Sadly, we have to move on from scenic Gardenstown ... we waved goodbye to our rustic harbour-side cottage and maneuvered our car up the narrow windy lanes as the seagulls screamed their disappointment (I guess they were sad to see us go!). At the same time, we eagerly looked forward to travelling back to Inverness to meet up with the Clan MacDonald (Laurel's mother—Betty, two brothers—Dusty and Allen, and their wives—Cheryl and July) and begin searching for their ancestral roots.
As we drive up and away from the coast, we decide to take a detour of a couple of miles and take another look at Tillybo, the farm where our nephew Chris has determined that great-great-great-great-grandfather John Edward Lawrie was born in 1762. It was mid-morning, so we decided to drive into the yard and talk to the owner, who turned out to be a 75 year old Irish woman named Lynne. She was very gracious and talkative and guided us around her property to take pictures and then invited us in to look at the deeds to Tillybo because she was sure that a Lawrie had owed the farm this century. She was right! In 1959, a William Lawrie and his wife, Christina, purchased Tillybo and then sold it again a few years later. We can't be sure, but there is a very good chance that this William Lawrie is distant cousin.
Lynne told us that Tillybo has been a going concern for many centuries and that the name is of Doric origins (tilly = water; bo = cow), meaning place to water cattle. The house was "new," it had been rebuilt in 1861, but the bothy (labourer's quarters and livestock shed) are original and still standing. It was all very special and we thanked Lynne for her time and kindness.
We drove back to Inverness following a different route, along the famous and scenic "Whisky Trail." I'm not sure that sampling a dram at a dozen or more distilleries would be advisable, considering it was hard enough keeping a car on the winding roads, stone cold sober!
Our accommodation in Inverness is a classic five bedroom stone manor called Woodbourne House and when the clan arrived, we tucked in to a supper of sandwiches and cullen skink, a soup from the Lawrie cookbook (potatoes, leeks, cream, and smoked haddock)—mmmm. After assigning rooms (Scottish lottery), we all went for an evening stroll along the River Ness, lit by a beautiful sunset.
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