A special guest met an old friend at the Dumfries Aviation Museum this week.
Sir Chay Blyth, the first man to sail single-handed, non-stop westwards around the world, paid a visit to the Heathhall site with his former parachute regiment colleague Jim Scott from Ae.
The pair were given a tour by Peter Howieson around the new airborne forces section at the attraction.
Sir Chay said: “Jim and I were in 3 Para together and training together as well.
“He lives close by and is a member here. We correspond quite often and I’m up here on holiday – I’m only about an hour away – so we’ve come to take a look at the museum.
“There’s a lot of historical stuff. The addition of the Airborne Forces section and some of the planes, like the Hunter, bring back a lot of memories from the 1960s.
“It’s been good, it’s been nostalgic. It’s amazing what they’ve, done especially with the Spitfire restoration. It’s just amazing the work and dedication that’s gone into it, to bring it up from the loch bed.”
In 1971 Sir Chay, from Hawick, became the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world, aboard the yacht British Steel, and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
He was knighted in 1997 for services to sailing.
Jim said: “We were talking and he said he would be in the area so I said we could come along and see the section. It’s been great.”
Museum curator David Reid said: “It was great to have Jim and Sir Chay here.
“The airborne forces are a brotherhood and we could listen to their amazing stories all day.”
.png?w=600)
