Institute.

*** `Scotch myths' abounded as American film-maker and lecturer Tom Sterling took members and guests of the Bermuda Audubon Society on a whirlwind tour of Scotland.

But Mr. Sterling could be forgiven the odd lapse in fact -- and pronunciation -- as he took his audience on a tour from Hadrian's Wall at the border with England to the most northerly golf course in the British Isles.

And -- appropriately enough for a naturalist and wildlife expert -- he did a good job of exploding the "unspoilt'' image of the central highlands of Scotland.

From the destruction of the great Caledonian Forest, which once stretched into the lowlands, to the introduction of sheep by landowners -- which meant the forcible removal of hundreds of thousands of people to the colonies -- to the importation of a host of animals and trees from as far away as America, the Highlands have been mucked about with for centuries.

And perhaps the most poignant stop along the way was the battlefield of Culloden, when the then-Duke of Cumberland, later George IV, commanded the massive army which wiped out the largely Highland and Gaelic troops of Charles Edward Stewart in 1746, paving the way for the destruction of an entire culture.

A portrait of the Duke -- still known as Butcher Cumberland due to his English and Lowland Scots troops' enthusiasm in the aftermath of Culloden -- strangely enough, hangs in the Bermuda House of Assembly.

So, if they ever get around to tearing down the pictures of the more dubious former Speakers, Government might also consider removing George IV as well as an overdue nod in the direction of the abused and exploited elsewhere.

The war-torn history of Scotland -- whose people fought with each other when the English had prior engagements -- is marked by castles the length and breadth of the country.

And Mr. Sterling stopped off at Edinburgh, Stirling, the Royal holiday home of Balmoral, ruined Urquart, Doune (pronounced Doon not Doan, Mr. Sterling) and Dunrobin, the luxurious chateau-style seat of the notorious Sutherland family.

It was the Sutherlands -- mostly Elizabeth, Countess thereof -- who embarked on the "policy of improvement'' in the 18th century -- replacing centuries-old villages with Cheviot sheep, brought up from England, ironically.

The locals -- being old stick-in-the-muds and not inclined to be improved -- fought a rearguard action, but the judicious use of entire regiments and the torch rapidly led to entire counties being herded on to the "coffin ships'' used to transport the Gaels as far afield as Australia, in those days the equivalent of a moon shot.

Mr. Sterling, indeed, informed his audience that more Scots live abroad than live in Scotland -- one estimate is 35 million all told who would be entitled to Scots nationality, if they had nationality, of course, compared to the less than five million living in the country today. I just hope they don't all arrive home on the same day.

Still, lovely scenery all the same.

Raymond Hainey REVIEW REV