Menootanabootagain - the Norther Explorer

The penultimate day up at Skelbo found the Macs wishing to linger in or near to the cottage. It had been such a peaceful and pleasant stay, there was the need to drink in as much as possible of the surroundings. That said, I did wish to take one last trip into Dornoch to take a proper look at the cathedral (hadn't taken the Fudge along on the Tuesday evening) and the general surrounds. So late-arvo I announced I was off, at which point Mac1 said she'd string along with me.

Dornoch Cathedral was built in the thirteenth century, but has of course been much restored over the years. It is held by the Church of Scotland, is the smallest cathedral in the country, and the minister, Susan Brown, is one of the Queen's Chaplains in Scotland; she officiated at the wedding of Madonna and Guy Ritchie... I can also reveal, having had the great favour of meeting and sharing a few moments with Rev Susan at the Tuesday recital, that there is a woman in this world upon whom I can look down! Yup, she's a full three inches lower than my own 4'11".

The town appears to be thriving and there is a real sense of welcome and community there. History is felt on every corner, yet is not all that easy to track. There was not time for us to visit the museum or many of the other points of interest. It just begs for another stay up there!!!

Apart from the leftovers coming tomorrow, that's it from this trip... that evening we packed up and in the morning cleaned up and were on the road to Edinburgh by 10am. Mac2 travelled with me, father with Mac3 and Mac1 on her own as she had to meet up with a friend en route.

Four and a half hours later we were drinking tea at the father's place and reminiscing about the beauty and the surprising hold Dornoch, Skelbo, Embo and surrounds had exerted upon us.