I have some sad news to report for regular visitors of Scourie Hotel. On the 25th of September Mary Hay passed away after a short illness.

I first visited the hotel in 1991 and have returned to the hotel on a regular basis ever since. One obvious reason for this is the fishing but there has always been so much more to a Scourie Hotel visit than that.

Current visitors will know Patrick and Judy Price but before that Mary and Ian Hay ran the hotel for many years and gave me my first introduction to it. I was always received with a hearty welcome, good food and the comforts that make a hotel a home away from home.

Their good humour and warmth have seen me through many blank days, bad weather and plagues of midges - in short everything a fisherman visiting Sutherland could ask for.

So it falls on me to say a big thank you to Mary and Ian Hay - not just from me but from all Scourie visitors of the past and present for the many happy hours we have spent there.

I'm sure all of our thoughts will be with Ian at this time.