A WIDOWER will this weekend set off on a three-month journey from John O'Groats to Land's End as a tribute to his late wife.

BETTYHILL is not a place you would normally associate with racehorse breeding, but all that could change if Graham and Dawn Staves, of Achnabourin, have anything to do with it.

YOUNGSTERS in Caithness have been helping to improve the quality of life for a seven-year-old girl in an orphanage in India over the past year.

HALKIRK'S grand old man Roy MacKenzie joined the elite band of centenarians yesterday.

LOCAL tourism chiefs received a positive response from national journalists at a recent event in London.

A TOP wheelchair athlete preparing for a Land's End to John O'Groats fundraising challenge has had a lucky escape after an accident while training.

A THURSO writer who has sold over 1000 copies of his self-published novels has been named a winner in a BBC short-story writing competition.

FOR most endurance athletes, travelling the length of mainland Britain at one stretch is towards, if not at the top of, their list of must-dos.

HALKIRK'S newly-chosen gala queen has narrowly missed out on the chance of appearing in the national finals of this year's Miss Scotland competition.

DRAMATIC cliffs, picturesque ruins and an abundance of wildlife... it's hardly surprising that my sea trip around the east coast of Caithness generated a wealth of striking photos.

LEADING archaeologist and acclaimed Viking expert Chris Morris has joined UHI to develop research and assist with the development of a potential new undergraduate course.

SOME of Thurso's landmark buildings and natural attractions are showcased in a new booklet produced this week.

A LOCAL dance instructor has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to Highland dancing.

A CANADIAN couple with family in Caithness have embarked on an epic journey to the Middle East to connect with their ancestral roots.

FORMER Dounreay site director John Baxter has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) – thereby following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein.

THE Vikings called it Katanes, after the ancient Pictish tribe known as the Cats. In time, Katanes evolved into Caithness.

A STUDENT from Wick scored a hat-trick of wins at a recent awards ceremony, taking home a total cash prize of £750 and three titles, including Equine Learner of the Year.

WICK Scouts held their Founder's Day service in Wick Old Parish Church on Sunday.

A TEAM from Bower took the honours in the Caithness Young Farmers' junior quiz.

A WICKER wearing a Wick Academy football shirt completed the Tokyo Marathon at the weekend.

A CHEQUE for £2320 has been presented to Pennyland primary in Thurso as part of a fundraising campaign by a local mum who wants to get a lift installed at the school to help disabled children.

A COOKERY student from Caithness has scooped a top award at a national potato-inspired cook-off in London.

A RETIRED doctor and his wife, who set off from John O'Groats recently on an end-to-end run in aid of Cancer Research UK, have taken time out to thank motorists in Caithness for their consideration.

A CAITHNESS Church of Scotland deacon has just returned from an aid mission which has given new hope to a group of disaster-stricken fishermen in India.

A FORMER pupil of Wick High School is gearing up for a trip to South Asia next month to take part in a medical programme helping to support some of Nepal's poorest communities.

THE principal of North Highland College UHI was last night set to attend the official launch of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) in London.

HE may not think so today, but future generations could regard James Gunn as the most important person ever to work at Dounreay. For the former chemist and project manager has taken up a part-time role as the site's first heritage officer.

NATASHA Gunn is getting to grips with her own all-terrain tricycle presented to her after a fundraising appeal was launched in the John O'Groat Journal last year.

VETERAN Wick reporter Noel Donaldson has taken a top honour in the Highlands and Islands Media Awards.

A LOCAL head teacher who gave up her summer holidays to help develop village schools in Malawi has been honoured for her efforts.

CAITHNESS residents are being asked to join half a million other people across the UK in spending an hour spying on their bird neighbours to help make the 2008 Big Garden Birdwatch another record-breaking event.

A CAITHNESS-born Antarctic explorer is to give a talk on her recent discoveries next week.

TWO Caithness adventurers have returned from a trek in South America, raising thousands of pounds for charity along the way.

GARY Mackay-Steven knows exactly what he wants.

A PICTURE drawn by a local primary school pupil is to be used on the Castle of Mey website to promote the popular animal centre which opened earlier this year.

THE Junior Greens faced their most hair-raising challenge yet... but it was not on the rugby field.

THE skills of local master craftsman George Gunn were called on recently when trainee dry-stone waller Shona Mcleod visited the county.

ANYONE wishing to write a history of the coastguard presence in Wick could do worse than dig out a family tree for the Macleods.

LOCAL youngsters took to the forest on Saturday to help plant trees and learn more about their environment.

A HALKIRK woman has been honoured for her long years of stalwart service to the Riding for the Disabled Association in Caithness.

BUDDING author Joan Campbell has had her first book published – The Land Beyond the Green Fields.

A WICK woman has won a top national award for her outstanding success in improving the lives of people with a learning disability.

A YOUNG Caithness man has come joint fifth in the UK in an accountancy exam.

TWENTY-ONE years after pounding round Meadowbank's tartan track, Moira McBeath remains the only Caithness track or field athlete to have competed at a Commonwealth Games.

WATTEN woman Jean MacDonald has received Age Concern Scotland's Volunteer of the Year Award in recognition of her 53 years of volunteering.

A YOUNG Caithness cerebral palsy sufferer will be let loose on her own specially-adapted trike next month thanks to the efforts of her family and friends.

A NEW procurement officer has been added to the North Highland Products team with the appointment of Alison Murray.

WICK company KP Technology has gained a prestigious accolade in the 22nd Highlands and Islands Business Awards.

A CAITHNESS nurse has handed over the proceeds from her latest overseas charity adventure.

TWO women with strong Caithness connections are preparing for a charity trek across a world-famous South American footpath next week.

LOCAL Church of Scotland deacon John Craw has completed a sponsored walk from Latheronwheel to Inverness - raising £5000 to help impoverished fishermen in India.

A CAITHNESS mum has launched a campaign to raise funds for a specially-adapted trike which will enable her disabled daughter to have greater independence and improved mobility.

ACCLAIMED Scottish actor and keen motorcyclist Ewan McGregor's latest epic adventure might have ended in South Africa but it kicked off much closer to home.

A YOUNG Caithness mental health nurse has won a notable service award at the start of her career in a hospital at the opposite end of the British mainland.

A SIXTH-year student at Wick High School has launched a fundraising campaign ahead of a sponsored walk in aid of Children in Need.

A COUPLE who have survived a marathon round trip of Britain on foot are expected to arrive at John O'Groats tomorrow (Saturday) – 11 months after they set off from the Far North landmark.

THE Church of Scotland parish of Altnaharra and Farr, still in vacancy following the retirement of the Rev John Wilson in the autumn of 2004, has a new locum minister for the month of October.

THURSO-based photographer John Baikie has been invited to take part in a prestigious training course in Spain early in 2008.

A KEEN Caithness cyclist is expected to start a year-long solo round trip of Australia tomorrow (Saturday) in support of charity.

A THURSO Air Cadet has been named as the Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet for the second year running.

UHI Student of the Wear Diane Atkinson, the Bower mother who triumphed in her degree studies while caring for her sick daughter, was described as an inspiration and a role model when she was presented with her award at a showpiece event.

YOU know when someone asks you for a favour? It's probably best to find out what they want before jumping in with a "yes".

A STUDENT at North Highland College has won a top carpentry competition – making it the third year in a row that the trophy has come to the Far North.

EXPERIENCED instructors from Caithness Kayak Club were on hand at Wick Swimming Pool on Friday night to help out a young Sutherland man who is heading for New Zealand next year to take part in a gruelling coast-to-coast challenge.

THE wind snatched my headscarf and carried it away. Aghast, I raced after it, grabbed it and tied it back on with my bumbling hands as quickly as I could. I looked around anxiously. No-one in the smoggy streets seemed to have noticed. Heaving a sigh of relief, I dodged my way through the unrelenting traffic to meet my friend Reza.

A WATTEN woman who has been at the hub of harbour administration at Wick for half a century has been honoured by her employers.

ON OUR first visit to the Hebrides, Beth and Ewen were still at the "not another walk!" stage of their lives. Luckily we had one eager collie always game for climbing a big hill or two and happy to keep us company. Now the bairns have fled the nest and, with two new dogs in tow, it was time for a return visit.

A FRENCH graffiti artist has added a splash of colour to a Wick community regeneration initiative.

UNVEILED... the latest link in church reorganisation in Caithness.

SCRABSTER'S lifeboat station will open its doors to the public next month as part of this year's Doors Open Days.

I PASSED through Kyrgyzstan’s western border with dozens of sun-baked men and women shuffling along beside me. The men wore dark colours and thick boots, while the women were best viewed from behind sunglasses, lest the garish colours and sequins render one blind.

ONE hundred and twenty-nine probationer teachers who are working at schools across the Highlands finalised their preparations for the new session by attending an induction day in Inverness.

CHILDHOOD journeys to Caithness are recalled by the writer and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch in her new book which is being launched at Lyth Arts Centre next Saturday (August 25).

A GRADUATE from Caithness who did much of her studying in hospital while her daughter was being treated for severe asthma and other illnesses has become the UHI student of the year.

WICK Baptist Church, which celebrated its bicentenary last year, marked another major milestone in its history with the retirement of its pastor, the Rev Oliver Vellacott, last Sunday.

A CHARITY cyclist was given a warm welcome when he paid a visit to Harmsworth Park on Saturday morning.

A SMALL piece of history will be created when work starts again at the historic Castle Sinclair Girnigoe on the outskirts of Wick.

THURSO Air Cadets and their families played host to 10 international guests last week as part of the International Air Cadet Exchange programme.

A LOCAL nurse is limbering up for her latest charity foray which will take her to the other side of the Atlantic.

A LOCAL woman is to climb the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales in just 24 hours to raise money for the British Red Cross.

ONE of the county’s most successful tutors has decided to hang up her dancing shoes after 13 years of teaching.

TWO cancer charities have benefited from the marathon-running efforts of Kate Mowat from John O’Groats.

TWO confectionery workers are hoping that their hitch-hiking marathon will run as sweet as a nut.

A LONE musician began an offbeat fundraising stunt at the weekend when he embarked on a marathon walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End with only his drum for company.

CASTLETOWN'S St Clair Arms Hotel has changed hands. The new owners are brothers Andrew and Sandy Mackay, who have strong local connections.

A "THIS is Your Life" presentation was the centrepiece of a surprise retirement party for Playden manager Maureen Allan in Thurso.

LYBSTER pensioner Johnny Mackay was signing copies of his book, Changes in a Lifetime, at its launch in the village's daycare centre yesterday evening.

MEMBERS of the 2nd Thurso Scout Group have been celebrating their golden jubilee.

WICK dental nurse Nicola Moodie has come out top in this year's training qualifications for the North region.

THE efforts of a Far North mountain rescue team leader have been recognised by the Queen.

A REMARKABLE wild brown trout caught on Loch Heilen last Friday (June 8) is thought to be the largest wild brown trout ever taken on the fly from a Caithness water.

ON February 15, 2003, while the UN Security Council was debating the fate of Iraq, nuclear chemist Paul Doherty from Thurso led a team that abseiled into a bombed reactor near Baghdad.

ROYAL British Legion Scotland stalwart George MacDonald, of Wick, has been honoured with one of the organisation's top jobs.

RETIRED Wick fishing skipper Norrie Bremner has received a prestigious new award for his outstanding contribution to the fishing industry.

A RETIRED nurse from Dunbeath who spent three weeks volunteering at an East African orphanage earlier this year is hoping to repeat the experience.

LIFE was returning to normal for Caithness army reservists this week following the homecoming celebrations held to mark their return from Iraq.

PUPILS of Wick High School look set to smarten up their appearance after the summer holidays with the introduction of a school dress code.

FORSS House Hotel has been awarded the prestigious four-star rating from the AA Hotel Guide – the first hotel in Caithness to achieve this quality standard.

A NEW book to be published by local writer Helen Campbell delves into the world of fantasy and adventure, telling the story of the novel's eponymous character Brodie McHaggis and his fight for survival.

YOUNGSTERS from Malawi and Scotland have produced a CD while working on an international exchange programme in Caithness.

A TALENTED Thurso-born composer has broken new ground with his latest work which is performed by an elite group of traditional musicians from throughout Europe.

A LOCAL head teacher is to go back to Malawi to help develop village schools.

A HIGH-profile anti-fur demonstration vilifying a leading fashion chain in London last year resulted in the arrest of local animal rights activist and environmentalist Joanne Sim.

ROLLS-Royce employees at the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment are being encouraged to choose the healthy option at work.

A WELL-known Halkirk man was given a surprise last week as he celebrated his 99th birthday.

THE Duke of Rothesay played a key role in pulling together the funding for the new visitor centre at the Castle of Mey, it was revealed this week.

Eighteen-year-old Avril Bremner, of South Road, Wick, has achieved a 'highly commended' in her BATD associate teacher's diploma for Highland dancing

HIGH-quality Caithness art and craft work is to be sold in a new retail outlet opening in Wick next month.

WICK Old Parish Church reverberated with the magnificent sound of the newly-refurbished organ on Saturday afternoon, when Dr John Kitchen, a senior lecturer and organist in the University of Edinburgh, gave a recital.

HIGH-quality Caithness art and craft work is to be sold in a new retail outlet opening in Wick next month.