Scottish Counties Ride

Background

Having put together the English Counties Ride and one for Wales it seemed only right to look at the possibility of a Scottish Counties ride. As with the English counties I have gone with the historic counties rather than the current counties. These are slightly problematic - for a start they were not known as counties until the nineteenth century, being 'shires' before that. The list from 1890 up to the effective abolition of the counties in 1975 comes to 33 counties, including the two island shires of Zeitand (Shetland) and Orkney (although these were generally treated as one county and known separately as a 'Lordship' and an 'Earldom'). I have decided to only include the two islands as a special case, and to separate Ross and Cromarty into the two shires which existed before 1890 to bring the total for the mainland ride to 32 counties.

Completing the Ride
Touring Ride - In each of the county towns you visit you must take a photograph showing the building*, your ride flag, and your motorbike. These may be taken and submitted any time and there is no time restriction for visiting the county towns, so may be visited over several trips, months, or even years. Visiting 12 towns will gain a bronze certificate; 22 towns for a silver certificate; and all 32 towns to gain a gold certificate. For a Special Gold certificate you must visit all 32 towns on the mainland, and the two island capitals of Kirkwall and Lerwick.

Challenge Ride - Before completing the ride you must contact me (I suggest at least two weeks before intending to complete the ride). I will arrange to send you a number before you start the ride. You will need to take two photographs at each stop - one showing the building*, your ride flag, and your motorbike; the other showing your GPS unit showing the location's coordinates, the time, and a sticker with this number on it. (For further information see here). In addition, you will need to provide a copy of a printed receipt from where you start from; a printed receipt from where you finish; and printed receipts from some or all of the following locations - Dumfries, Berwick upon Tweed, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Wick. Further details of Challenge Rides can be found here.
For a bronze certificate you must visit 12 towns, provide start & finish receipts and a receipt from at least two of the six receipt locations.
For a silver certificate you must visit 22 towns, provide start & finish receipts and receipts from at least four of the six receipt locations.
For a Gold certificate you must visit all 32 towns; provide start & finish receipts and receipts from all six receipt locations.
For a Special Gold you must visit all 32 mainland towns, plus the two island capitals of Kirkwall and Lerwick; provide start & finish receipts and receipts from all six receipt locations, and ferry tickets to Orkney and to Shetland.

Landmarks
  County County Town Building
1 Aberdeenshire Aberdeen Aberdeen Market Cross
2 Angus (Forfarshire until 1928) Forfar Meffan Museum
3 Argyllshire Inverary Inverary Jail
4 Ayrshire Ayr Wallace Tower
5 Banffshire Banff Duff House
6 Berwickshire Berwick upon Tweed Berwick Barracks
7 County of Bute/ Buteshire Rothesay Rothesay Castle
8 Caithness Wick Wick Town Hall
9 Clackmannanshire Clackmannan Clackmannan Tower
10 Cromartyshire Cromarty Hugh Miller Institute
11 Dumfriesshire Dumfries Robert Burns' Statue
12 Dunbartonshire Dumbarton Dumbarton Castle
13 East Lothian (Haddingtonshire until 1921) Haddington Mercat Cross
14 Fife Cupar Cupar Cross
15 Inverness-shire Inverness Inverness Cathedral
16 Kincardineshire Stonehaven Dunnotter Castle
17 Kinross-shire Kinross Old Tollbooth
18 Kircudbrightshire Kirkudbright Old Jail
19 Lanarkshire Lanark William Wallace Statue
20 Midlothian (County of Edinburgh until 1890) Edinburgh Edinburgh Castle
21 Morayshire Elgin Elgin Cathedral
22 Nairnshire Nairn Nairn Fishwife Statue, Harbour
23 Peebleshire Peebles Old Parish Church
24 Perthshire Perth Black Watch Museum
25 Renfrewshire Renfrew Renfrew Community Museum
26 Ross-shire Dingwall Dingwall Town Hall
27 Roxburghshire Jedburgh Jedburgh Abbey
28 Selkirkshire Selkirk Sir Walter Scott Statue
29 Stirlingshire Stirling Stirling Castle
30 Sutherland Dornoch Dornoch Cathedral
31 West Lothian (Linlithgowshire until 1924) Linlithgow Linlithgow Palace
32 Wigtownshire Wigtown Wigtown Market Place
33* Orkney Kirkwall St Magnus Cathedral
34* Shetland Lerwick Lerwick Town Hall

Link to roadbook for Scottish Counties Ride

Paperwork
Application Form for Awards here.
Ride Record Sheet here.