Today we were in Angus territory which is where the Picts orginated. Their main claim to fame is that they were the only tribe to ever make the Romans turn around and give up the fight, with the Roman Army eventually retreating behind the relative safety of Hadrian’s Wall.

To find out a little about the people we now know as Picts (they were called Picti or “the painted ones” by the Romans) we visited a display at Pictavia in the Castle Brechin Centre. It was a fascinating display and very interactive. Add to that an extremely affable and talkative gentleman on the front counter by the name of Iain (who, by the way, called me “well-preserved” when he discovered I was Alex’s mother rather than her sister. Although I’m not entirely sure if that was a compliment coming from someone working in a museum – perhaps I’m just an old fossil!)