Sunday, 12 February 2012

Sunday Times Where Was I?

Near as I can figure it this week and it's again a tricky one to call, because the Romans had forts and encampments all over Aberdeenshire, the answers are:

1) Raedykes

2) Inverbervie

The author in question was Norman Douglas (who was a very dodgy geezer by all accounts), one of his suspected birthplaces was Tilquhillie Castle near Banchory. Eight miles along a southeast bearing from there takes you to Raedykes near Stonehaven (there are several Roman encampments in the vicinity but this one is a prime candidate for the site of the battle of Mons Grapius). Stonehaven is where Baron Reith was born in 1889 and Dunnottar castle was the location for some of the scenes in the 1990 film 'Hamlet'. If you travel south west from there, you come to the town of Inverbervie, where David II of Scotland (mother Elizabeth de Burgh ) landed on the 2nd June 1341. Inverbervie is also where the designer of the ship 'Cutty Sark' , Hercules Linton was born in 1836. Cutty Sark is a type of shirt which the witch 'Nannie' in the poem 'Tam O' Shanter' wore.

If the guy that writes this puzzle was in the army, he'd be up on a charge for a friendly fire incident because he is not good at measuring distances (Mulligan, you're dropping your damn barrage on our position!). According to google maps, Inverbervie is not ten miles as the crow flies from Dunnottar Castle. He must be using the odometer on the car to take his readings......(It could be of course that he is using a different map)

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