Historic Scotland panned for blanking far north in guide
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A TOUR operator was “absolutely gobsmacked” to discover a Historic Scotland publication did not list any places of interest in Caithness and Sutherland.
Bob Farley, who offers guided tours in Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney, was “shocked” to find that Explore Scotland had ignored the far north in its brochure.
“There was nothing marked for Sutherland at all and the only thing highlighted in Caithness was the airport in Wick but there was a total of 78 places of interest elsewhere in Scotland, including six in Orkney,” said Mr Farley, who is based at Auckengill, near Keiss.
“The message from the brochure is that there is nothing to see in Caithness and Sutherland and that will discourage people from coming here,” he said.
“It gives a false impression because there is a lot of interesting things to see in this part of the world, such as castles, cairns, brochs and harbours.
“They all should be included. I was absolutely gobsmacked that there was nothing listed apart from the airport.”
The omission was pointed out to him by a passenger on one of his tours and, after checking the publication, he contacted Historic Scotland to try and find out why places of interest in the far north had been ignored.
So far, he has had no reply.
By contrast, Mr Farley pointed out that six historic sites were identified in Orkney.
“On the ferry, there was a free weekly newspaper called Islander that had 48 pages of information for tourists. And when we got over to Orkney, we were presented with another local map showing 56 places to visit,” said Mr Farley, who has been running his business for a year since moving north from Worcestershire.
“What a shame that we are treated in this way. Times are getting harder and fewer tourists are venturing to the far north. Perhaps we should take notice of what Orcadians do to encourage visitors. After all, they seem to be successful,” added Mr Farley.
A spokesman for Historic Scotland said the organisation had around 10 sites in Caithness and Sutherland, including Cairn o’ Get, near Ulbster; Oldwick Castle and Carn Liath, near Golspie. But they are not mentioned in the guide as they are unmanned and free to access.
He added: “The Explore Scotland guide only lists our 78 staffed sites across Scotland where an entry fee is charged. While we do have some sites in Caithness and Sutherland, they are unmanned and free to access. These are promoted through our website, our members’ handbook and locally.”
Historic Scotland pointed out that over the past three years, about £10,000 had been invested in new interpretation panels at these sites. They are also signposted.
