On August 6, 1901, as reported in the Calgary Herald:
“Karl Creelman the young Nova Scotian who has been making a trip round the world awheel has reached John O’Groats house in the north of Scotland”.
John O’Groats is the very northeastern tip of Great Britain. It is described as a coastal village with very little to offer tourists except for its location of unspoilt scenery, access to Orkney Island, and a quirky history.
The name John O’Groats was derived from one of the first residents in the area, Jan de Groot, who arrived from The Netherlands in the fifteenth century and rented a “pennyland” –– an allocation of a plot of land. The lot size of a pennyland varied and was proportional to the land value. Land that could cultivate crops or sustain cattle was smaller than a pennyland and considered more valuable.
By all accounts, Jan had quite a sizeable lot and took advantage of the location of his land, operating a ferry between his land and Orkney Island. He had exclusive rights for this passage and could charge passengers 2 pence a trip, becoming relatively prosperous.
Jan married and had seven sons, and the legend is that the children fought about family rank and seniority, each wanting to take over the profitable ferry business. So, as an equalizer, Jan built an octagonal house with eight doors, one for each son and one for himself and his wife. Then he made an eight-sided table for the men to eat where no one was the “head of the table”, or perhaps everyone was sitting at the head?!
There’s nothing to substantiate the story of the table. Still, it’s speculated that perhaps there was an eight-sided house, but more likely, it was constructed in a design similar to the windmills of Jan’s homeland.
Today, there is no evidence of that original house, except for a mound of earth near the town hotel marking the site. All that remains are his remains! Jan is buried at Canisbay church cemetery, and his tombstone is located inside the church for protection from the weather.
Karl's travels through Scotland were very much of his own accord. By this point, he had technically circumvented the world and was simply venturing to locations of interest, or perhaps in the case of John O’Groats, he wanted to make it to that very tip of Britain. Irrespective, from here, Karl started to travel west again to Glasgow.
However, if you are a regular reader of the Karl Chronicles, you know I also indulge my interests and will often deviate temporarily from Karl’s route. So dear reader, stay tuned next week as we get sidetracked on Orkey Island.
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The Karl Journey is now registered as an official expedition with the Royal Geographical Society