the sea, with more spectacular views, as you will see from the photos below. TUESDAY - After breakfast we continued around the coast stopping regularly to enjoy the scenery and to take the odd photo. From Portree we took the road north west to near Dunvegan Castle and then back around the north side of the Cui...