Superfan travels from Australia to meet star of Highland history show

An Australian superfan of an online series about Highland history has travelled all the way to Inverness to meet those behind the show.

Learn with Lorna started during the Covid lockdown as a home-schooling resource - but proved so popular that it is still going strong six years later.

The show, which has just broadcast its 260th episode, has established a dedicated audience across the globe with up to 4,000 people tuning in for each instalment.

Now host Lorna Steele-McGinn is staging a live event in Inverness after being inspired by loyal viewer Jen Wilson from Australia.

"We were contacted by one of our regular viewers, who has watched since episode one, saying: 'I'm coming over, let's do something' - and it grew arms and legs," Lorna explained.

"We are going to have cake, do a talk about the treasures of the Highland Archive Service and a series of displays of family trees and documents from right across the service.

"My colleagues are coming from Skye, Caithness and Lochaber and bringing collections with them as well, so it's going to be a real showcase of what the archive service has and does."

Jen, from Queensland, says she speaks to fellow enthusiasts every week as part of the Learn with Lorna online events.

"I just thought wouldn't it be great if I could come to Scotland and meet some of these people in person.

"I'm so excited it's happening."

Jen said she loved the show because it told the back story of the Highlands, the people and its places.

"I've been able to flesh out my family history and learn about where I've come from," she said.

"I do have some ancestors that came from the Highlands and now I feel like I know them, I know the places.

"They are not just names and dates on a piece of paper - they are actually real people to me now."

About 80 people will attend the live event on Thursday at the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness, which is run by High Life Highland.

Lorna, who works as a community engagement officer with the Highland Archive Service, streams the show live on Facebook, then uploads episodes to YouTube.

She has even been recognised 11,000 miles away while she was attending a Highland Games while on holiday in New Zealand.

Lorna said the interest in the show demonstrated why archives were important and why the stories told in them matter.

She said the most popular subjects included mental health, school days and people's personal diaries or correspondence.

One story which had a real impact was that of a young man called Malcolm Blane who died during World War One at the age of 22.

There are seven of his diaries stored at the archive centre, which were written by him from the age of nine. They are full of stories, colouring and school life.

"That just brings home the reality of this little boy, who grew up with all this potential and that life being cut short," says Lorna.

"I think that's a really good way of illustrating the millions of lives that were lost in that conflict."