Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:

Q1. William Alexander Baxter

Q2. Dufftown

The initial clues seem to place us near the village of Cullen and the town of Buckie, in the Speyside/Moray region of Scotland. The dismantled railway described by the puzzle author, which was built by the Great North of Scotland Railway company (GNSR), is probably the Moray Coast Raiway, which used to run from Portsoy, to Lossie Junction. Couldn't find a reference detailing a castle in Buckie but the one in Findochty village, which has Buckie as part of its address, is thought to be of sixteenth century origin.

Constantine II appears to have had two sons, Cellach (died c ad 937) and Indulf, who some of the references I checked, claim died in the Battle of the Bauds, near Cullen, fighting some Scandinavian tourists c960, 961 or 962ad. Travelling west from Buckie would bring us to the Spey Viaduct, which some sources claim, is around nine hundred and forty seven feet or three hundred and sixteen yards in length. It seems to be part of the Speyside Way hiking trail now.


Going south on the  East bank of the Spey, would take us to the town of Fochabers, where the food manufacturer, William Alexander Baxter was born c 25th September 1877, at George Lane. One of Baxter's products, was soup, which is probably what the 'super chap' hint refers to.


Nine miles south east of Fochabers, lies the town of Keith, which is where the Keith and Dufftown heritage railway (aka 'The Whisky Line'), can be found in. From some of the sources I checked, it does seem to use a diesel locomotive and passes through a station at Drummuir. Drummuir has a Victorian Gothic style castle which appears to be owned by Diageo now. Drummuir castle was built c 1847.

The heritage railway stops in Dufftown, which sounds more like a place which makes beer but there are more distilleries than you can shake a stick at there and it was here, c 19th December 1839 in Conval street, that the distiller, William Grant was born. Grant appears to have been a very hard working polymath and entrepreneurial type, who had many different jobs while saving for thirty years to buy the Glenfiddich distillery. Balvenie castle c 12th century, is situated in the town.

N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink, posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment related to solving the puzzle, he will endeavour to publish it.