Another reason to travel on the Far North Line has opened in Brora. The Clyne Heritage Society, led by Dr Nick Lindsay, has nearly completed an ambitious project to convert the Old Clyne School to become the Brora Heritage and Clyne Kitchen. Dr Lindsay will be a familiar figure to those who attended our 2019 AGM & Conference in Brora, where he gave an excellent talk about the history of the Brora area.

King Charles visited on August 6th for the official opening. The 50-seat café and retail space opened to the public towards the end of August and the exhibition section will follow in the Autumn.

A feature of the outdoor patio area is a 5m-high sculpture, created by Jon Asanga, of a Megan Boyd salmon fishing fly made up of hundreds of stainless steel rods. In the fly fishing world Megan Boyd, who lived in nearby Kintradwell, was a legendary fly-tier.

The re-purposing of the old school was not a simple task, but the result is a first-class heritage hub and eatery.

The society has managed to secure the services of chef, Steven Oglesby, who previously worked at the Royal Marine Hotel in Brora, for some 20 years. The plan is for the café and gift shop to provide three-quarters of the revenue of the operation. The society employs Ross Lewin, who had previously always worked in hotels and hotel management, as Hub Manager.

This facility adds to an already attractive part of the Far North Line's route, and could soon become part of a day-trip-by-rail itinerary for visitors.