A 50-strong group from Bavaria have been enjoying some Banffshire hospitality as they visited the area in an attempt to rekindle a historic connection.
Historic Banffshire and Landkreis Kronach were first twinned in 1973 with young people from Scotland travelling to Bavaria on a regular basis – however, no exchanges had been conducted for the last 20 years.
That came to an end with the arrival of the pupils and staff from Frankenwald Gymnasium who arrived in Banffshire to restore the links between the two areas.
Visits to a distillery were on the agenda for the group as was a trip to the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay, while a shopping trip and tour was also arranged at Buckie’s Tesco.
The group were also guests of pupils and staff at Keith Grammar School and took time out to experience a traditional Scottish ceilidh in Keith.
Principle teacher of modern language at Keith Grammar and twinning association member Lisa Bayliss commented: “The Historic Banffshire Kronach Twinning Association are indebted to all those who have made this visit a success.
“For the last three years S2 pupils studying German at Keith Grammar School have had pen-friends from Frankenwald Gymnasium and a number of our more musical pupils have recently returned from a visit to Kronach where they played for the traditional Schutzenfest with the Strathspey Fiddlers.”
Further information on the historic links between the two regions can be found on the Twinning Association Facebook page.