I mentioned in this post that our journey up to and back down from Elgin last April turned out to be a peregrination through the heartland of the Highland League.

It meant I have now visited nearly all of the towns which have hosted past or present Highland League clubs during my lifetime.

The first of these would have been Inverness (home to Caledonian FC,* Clachnacuddin and Inverness Thistle*.) I have walked past Caledonian’s former Telford Street Park ground and been to a game at Clachnacuddin’s Grant Street Park but never saw Thistle’s ground, Kingsmills. I think I may have visited Dingwall (Ross County) around the same time. After that – or possibly before – it would have been Brechin (many times now) to see The Sons of the Rock play Brechin City at Glebe Park. Next up was probably Fort William. Another trip to Inverness saw us take in Nairn (Nairn County) and Forres (Forres Mechanics.)

I don’t think I went to Aberdeen (Banks O’ Dee, Cove Rangers,) until well after those trips.

Then on our first sojourn up to Orkney we passed through Brora (Brora Rangers) and Wick (Wick Academy.) A year or so later a journey up to Aberdeenshire saw us in Inverurie (Inverurie Loco Works,) Huntly and Turriff (Turriff United.) In 2019 we went to Peterhead and on to Fraserburgh. The year after that on another trip to Peterhead we visited Pitmedden (Formartine United.)

And so to last April’s journey, passing through Grantown-on-Spey (Strathspey Thistle) and Rothes before reaching Elgin (Elgin City) with a side trip to Lossiemouth. Then finally, on the way back home, Keith.

So, out of all the towns/cities to host clubs in the Highland League during my lifetime I have only Buckie (Buckie Thistle) and Banff (Deveronvale) to visit.

*The present SPFL club whose name contains these two descriptors was formed when Caledonian and Inverness Thistle merged in 1994 to ensure entry into the then SFL. That merged team, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, have never played in the Highland League.

Borough Briggs is the home of Elgin City FC.

This is the reason we made the trip up north in April. I had never visited Borough Briggs. And the mighty Sons of the Rock had a game there.

(Of current SPFL grounds the only ones I still have to visit are St Mirren Park, Paisley (I was at St Mirren’s old ground in Love Street,) Victoria Park, Dingwall (Ross County) and Central Park (Kelty Hearts,) though there are some others I haven’t photographed since it was a long time ago.

During World War 2 a pillbox was built on the west terracing (called, I believe, the Bank.) See here. Those nefarious Germans could have attacked from anywhere after all. Sadly it was demolished as part of the conditions for Elgin joining the SFL, as it then was, in 2000.

Borough Briggs from road:-

External facade:-

Opposite view from first above:-

East Goal:-

North enclosure from entrance gate:-

Main stand from east terrace:-

Inside North Enclosure, with west terrace beyond:-

Borough Briggs east Tterrace from North Enclosure:-

Main stand from west terrace:-

Dingwall has an impressive Boer War Memorial not far from the memorial to the twentieth century wars:-

It’s shaped as a tapered Celtic Cross surmounting a rectangular plinth:-

The dedication reads, “Erected by the officers non-commissioned officers and men past and present of the Seaforth Highlanders, Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany’s in memory of their comrades who lost their lives in South Africa 1899-1902.”

Lower panel, “Killed in Action or Died of Wounds”

South facing aspect. Names of those “Killed in Action or Died of Wounds”

Dingwall Free Church behind. Memorial’s north facing aspect. Names of “Killed in Action or Died of Wounds” and “Died of Disease or Accident”

Roadside location:-

Dingwall’s War Memorial unusually takes the form of a wall surmounted by a kilted soldier:-

It lies in a small memorial garden just off the main street:-

Dedication and names. “In memory of officers NCOs and men of the Royal Burgh and Parish of Dingwall who fell in the Great Wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.
How bless’d how glorious they who bravely fall their lives devoted at their country’s call.”
Great War Names on main body, WW2 names to either side.

This was one of two bookshops we found in Dingwall.

It has a great name.

Dingwall is in the Highland region, and was formerly the county town of Ross and Cromarty.

None of these is major deco but they have at least a bit of the look.

This bank is possibly 1950s, though:-

This one’s more like it. Rule of three in centre and side windows, three end windows, the glazing itself:-

Reverse view: rule of three in windows, plus flat roof portion:-

A sturdier looking building:-

Kyle of Lochalsh is a village situated at the mouth of Loch Alsh, ten or so miles from Dornie and Eilean Donan Castle.

It is perhaps most famous for being the terminus of the Kyle of Lochalsh Railway line, which nominally runs from Dingwall but the trains go on to Inverness.

Kyle of Lochalsh Railway Station:-

The Station is effectively on the pier. Handy for goods traffic:-

Part of railway line:-

Signal Box, Kyle of Lochalsh, taken from same bridge as above:-

The village is quite small but as I recall represented the big bad wider world of fleshpots and the like for the inhabitants of the Applecross peninsula in His Bloody Project

The most impressive building in Lochalsh is the Lochalsh Hotel which has minor Art Deco leanings:-

Only a mile (or less) away is the Skye Bridge. (No need now to take a boat – bonny or otherwise – over the sea to Skye.) Skye hills in background:-

In the village there is a memorial in the form of a defused mine:-

Mine memorial inscription:-

I see from the club website that Sons have been included in the north area for the purposes of the new format of the League Cup (or Betfred Cup as it is officially known.)

Given that one of the major reasons for change was to have ties between sides more or less local to each other this decision seems utterly bizarre.

It is however a consequence of Sons relative success in that we have been included in the second layer of seeds due to finishing 8^th in the second tier of the SPFL last season.

There is a possible nightmare scenario of trips to Dingwall or Inverness, Peterhead or Cove Rangers.