Helmsdale

Today I have walked the length and breadth of this small Sunderland town "where the Strath meets the Sea". Of all the photos I took, this one means the most. It is taken from the bridge built by Thomas Telford 200 years ago, looking up the Strath, up the Helmsdale River, past the cemetery. Many of Helmsdale's inhabitants from 200 years ago are not buried here, but in Canada or elsewhere. The Duke of Sutherland cleared his land of tenant farmers and put more profitable sheep where they had had their longhouses and runrigs. He set them to the herring trade, trying to make fishermen out of farmers. Many left to settle in Red River, Canada (now the city of Winnipeg).
I had come to Helmsdale to visit the Timespan museum and art gallery. The museum employs artists-in-residence to respond to the land and its history and one of these, Carolyn Lefley, had created the "Diaspora Stones" with liquid emulsion. This was partly the inspiration for my slate project. Ironically, the Stones were no longer on display, having been returned to Carolyn... but if I had known that, I would have missed out on this trip, so I didn't feel too disappointed. The museum inspired me anyway, and already after two days of travel, my head is buzzing with new ideas and I'm feeling refreshed.
This afternoon, I continued north on the Far North Railway, and am now in Thurso, which seems like a city after Helmsdale, and am staying in a hostel called "Sandra's Backpackers", which is full of surfers.
Tomorrow - further north again...