'We could not be happier,' say couple after move from England to Caithness
A couple from England came to Caithness for a holiday, fell in love with the place and decided to move here. "We could not be happier," said Liz Ritchie who now stays in Thurso with her partner Stephen Dawson.
They came to the north initially to visit Liz's uncle Alvin and aunty Sue and thought it would be a great place to live and while they were here, Stephen proposed to Liz outside their holiday cottage.
"It was definitely a shock. He was always saying that he doesn't believe in marriage so I wasn't expecting it to happen at all," said Liz who stayed in Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent, where she worked as a practice manager at a veterinary surgery before making the move north.
"He called me outside saying one of our two dogs was limping and for me to check her. When I was checking her legs, I noticed a piece of paper on her collar saying Stephen wanted to ask me something. So I turned around very confused and there he was, down on one knee.
"I didn't give him an answer for a good 10 minutes as I was crying and couldn't talk but I did say yes."
"We aren't married yet, unfortunately, and haven't made many plans, though I know the dogs will be involved and I've picked my bridesmaids. We are buying a house at the moment so right now the wedding doesn't have priority," explained Liz, who is 31 and originally from Lancashire.

She and 33-year-old Stephen, who lived with Liz in Wolstanton but worked as an upholsterer in Crewe, had visited Caithness a couple of times before they decided on the move.
"We had a chat about moving because every time we came up we said it would be amazing to live here. I was thinking about changing jobs because the vet's had become quite stressful and Stephen was working so many hours at his job that we never really saw each other.
"My uncle knew somebody who was going to rent her house so it all worked out perfectly. She was happy to rent the house to us. We live near Pennyland school but are in the process of buying a house as we thought we would stay up here for a year and if we liked it then we would try and buy a house.
"We get the keys at the end of August if all goes well and we will be living in Scrabster then."
The couple moved here in September last year just over a month after their holiday. "We were determined and just cracked on with it. We were quite lucky actually in getting jobs. I managed to get one at Tesco and I'm now a shift leader there. Stephen works at Lidl and is hoping to build his career there too.
"Nearly a year on and it is still amazing to live here. Stephen always says he feels like he is semi-retired and I still feel like I am on holiday. I don't think I will ever take this place for granted. Even driving from home to work, seeing the open water every morning just makes me feel happy.
"We are definitely enjoying life and want to live out the rest of our lives here and bring up a family here, too," said Liz.
She added: "Our families were really supportive and though they said they would miss us, they said we should definitely do it while we are young or we might regret it later in life. We miss our families so much but we have been to see them a couple of times and we are going to continue to visit them at least twice a year.
"Stephen's family came up to see us in February and my dad and my 14-year-old brother came up for a week. At the end of the month my cousin and my gran are coming up, too."
The couple were impressed with the relative lack of crime in Thurso compared to their home towns, the scenery and the beaches.
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"There's so many stunning places to visit here. Also, walking our two dogs was difficult before. Most of the time they just had to stay on the lead whereas up here they have a lot more freedom," said Liz.
Asked about the advantages and disadvantages of living in Caithness, she said: "The advantages are it is quiet and peaceful, quite rural but with everything you need, it has a low crime rate and is a safe place to bring up a family and there are plenty of places to take the dogs out. Overall, just a nicer place to be.
"The disadvantages are we are so far away from family and friends, it takes a while to travel anywhere, the road conditions are not the best in winter and there are not many big named retailers here but I am clutching at straws there."
Liz was so impressed with her new life in the far north she sent an email to the magazine Take A Break about her and Stephen's decision and won the £50 star letter that week.
"I was very surprised to win the star letter. I thought our story was interesting but not that interesting. A few people have said we are so brave for making the move but I am so glad we took the plunge," she added.