Tag Archives: A Highland River

Ackergill Tower

The main purpose of this particular trip was to visit a part of the world that we do not actually know every well. However we felt we did. because of reading books by Neil Gunn. He was a local author, who wrote magnificently about the area in books like Highland River. My favourite, the Silver Darlings was about the once thriving herring fishing .. sadly now defunct. He was born and brought up in Dunbeath in Caithness and apart from occasionally passing through on our way round the north coast of Scotland we have never spent much time there.

Five stars

We decided to stay at Ackergill Tower just outside Wick. It’s about 15 miles south of John O’Groats, the most northeasterly tip of the UK. The area feels remote and definitely on a different planet from London and the south. Here the land and the weather can be hard but it has a real character and a charm all of its own. Ackergill04Ackergill Tower is a stunning castle built right on the water’s edge and at one time, probably round about the 15th century, its front door opened directly onto the sea so that the occupants could come and go without  enduring attack from the landward side. The Gunn and Keith clans fought over it for many years. Fascinating but dangerous times. Nowadays it has been taken over by AmaZing Venues who have spent a lot of money doing it up to five star standard. IMG_7689

We arrived early for registration. They asked if we would like to have tea and scones in one of the sitting rooms while we waited. No-brainer! A few moments later, however, we were informed that there were no scones but they would bake us some if we cared to wait about 20-30 minutes. No-brainer! We went for a walk.

Big pouffs

The weather could best be described as bracing. There were certainly no cobwebs left by the time we got back. Our tea and freshly baked scones were being served on what must be one of the biggest pouffs in the world. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely. IMG_7696Everything was perfect, the scones were sublime, the jam was fab, the cream was delicious, the setting and presentation faultless.

In these cosseted surroundings you could quite easily forget all about the outside world. It’s still there of course and what seems to be exercising some minds is our fondly held weapons of mass destruction. Farage seems so keen on them that you could be forgiven for thinking that he might actually use them just to solve his perceived immigration problem.

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The Great Hall
The Great Hall

 

Should that ever come to pass, of course, there would  be nowhere to emigrate to either .. think it through Nigel! The story goes that we need these weapons so that people will listen to us at the negotiating table. What if you just had the £300b we would have spent on them in your hip pocket. Would people listen then? What if you just put £300b in the bank. Think of the interest and what you could do with that!

Many years ago Ackergill Tower was designed to fend off unwelcome advances by men in kilts. Nowadays it looks as if it could fend off a nuclear attack just as well. If we said there was to be such an attack do you think they would let us stay. We want to stay!

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