Are We Nearly There Yet? — A journey exploring Scotland’s milestones

Bruce Keith

Victoria Hall, Cromarty

This talk covers not just distances markers, but early methods of measurement and mapping and the travellers of the 18th and 19th centuries whose journals laid the foundation of the Scottish tourist industry. It also celebrates the ‘Top 50 Scots’, the sportsmen and women who have gone the extra mile in terms of speed and endurance to set new world records — so there’s something for everyone.

Bruce Keith has become an ambassador for the sustainable use of water resources globally. Last year as President of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), he travelled extensively from New Zealand to Finland via Africa.

This has left little time for golf, which is evidenced by his handicap. Bruce is a retired chartered surveyor and environmentalist. He spent his formative years in Inverness‐shire and his early career on several Perthshire and Aberdeenshire estates. He was with the Department of Agriculture in Edinburgh before migrating south of the border to become Chief Surveyor with English Nature. Bruce retired as Head of Property at SSE (the Hydro Board) nine years ago, since when he has written “Bridgescapes” on Scotland’s bridge building heritage, followed by “Are We Nearly There Yet?” — about Scottish Milestones. Not just distance markers but much else besides, he assures me, and it is on that journey that Bruce takes us this evening.

Cromarty History Society now meets on the third Tuesday of each month, September‐April and occasionally during the summer