Prince Of Wales Toasts Caithness Distillery's First Birthday

The Prince of Wales has visited a distillery marking its first birthday on a tour of Caithness in the Highlands.

Charles visited the Dunnet Bay Distillery, home of Rock Rose gin, which is run by husband and wife team Martin and Claire Murray.

The couple are celebrating a year since the sale of their first bottle and were delighted the Prince, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, could join them.

Mr Murray said: To think that it's a year to the day since we started the first pre-sale and now we've got a royal visit, it's just incredible.''

The Prince, who wore a Rothesay tartan, was shown around the small distillery, which features a special dome used to grow unusual botanicals for use in the gin and a rockery which has been created for producing juniper berries.

He was asked to seal a bottle of the finished product in the distinctive blue wax used by the company before sampling some of the gin himself, complete with a garnish of toasted rosemary.

Mrs Murray said: He seemed to like it a lot. It's been quite a day.''

Earlier in the day the Prince visited the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at North Highland College in Thurso, which is marking its 15th year in operation.

He visited the Centre for Energy and the Environment department and heard from staff about their research into peatlands, micro-plastics and pharmaceuticals in the environment.

Charles also showed an interest in work monitoring seabirds and salmon migration, and was shown the college's catamaran used for carrying out field research in the Pentland Firth.

The tour was led by ERI director Professor Stuart Gibb who said: We were delighted to welcome The Duke of Rothesay back to the ERI and have the opportunity to provide an update on some of our cutting-edge environmental research.

That we are also celebrating 15 years since the ERI opened its doors gave us good cause for a double celebration.''

The third stop on the tour was the Society of Caithness Artists' 80th anniversary exhibition at Thurso High School, where Charles was shown the work of more than 100 artists.