Groom with a view: Highland registrars' outdoor duties

Highland registrars have travelled by boat and mountain gondolas as well as taking part in hikes and crossing rivers by foot to perform their duties.

A report to Highland Council said the job had become increasingly challenging due to the popularity of tying the knot in the region's beauty spots.

Nuptials have taken place in hard-to-reach locations in Skye and Lochaber.

A ceremony held at a bothy in the Cairngorms involved a river crossing and two-mile (4km) walk.

The wedding took place at Ruigh Aiteachain, a hillwalkers' shelter in Glen Feshie near Kingussie.

Of Scotland's 32 authorities, Highland Council had the fifth highest number of marriages in 2019 with 1,487, according to the report. Dumfries and Galloway was top with 4,132.

Highland also had the third highest number of civil partnerships - six - after Glasgow with 17 and Edinburgh with 23.

The Covid pandemic caused cancellations and postponements in 2020.

In their report to next week's communities and place committee, Highland Council officials said: "The registration team do their best to accommodate all requests, taking into account the health and safety of staff, and the resourcing required to meet some of our more unusual locations.

"However, this also brings challenges that need to be managed including the remoteness of locations which may require a member of the team to be out-of-the office for the best part of the day - often travelling to a remote location by car, boat and foot."

Popular outdoor locations for ceremonies have included The Old Man of Storr, a famous geological feature on Skye, which takes about 45 minutes to reach on foot.

Registrars have also taken boat trips to attend ceremonies on Loch Coruisk on Skye and on Loch Ness near Drumnadrochit, and walked into parts of Glen Coe.

The officials have also made 45-minute hikes up to the Bone Caves at Inchnadamph. The caves in Sutherland are well-known for the discoveries of ancient remains of animals, including those of a polar bear.

They have also ridden The Nevis Range gondola to carry out duties at the snowsports resort near Fort William, and pulled on wellies to splosh across a causeway to get to weddings at ruined Castle Tioram on Loch Moidart in Lochaber.

Humanist celebrant Gordon Bond told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that weddings were a "massive adventure", adding: "Every person's wedding day is individual, so whatever they decide is what we go with."

Zoe Burke, editor of weddings website Hitched, said couples were spoilt for choice when looking for setting in Scotland.

She said: "You've got incredible scenery and incredible historic buildings.

"I like this idea of people going on a journey for their wedding, it has a bit of a Lord of the Wedding Rings vibe."