The Royal Mail - bless 'em

I know we like to poke fun at the mail carriers, and this is not just a local phenomenon but world-wide.
This time of year with all the posted cards and packages, all mail carriers have their backs up against the wall trying their best to make deliveries in a timely fashion.

Scotland with it's remote lay-out and small villages dotting the landscape has been (no doubt) a challenge down through history. But, that hasn't seemed to hindered the mail getting through.

I once sent a package to a business in Inverness. I didn't have the completed address ...but had been assured by people down through the years ...that it shouldn't matter!

So I addressed it this way:

Harley's Pub and Grill
(upstairs) on the High Street
above a local dress shop
Inverness
Scotland       UK

2 years later I stopped by the Pub and there was the sign I'd sent them next to the mirror behind the bar.
The local carriers (no doubt) knew exactly where I intended the package to go. And had probably had a pint or two in the establishment down through the years themselves.

Another remarkable thing in Scotland is...
you can "Ride with the Royal Mail".

If you need to go to a remote area that no public transportation travels to...you can (with proper notification)
go to the local Post Office and request riding out to the area with the local Postman (woman). If you arrange it so you can normally hitch a ride back in a few days. Brilliant!

This is a very good way to have a "public service" actually serve the public, save petrol, and...
the postman know everyone and most everything going on in the local area, ...so your tour will be very informative in local lore.
So if you're ever in an area in Scotland where you'd like to venture out farther... but don't know how to get there... check with the Royal mail and see if they can help you out.

Happy Trails,
Linda