The Clan Gunn Society’s 60th Diamond Celebrations

** Due to Covid-19 and associated travel embargoes this event has been postponed. We will post more when we know what we can safely deliver. Please check your emails if you were to attend and keep your eyes on this page for future updates. Thank you for your understanding **

BOOKING FORMS AND PAYMENT CLICK HERE

Highlands & Caithness

Day 1    Thursday     

INVERNESS

18.00                    We will be based at the Premier Inn (River Ness), 19 -21 Huntley Street but you should look to book your own room(s). Rooms start at around £75/room including breakfast and contact details are at the end of this itinerary and on the booking form. The hotel is quite large, but there are plenty other hotels/accommodation nearby to suit all tastes and wallets should you prefer.

19.30                    We will meet at Hootananny’s in Church Street Inverness for a bar supper and live music. Hootananny is a multi-award winning pub and live music venue well known for its Scottish music, local beer and great selection of whiskies and is the ideal place to get the mini-gathering off to a flying start.                 

Day 2    Friday

09.30                    For those that manage to get up early (after the previous night) we are suggesting an informal visit to the Scottish Kiltmaker Visitor Centre in Huntly Street where you will get a fascinating insight to the history, tradition and culture of the kilt. You can also watch the skilled craftsman and discover the expertise that goes into making a kilt. 

11.00                    Make sure you’re outside the Premier Inn (River Ness) hotel (19-21 Huntley Street) for 11.00am with your luggage as this is when the coach leaves for Caithness. However, first stop is the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre just a few miles outside of Inverness and scene of one of the most harrowing battles in British history which finally put paid to the Jacobite Rising and the plans of Bonnie Prince Charlie, The Young Pretender, to succeed to the Scottish throne. We will have a guided tour of the visitor centre and the battlefield and you will be able to have lunch at the excellent café (not included in the ticket price).

SUTHERLAND & CAITHNESS

14.00                    We will head up the east coast of Sutherland and Caithness to Dunnet but we will arrange to drop you at (or very close to) your Caithness accommodation at approximately 5.00pm.

18.30                    From 18.30 onwards (we will advise exact timings on the day which will depend on where you are staying), the coach will pick you up from your accommodation and take you to the Seaview Hotel in John O’Groats for a delicious informal dinner at 7.00pm. There is no need to dress up for this (unless of course you want to) and it will give everyone the chance to renew old acquaintances and perhaps, make some new ones.  

22.00                    The coach will return you to your accommodation for a well-earned rest after quite a long day.

Day 3    Saturday

09.30                    From 9.30 onwards (we will again advise exact timings the day before), the coach will pick you up from your accommodation and take you for a trip down the East Coast of Caithness to the Clan Gunn Heritage Centre returning by the Strath of Kildonan (the Home of the Gunns) with a brief stop at Kildonan church (but no service). From there we will continue up the strath until we reach the North coast of Caithness where we turn East and head back, possibly stopping for a visit to the Castletown Heritage Centre (time permitting). There will be a meeting of the Clan Gunn Society council and of the Heritage Trust beforehand and lunch will be a packed lunch (included in the cost of the trip).

16.30                    The coach will return you to your accommodation so that you can change and freshen up for the “big event”, the Black Tie champagne reception and dinner at the Castle of Mey.

18.00                    From 18.00 onwards (notifications of timings as before), the coach will pick you up from your accommodation and bring you the Castle of Mey for a champagne reception in the main drawing room at 6.30pm followed by dinner in the Castle’s visitor centre at 7.30pm. The celebratory Diamond Centenary dinner will include four sumptuous courses, ½ bottle of wine, tea or coffee and handmade chocolates as well as a dram with the speeches.

22.30                    The coach will return you to your accommodation.

Day 4    Sunday

09.15                    From 09.15am (timings advised the day before), the coach will pick you up from your accommodation and take you back to Inverness via Dunrobin Castle, the most northerly of Scotland’s great houses, the largest in the Northern Highlands and home to the Earls (and later) the Dukes of Sutherland. We will aim to arrive at the castle for the renowned falconry display, but there will also be time for a good look around the beautiful gardens (even in spring) and the extremely interesting Castle, as well as lunch in the excellent tea room (not included in the ticket price).

14.00                    After which the coach will return to Inverness (train and bus stations) for 3.00pm which should give clan members plenty of time to catch trains and planes.

BOOKING FORMS AND PAYMENT CLICK HERE

Accommodation

Inverness accommodation:

The Premier Inn (River Ness) Hotel: www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/scotland/highland/inverness/inverness-centre-river-ness.html?cid=GLBC_INVRIV or use trip adviser www.tripadvisor.co.uk.

Caithness accommodation (suggestions) within easy reach of the planned activities and from which coach pick-ups and drop-offs are available. Clan members should contact these hotels/B&Bs directly and rooms will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

The Seaview Hotel: www.seaviewjohnogroats.co.uk,

The Northern Sands Hotel: www.northernsands.co.uk,

The Castletown Hotel: www.castletownhotel.co.uk,

Hamnavoe: www.johnogroatsbnb.com,

Puffin Cottage: www.puffincroft.com/puffin-cottage-b-b,

The Hawthorns: www.meybandb.co.uk,

Dunnet Bay Escapes: www.dunnetbayescapes.com,

Greenland House: www.greenlandhousebandb.co.uk,

Aurora B&B: www.aurora-bb.co.uk,

Natural Retreats:

www.togethertravel.co.uk/destinations/scotland/john-ogroats/accommodation

In emergency John and Sarah Gunn can be contacted on:

John’s mobile:   07747 474045    Sarah’s mobile:  07763 461509

BOOKING FORMS AND PAYMENT CLICK HERE