As everyone gets used to the fact it’s now 2023, we thought it was a good time to look back for a minute.
We had our fair share of news in the north in 2022, from Moray to the islands and down to Oban.
The 10 reporters in the north team all had ideas about which were the best stories in the patch.
There were too many opinions – so we thought we’d let you decide.
Here is a look back on some of the most-read stories of last year.
Renee and Andrew MacRae
We couldn’t write a review of 2022 without mentioning the landmark court case of the year.
Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son Andrew disappeared in November 1976. The Inverness housewife’s car was spotted ablaze on the A9.
In September, almost 46 years on, Bill MacDowell, now 81, was found guilty of their murders and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
We were there in the court, analysing the evidence as we heard alongside the jury at the Inverness Justice Centre.
We cast an eye over MacDowell’s own statements to police all that time ago, read out in court by a senior officer.
And we took stock of his wife Rosemary’s 2022 testimony, where she faced questions in the witness box.
Read our coverage on our Renee and Andrew MacRae page.
Hermes and Evri delivery disasters
A change of name from Hermes to Evri didn’t stop you searching for the infamous delivery company.
Maybe it’s because the stakes are so much higher when you live in a part of the world without quite as many major shops.
Online shopping should be the answer for many remote and rural communities, the ultimate leveller of purchasing power.
But whatever it is, a delivery charge quote of £200 million and a backlog of parcels to the north certainly struck a chord.
The naked community council hacker
Well, you wouldn’t confuse this Argyll story with many others.
Oban Community Council’s May meeting took a turn for the unexpected when an uninvited guest joined.
Said guest happened to be in the bath and began speaking to members of the community council using lewd comments.
The man in the picture later said his photo was stolen for the Zoom meeting takeover.
Should Inverness be demoted from the Capital of the Highlands?
This one was definitely a talker.
For many of us (probably mostly those living in Inverness, to be fair), the only city in the Highlands is a natural capital.
It’s got most of the people, businesses, shops and services. And a Nando’s.
But are those living outwith the city boundaries sick of what they see as an Inverness-centric world?
The answer to that question – when we asked it – seemed to be “yes”. One suggestion for a new seat of power was Castletown in Caithness.
Finding a home in the Hebrides
Our community reporter Eve has recently set up home in North Uist.
She knows what it’s like to live the island life – and knows that some of the things said about rural places is nothing more than cliche.
This inspired her to find others like herself who have arrived for the first time or returned to the Western Isles.
Finding a home in the Hebrides is an occasional series that covers all walks of life.
They range from the vets who came back to the therapist who gave up the bright lights of London, via a holidaying French artist.
Carbisdale Castle and Arisaig House
When it comes to property, we all like to see how the other half live.
We told the stories of two impressive homes that changed hands in 2022.
London barrister Samantha Kane became the owner of Carbisdale Castle in Sutherland in a £1m-plus deal last year.
Famously the castle built out of spite, it went on to be a youth hostel and was then to become luxury apartments.
But Ms Kane has now stepped in and recently gave us an inside look at the start of an estimated £8m-£10m renovation.
Further south and west, we told how Brexit-backing tycoon Jeremy Hosking bought Arisaig House and was also involved in negotiations 14-bedroom country house in the west Highlands for a whopping £2.8 million.
Elgin high street and masterplan
Although this is a saga that started before 2022, last year we revealed what £18 million in regeneration cash could do for Elgin.
We also told of the ups and downs of the high street in what has been a tough year.
There were apologies for one promised project that failed to materialise, but good news with new start-ups.
Academy Street’s car ‘ban’
Halfway through last year, we got a glimpse of what a new Academy Street design could look like – and councillors started to discuss the options.
But the plans involved effectively banning cars from one of the city’s main streets, and businesses didn’t like it.
One to keep an eye on into the new year.
Buckie by-election
In August, Buckie Lib Dem councillor Chris Price stood down after just 103 days in the job.
There was fury as critics said Mr Price’s party should pay for the by-election.
We followed the chaos that ensued, as each party fielded a new candidate and the wheels of local government turned.
The eventual winner of the seat was the SNP’s John Stuart.
Lossie gulls
In 2022, we were part of a wider project Spotlight on Seagulls.
But in among the terror on Aberdeen’s Union Street as gulls fought for discarded food, and the birds stealing sandwiches ad crisps from shops, we found Lossiemouth had a real problem.
Sean McAngus visited Lossie at 3am (that’s right, 3AM) to check exactly how bad the noise was.
And even in daytime, shop customers were at risk from the birds.
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