More of Phil's Scottish ancestors

When he was 24 James Foster, one of Phil's ancestors, was placed in charge of cattle on a ship sailing from Leith in Scotland to Hobart in Tasmania. It was 1824 and he was from the Aberdour/Auchtertool area on the north side of the Forth. Several years later he was granted 200 acres of land on the recommendation of his employer. It must have been a wonderful windfall for a young agricultural labourer.

We went to have a look at the area that he came from. Firstly Aberdour, where James was baptised, which has a castle, a delightful harbour and even a little beach, and then Auchtertool where he was born, which is higher inland. We had a coffee in the pub there called the 'Kiwi' because an Anzac owned it for a while after the second world war - it used to be called 'Crossways'.

And later that afternoon we visited the little village of Fowlis Easter near Dundee - so close that you can see Dundee and the Forth of Tay across the fields. The Yeaman family lived in this village in the 1700s. The village green is very pretty. Unfortunately the church was locked.