Bruce Sandison tastes the historical

riches in the countryside around Elgin

James Ramsay Macdonald found that the First World War seriously interfered with golf. Macdonald, then the leader of the Independent Labour Party, along with Keir Hardie and others advocated a policy of pacifism and peace by negotiation, rather than by recourse to force of arms. Macdonald had seen for himself the nightmare of trench warfare and he was sickened by the senseless slaughter.

Not so his fellow members of the Moray Golf Club near Lossiemouth. Macdonald was branded ``traitor and coward'' and expelled from the club in 1916. When Macdonald became Britain's first Labour Prime Minister in 1924 an attempt to have him reinstated failed. The club relented in 1929 when Macdonald was again Prime Minister, but he did not even bother to reply.

Angst has a long provenance amidst the fertile lands of the Laich of Moray, the most famous example of which being the burning of Elgin Cathedral, Elgin town, Pluscarden Priory, Forres, and anything else that happened to get in the way, by Alasdair Mor Mac an Righ; better known as the Wolf of Badenoch, or Big Alasdair to his cronies. The deed was done 606 years ago.

Alasdair was the illegitimate child of King Robert II and had married the Countess of Ross for her lands rather than for her looks. When Alasdair discovered that the marriage contract excluded the lands he deserted his wife for a mistress. His estranged wife complained to Bishop Bur of Moray who, eventually, excommunicated Big Alasdair; thus prompting this less than friendly visitation upon Elgin Cathedral.

I suppose, even in those days, it paid to read the small print. Big Alasdair was made to beg forgiveness, on his knees on the front stoup of the Blackfriar's Priory in Perth, before the assembled Scottish Court.

Unrepentant, he returned to the pleasures of his mistress and finally shuffled off this mortal coil, allegedly as the forfeit for losing a game of chess to the Devil at Ruthven Castle near Kingussie.

Elgin and the surrounding area is perfect walking country; undemanding physically, but rich in wildlife, flora, fauna and evidence of Scotland's turbulent past. The ruined cathedral dominates Elgin, but the first significant religious building in the area was constructed at Spyne, to the north of Elgin. When Ramsay Macdonald checked in his final scorecard in 1937 he was laid to rest at Spyne.

The cathedral at Elgin, known as the Lantern of the North, was extended over several centuries, from AD 1224 onwards, and only fell into disrepair following the Reformation; the quaint title given to that period in Scottish history when so many wondrous works of art and architecture were ``reformed'' by Protestant zealots; as witness the local minister who, in 1640, aided and abetted by the lairds of Innes and Brodie, ``broke up the rood screen for firewood''.

The central tower collapsed in 1711 and from then until 1807, when preservation work commenced, the site was used as a quarry; old stones carted off during the hours of darkness and built into surrounding dwellings. However, much of the thirteenth-century work can still be seen, notably the choir, and the fifteenth-century nave and chapter house. Look out also for the grave of that arch-villain of the nineteenth-century Highland Clearances, Patrick Seller, who so callously carried out the eviction of the people of Strathnaver in Sutherland.

The town itself has a number of fine buildings and monuments: the seventeenth-century Little Cross, fifteenth-century Greyfriars Chapel, the 1694 house of Duff of Braco; the memorial on Lady Hill to George, the 5th Duke of Gordon (1770-1836), who raised the Gordon Highlanders; famous for their part in the Battle of Waterloo when they hitched a lift into the fight by grasping hold of the stirrups of the horses of the Scots Greys and ran at the enemy yelling ``Scotland for Ever!''

A short distance south from Elgin is Millbuies Country Park complete with well-laid out, informative woodland walks including a ``Tree Trail'' and ``Plant Trail''. There is also an excellent, artificial loch, created in the early years of this century when a meltwater channel was dammed. This is regularly stocked by the local council with first-class quality brown trout for the enjoyment of both local and visiting anglers alike.

Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted and the best way to begin your adventure in Elgin is to obtain a copy of Richard Gordon's excellent guide, The Complete Moray Rambler.

Further information can be obtained from: Moray Tourist Board, 17 High Street, Elgin, Morayshire, telephone 01343 543388, fax 01343 552982.

I suppose, also, if you intend to play golf or visit the cathedral, you should perhaps check over your moral armoury as well...... just in case you need it.