Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 32 on 13/04/2007.

This article is 14 months old and some information provided may be time sensitive. Please check all details of events, tours, opening times and other information before travelling or making arrangements.

Making the journey

In the last issue we looked at how to about researching your family tree. But how do you go about actually visiting the home of your ancestors? Dominic Roskrow reports

If you‘ve been bitten by the genealogy bug and decide that you want to take your enthusiasm to its logical conclusion and actually travel to the land of your forefathers, then you should heed three pieces of advice: prepare for your trip properly, don’t cut financial corners when employing a travel company, and be prepared for the emotional rollercoaster which will surely follow.

In the last issue we outlined how to set about compiling your family tree, and we suggested that a substantial investment in time was required in order to achieve very much. That same sort of commitment should be invested when planning a trip, too.

“Once you have compiled your family tree you need to start researching the places you want to visit,” says Peter Gray, who has run the company Scottish Ancestral Trail with his wife for the last three and a half years.

“It may be that you can get a company in Scotland like ours involved to help you draw up a comprehensive itinerary. Certainly there should be a flow of emails between people in Scotland and the person travelling there weeks and even months before so that everything is planned properly.

“It’s amazing but there are people who turn up and knock on the door of the local registry offices expecting them to be able to tell them all about their great great uncle Jimmy or arrive in Edinburgh expecting the information they want to be to hand. It’s just not going to happen that way.

“Planning a route around Scotland is important, too, because it’s.....

To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Scotland Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.

By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Scotland Genealogy

Page number : 41