Caithness flies high

A LONDON lawyer said he was "overjoyed" to see the Caithness flag proudly billowing in Parliament Square during a special day of celebration last week.

Rupert Barnes snapped a photograph of the Caithness flag during County Flags Day and said it reminded him of the "many happy times" he had spent in the far north.

"I don't really have a connection to Caithness but I have spent some very happy times in the county and always felt sorry that the place is left out of the public imagination – beyond the Highlands and not yet Orkney," he said.

"Everyone in Britain knows of John O'Groats but how many know it is in Caithness? They would be enriched if they knew of this special corner of the land."

The Caithness colours flew in a display of 50 county flags, with Sutherland just around the corner.

Mr Barnes is the vice-chairman of the Association of British Counties and has a blog about his favourite country walks in the UK – with Caithness having a special place in his heart as he courted his wife there while on a walking holiday. "Those sights of Caithness are rarely far from my mind – it is one of the places fond dreams drift back to – so I was delighted when Caithness adopted a county flag, and a very distinctive one at that. The flag may be used to badge the county for wider recognition, which I hope it achieves.

"It was special to see it in Parliament Square this week."

Mr Barnes said he welcomes Caithness country ramblers to get in touch with him via his blog to highlight any special walks in the county: http://wildthinguk.co.uk/

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