Mackenzie Routes: An Interview with Donald Mackenzie

I operate a small tourism business, Clan MacKenzie Routes, and am also the Chair of the Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland and the UK guess I had taken both my name and Clan history for granted when I was younger but when I started to investigate my family history, as many people do nowadays, I discovered that my great grandfather had left the Highlands and arrived in Edinburgh as a Gaelic speaker who had virtually no English nor any great ability to read and write because he felt there was no future for him in a’ Ghaidhealtachd (The Highlands) and indeed 2 of his sisters and one brother left for North America for the same reasons and he never met them again. I wanted to know why this happened and have travelled back through time and discovered the impact that Marriage, the Clearances, famine, and other events had on my own ancestors existence.

I operate a small tourism business, Clan MacKenzie Routes, and am also the Chair of the Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland and the UK guess I had taken both my name and Clan history for granted when I was younger but when I started to investigate my family history, as many people do nowadays, I discovered that my great grandfather had left the Highlands and arrived in Edinburgh as a Gaelic speaker who had virtually no English nor any great ability to read and write because he felt there was no future for him in a’ Ghaidhealtachd (The Highlands) and indeed 2 of his sisters and one brother left for North America for the same reasons and he never met them again. I wanted to know why this happened and have travelled back through time and discovered the impact that Marriage, the Clearances, famine, and other events had on my own ancestors existence.

I got involved with the Clan Mackenzie Society as I realised that there were likely to be many families with this as a common connection and wanted to see if I could trace my relatives who had gone across the Atlantic through the name MacKenzie. It was at the 5 yearly International Gathering in 2015 that I met many attendees who were there because of sharing either the name Mackenzie or genealogical links through their ancestors. Following this event, and realising that many people were as keen to find their family roots in Scotland as I was in North America, I started the small business of Clan MacKenzie Routes, which is a play on words, Roots as in Heritage and Genealogy and Routes as to where their forefathers might have stayed. I thoroughly enjoy meeting, not just MacKenzies, but all visitors in sharing the history and lands of this great Scottish Clan. This has involved travelling through some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland which the Mackenzie Clan controlled, from Kintail through Wester Ross to Assynt and Coigach, The Isle of Lewis and right from the West to East coast to the lands of Easter Ross and the Black Isle.

On the back of these business interests I was asked to become the Events Co-Ordinator for the Clan MacKenzie Society, which I do out with my business, and have organised events in 2016 in Glasgow around the Outlander theme (more of which later), 2017 Splash of Tartan at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2018 attending the Braemar Games in the Mackenzie lands there (Mar Lodge was once called Dalmore and was a MacKenzie residence), 2019 along with the Association of Highland Clans and the 1745 Association the tercentenary memorial of the Battle of Glenshiel. 2020 was to be our next event, the 5 yearly International Gathering held on the Isle of Lewis but sadly after 3 years planning had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. Obviously all these places can be visited with Clan MacKenzie Routes. These are fabulous places to visit in their own right but even more poignant with the MacKenzie connection. I have family connections to Slumbay near Lochcarron and one of the most incredible roads in Scotland is the Bealach na Ba (The Pass of the Cattle) which leads over to Applecross, again MacKenzie lands and I never tire of travelling over it for its views over Loch Kishorn and down to Applecross and Skye in the distance.

Unfortunately, like many in the tourism industry my business has suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic however as we keep saying Scotland will still be here in 2021 and I am accepting bookings for next year and beyond directly. There are set tours on the webpage but the greatest strength of the business is to create a Bespoke Tour for specific guests. Just get in touch and for a small, refundable deposit you can reserve your dates. They are filling fast as more people look to come back to Scotland in the future. I am also, at present, offering walking tours around Dunfermline (the Medieval Scottish Capital) and places of interest in Edinburgh including the Grave of Sir George Mackenzie, aka ‘Bluidy Mackenzie’ and his poltergeist.

As mentioned above, the Outlander effect not only had a huge impact on the Scottish Tourism industry but also for an awareness of the Clan MacKenzie. The fictional Castle in the series, Castle Leoch, (filmed at Doune Castle) is very similar in name to Castle Leod which is the Clan seat of The Earl of Cromartie, current Chief of Clan Mackenzie or Cabar Feidh, (translated as the Deer’s Antlers) bestowed on the Clan by King Alexander III. Realising the potential of Outlander, my business offers Outlander Filming Location tours but can also organise private visits to meet the Earl of Cromartie at Castle Leod or visits to Drumossie Moor, the site of the Battle of Culloden. What better way to see Outlander sites than with a real Mackenzie?

I am now also the Chair of the Clan Mackenzie Society and hope to be able to take the Society into the future by looking at our website and offering Society members access to genealogical information. If you are interested in joining please contact our membership secretary or join via the Society website. We also have a Facebook page where I post regularly so please feel free to follow that or my Mackenzie Routes business page.

To finish, there are many stories of the Clan Mackenzie, from murder, to fortune telling, to ruthlessness, to pioneers, to kidnap but the story that is probably most relevant to Edinburgh is the story of the Mackenzie poltergeist in Greyfriars Kirkyard. It is a story of the supernatural, mystery and intrigue but you’ll have to join me at the Graveyard to hear the full story!!