Queen Mother visits Highland Games

The Queen Mother met well-wishers

The Queen Mother has braved pouring rain and strong winds to attend the Highland Games near her Scottish holiday home.

The event is held each year close to her northern residence - the Castle of Mey - at John O' Groats.

Castle of Mey: The Queen Mother's residence on the north coast of Scotland

Shielded by umbrellas, the Queen Mother, age 101, watched the tug-of-war contest.

The royal visit comes despite her recent blood transfusion for anaemia at a private London hospital.

The Queen Mother left the Royal Range Rover and walked, using her two sticks, to a makeshift wooden Royal Box.

The games are one of the highlights of the Queen Mother's annual holiday in Scotland. In past years she has presented the tug-of-war cup.

Bracing air

"She does like a good pull on the tug-of-war," said Mey Games chairman Charlie Simpson.

She had her own team, he added, but never took part herself.

The Queen Mother has been visiting the northern coast of Caithness since 1952.

This year proved no exception despite her recent hospital stay and 101st birthday celebrations last week.

She is said to love the bracing fresh air of the Scottish coast.