Living with Clans and Castles

The Burning of the Clavie

2012-01-12T20:47:00.000Z

Though my calendar shows 12 January, it is actually January 1st ... according to the Julian Calendar, accepted in Britain until 1752 (in Alaska until 1867 and Russia until 1917).

That means last night must have been Hogmanay and a night of celebration! And so it was for the folk of Burghead in North East Scotland who celebrate with a fire festival, the Burning of the Clavie, every 11 January.

A burning tar barrel is carried flaming through the streets and burning staves are given to residents to bring them luck in the New Year. Finally the clavie forms the nucleus of a bonfire on the rampart of an ancient Pictish fort. Burghead was the heart of the northern Pictish kingdom from the 4th century until destroyed by the Vikings in the 9th century.

What is it about Scotland and fire festivals? At Hogmanay in Stonehaven near Aberdeen locals make up balls of chicken wire which they fill with flammable material and march through the streets, swinging the burning balls round their heads, accompanied by a pipe band.

In Shetland at ceremonies called Up Helly Aa they throw burning torches into a replica viking ship.

It's all a wonderful excuse for bringing the community together and brightening up the long nights with a good bonfire and a party!

Christmas for a King in 1716

2011-12-22T17:47:00.000Z

The best known Jacobite rising was of course the 1745 which ended with the disastrous Battle of Culloden. But it was the 1715 that had the most chance of success. Queen Anne died in August 1714 and although there were 56 better claimants, a non English speaking (but Protestant) German princeling was brought over to be the next king. Many people were unhappy; there were impromptu riots in English cities and armed rebellions in northern England and Scotland. The rightful king, Bonnie Prince Charlie's father James, took an extraordinarily long time to lend his presence to those who wished to secure the crown for him. Had he come earlier, things might have been different!

James arrived (in disguise) at Peterhead on 23 December 1716 accompanied by just six gentlemen companions. No preparations had been made but he was offered the Earl Marischal's house at Fetteresso near Stonehaven. The Earl himself was in Perth with the Jacobite army, only arriving at Fetteresso on the 27th. The weather was foul and the king fell ill with the ague. He thus spent Christmas, still incognito, ill in bed in a strange, cold, house without a host or hostess (and a price of £100,000 on his head!). I doubt there were many presents.

My broken leg and I are being looked after by the excellent staff at Raigmore hospital, Inverness, this Christmas. It will be a whole lot more pleasant than that of the would-be James VIII of Scotland on his first visit to this country in 1716!

I wish you all a Christmas fit for a king!

PS. For more on Jacobites and Christmas, have a look at my last Christmas post.

Remembrance Day

2011-11-10T08:18:00.000Z

I was delighted to read that traffic in Inverness will stop for two minutes at 11.00 tomorrow, 11 November, to mark the memory of all those servicemen who fell in the First World War and subsequent conflicts. This move which augments tributes that will be paid at War Memorials throughout the land this Sunday is a welcome move to bring this extraordinary sacrifice into people's daily lives.

I was at Eilean Donan Castle recently, looking at the memorial to the MacRaes who gave their lives in the two wars. I re-read the poem by John MacRae, a Canadian, which led to the poppy becoming the emblem of Remembrance:

In Flanders fields the poppies grow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; whilst in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, the British Army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties - that's nearly the population of Inverness.

I, too, will be pausing for two minutes at 11.00 tomorrow.

Guy Fawkes Day and the 'Winter Queen'

2011-11-05T15:10:00.002Z

Today is an ideal Guy Fawkes Day - clear, crisp and a Saturday. There will be fireworks throughout the United Kingdom tonight and massive bonfires topped with a 'guy', a stuffed effigy of Guy Fawkes who, on 5 November 1605, hoped to make a bonfire of the Houses of Parliament thereby killing the king.

The king in question was King James VI of Scotland (right), son of Mary Queen of Scots, and recently crowned James I of England. Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were aggrieved that James, a Protestant (albeit with a Roman Catholic mother and wife) was not resisting anti-Catholic legislation.

The story twists and turns and is well told here and here. In essence the plot was that with the king and his elder son dead, his nine year old daughter Elizabeth would become Queen of a newly Catholic country. Well, Fawkes was discovered on 4 November and Elizabeth grew up to marry the German Frederick V, Elector Palatinate. For just a few months in the winter of 1619/1620 Frederick became King of Bohemia, and known as 'The Winter King'; thus Elisabeth acquired her moniker 'Winter Queen'.

Elisabeth, who was born in Falkland Palace in Fife and brought up at Linlithgow Palace near Edinburgh, would surely have considered herself a Scot; her portrait hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. It is therefore doubly ironic that Elizabeth whom Guy Fawkes wished to crown as a Catholic Queen is remembered principally as the Grandmother of George I, who was preferred to the Cathoic James Stuart, the exiled de jure king, when Queen Anne died in 1714. George, a Protestant, became the first monarch of the House of Hanover, leapfrogging more than 50 Roman Catholics who had a better claim to the throne! There followed 32 years of Jacobite Risings, seeking to right this perceived wrong.

Elizabeth died in England, whilst visiting her nephew Charles II who was fond of her and insisted that some of the 'barbarous' names in his new territories across the Atlantic were named after her, hence the Elizabeth River in Southeastern Virginia and Cape Elizabeth in Maine.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Shinty/Hurling International

2011-10-29T22:30:00.002Z

I went down to Bught Park in Inverness today to see an International... Scotland v Ireland playing the hybrid rules that combine Scotland's national game of Shinty with its Irish brother, Hurling.

I once watched a Shinty game with an American client, and remember describing it as hockey with fewer rules. He said, 'Mmmh, strikes me as more like organised violence'. This was what we enjoyed today.

Watching the game, I was struck by the difference in the two sticks. As you can see from this advertisement, the Hurling stick has a flat surface and the Irish proved very skilled at picking up the ball, running with it tossing it up and hitting. The Shinty stick is better suited to hitting off the ground and this was where the Scottish points came from.

The word 'Shinty' probably comes from the Gaelic sinteag, a leap or bound, which may also be the root of the word 'shindig', a riotous party. The first reference to Shinty is actually in Kirk Session records of the City of Glasgow in 1589.

Hurling, probably Shinty's ancestor, has earlier roots: a 12th century Irish document refers to Cuchulainn, a mythological Celtic hero, who won fame by driving a ball into the snarling mouth of a guard dog.

Shinty or Camanachd is a part of Scotland's Gaelic heritage. In the bloody aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 1746 tartan was banned, carrying weapons was banned, bagpipes were banned and there were attempts to ban both Shinty and Golf (that other Scottish game). But the subsequent Highland Clearances dispersed Highlanders and their Celtic culture all over the world; Shinty spread with them and there is now a US Camanachd Association. Golf seems to have caught on there too.

In Canada, they say, the game changed a little. In 1800 Scottish immigrants played on ice at Windsor; and ice hockey was born.

And what happened today?

Well, it was a bit like the Scottish Rugby team's performance in the recent World Cup in New Zealand: doing well at half time (11 - 5) but ultimate defeat (14 - 15). Both sides played well and there were remarkably few casualties.

Queen Victoria's Love of Scotland

2011-10-13T22:03:00.000Z

I've been working a few weekends recently and, now that the season is over, today I took a day off - a walk down the lovely River Findhorn...

... and a cup of tea at nearby Logie Steading, where there is a particularly good second hand bookshop. I fell prey to a book on Scottish surnames, a volume of Nigel Tranter's Fortified Houses of Scotland, and the book that has kept me engrossed for the past several hours, Ronald W Clark's Balmoral. No wonder Queen Victoria fell in love with Scotland when she visited first in 1842!

At Dunkeld the Royal Party was met by the Atholl Highlanders, armed with the Lochaber axe. Received in an immense marquee, they were regaled with a gargantuan menu, a display of Highland sword-dancing and a taste of Atholl Brose. Taymouth Castle took things to a higher level. The firing of the guns," Victoria recorded in her Journal, "the cheering of the great crowd, the picturesqueness of the dresses, the beauty of the surrounding country, with its rich background of wooded hills, altogether formed one of the finest scenes imaginable. Lord and Lady Breadalbane took us upstairs, the hall and stairs being lined with Highlanders". If anything more were needed, dusk brought not only fireworks but 'Welcome Victoria - Albert' spelled out in hundreds of oil lamps, and the blaze of bonfires from a dozen nearby summits" .

Taymouth Castle

Following the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Queen Victoria's great great grandfather George II had done everything in his power to destroy Highland culture (an undoubted seedbed of Jacobite discontent and a threat to the throne since 1689): the wearing of tartan was banned, the carrying of weapons was banned, the playing of the bagpipes was banned and the clan chiefs were stripped of their power. His son, the Duke of Cumberland thinned out the Highland population considerably and used their cattle to feed his occupying army. You would be forgiven for thinking that Highland culture was beyond saving.

So we should indeed be grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Atholl and Lord and Lady Breadalbane for their wonderful display of Highland hospitality. Without them and the Queen's resulting decision to buy Balmoral Castle unseen, those three great icons of our culture, Tartan, Bagpipes and Whisky, would never now be recognised worldwide.

265 Years After Culloden

2011-04-16T22:20:00.002Z

This morning I travelled from my home in Nairn past Balbair where the government army camped prior to the Battle of Culloden, past the Loch of the Clans, past Kilravock Castle where the Duke of Cumberland reputedly had breakfast, and on to the site of that battle, 265 years ago on Drumossie Moor, where I attended the annual commemoration service.

It was perhaps appropriate that I approached from this direction since I am a Lowlander. I served in the British Army, in a regiment that stood in the Government front line that day. But one of my ancestors died fighting with the Jacobites in the 1715 Rising. So, like many Scots, my sympathies are split. I abhor Cumberland's cruelty following that battle. Equally, I condemn the arrogance that led to the whole misconceived enterprise, undertaken with no foreign assistance.

Seventy years earlier the 'Brahan Seer' had written "Oh! Drumossie, thy bleak moor shall, 'ere many generations have passed away, be stained with the best blood of the Highlands. Glad am I that I will not see the day, for it will be a fearful period." And so it was. An awful slaughter, the beginning of the end of the clan system.

As a tour guide, I am often at the battlefield. It's a familiar routine, explaining the battle to visitors. But I have never heard a Gaelic prayer, never heard a Piobaireachd, (the great pipe lament), spreading out over this familiar field. It becomes a different place, especially when surrounded by Highlanders who have been there numerous times before, and will come again, to pay respect.

Surrounded by descendants of those who died, I am even more appalled that for 76 years there were no markers at the mass graves of a thousand or more members of the Jacobite Army who fell that day. It was only in 1822 that Duncan Forbes of Culloden erected the present stones; the great grandchildren of the Inverness women who dug those graves told him which mound was which. It was only some 30 years ago that the 1835 road which bisected the graves was diverted to a discreet distance.

The swallows are recently arrived in Highland farmyards, baby rabbits scuttle on field fringes, skylarks sing over rough pasture and black-faced sheep that have been overwintered on the low ground are heading back to the hills. Just as it was in 1746.

And just as in 1746 Highlanders are dying for a cause that they cannot fully understand, not in the sleet of Drumossie Moor but in the dust of Afghanistan. As Allan Campbell, President of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, commented this morning, 'It is extraordinary that we never learn the folly of war'.

The Clans - violence, honour and obligation

2011-03-25T22:21:00.001Z

I was listening yesterday to a programme about Easter Island in the South Pacific; the commentator referred to 'rival clans'. Around Christmas in London I was in a taxi driven by a man from Somalia, who talked about the 'clans' who are controlling certain areas there. In both (random) cases there is an implication of violence: the clans in Easter Island finally eliminated one another and uncontrolled 'clans' was the reason that my Somali taxi driver was disinclined to return to his Somaliland home. The violence in 'Klan' is self evident.

My Shorter Oxford Dictionary (pub. 2007) gives four definitions for 'clan'; none has any violent or negative association. I believe that this fine word is now being corrupted.

It comes from the Gaelic clann which simply means 'children'. Clan is in fact a wholly positive word which speaks of honour, of commitment, of people supporting each another. In his excellent book 'Clans & Chiefs' Ian Grimble writes, '...the office...required that the chief should place his undefined patriachal obligations before his absolute feudal rights'. This was fundamental.

There aren't so many examples nowadays of 'undefined obligations' taking precedence over 'absolute rights'. And of course the other side of the coin was that clansmen were absolutely bound to fight and die in any fight that might be picked by the chief.

How wonderful, though, that in 2011 the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs has a website ... and invites questions. An undefined obligation if ever there was one!

Happy Tenth Birthday... to Us!

2011-03-05T16:39:00.000Z

It was ten years ago that Scottish Clans and Castles Ltd emerged from a mixed bag of other tourism projects.

And I'm delighted to have traced our first client, Angie Anstee (now Eikebu)... "It was 18th April 2001, my Norwegian husband's first trip with me to Scotland and we liked it so much we stayed two nights instead of the one that we booked!" The place, unsurprisingly, was Castle Stuart, an enduring favourite of our clients. And dear Caroline Stuart, the Chatelaine, has just emailed confirming more honeymooners this September.

Then, as now, our clients were primarily looking for holidays tailored to their personal requirements and clan connections. But a couple of years later we ran our first 'Outlander' Tour, a guided trip for fans of Diana Gabaldon's novels. It went well. Of our four clients two re-booked for the following year (and one is now running her own guiding operation in Minnesota). And last year we ran three 'Outlander' tours during one of which our guests dined with Diana Gabaldon and her husband at Castle Stuart.

The Year of Homecoming in 2009 was a milestone for us and about 300 of our clients enjoyed 'The Gathering' in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh.

This year, on our tenth anniversary, we are delighted to be launching two new products - 'Scottish Castle Escapes' and 'The Ultimate Highland Castle House Party', the latter being a luxurious weekend at Aldourie Castle on the banks of Loch Ness with private tours of local castles.

Now then... I'm thinking of a Castle birthday cake, candle on each turret...

"A daimen icker in a thrave"

2011-02-01T21:50:00.006Z

A family group has just asked me to schedule a visit to Robert Burns birthplace. By coincidence I was there, at the new Burns Museum, last week.

I'm a great fan of Burns and, having been born and bred in Scotland, many words are familiar to me. But for those who do not enjoy that great privilege Burns can be a bit impenetrable! Take a daimen icker in a thrave for example; it's a line from 'To a Mouse'. Who has any idea what that means? (actually it means 'the occasional ear of corn in a set of sheaves').

I visited the museum with some other tour operators and we were inevitably concerned as to whether overseas clients would be able to understand it. The short answer was 'No'. Indeed the National Trust for Scotland has made the whole thing even less penetrable by writing the explanations on the show cabinets in Burnsian Scots, with difficult words translated. Not much good for overseas visitors.

But after a bit I mused that this is a celebration of Burns and his work. Should it not also be a celebration of his language? David Hopes, museum curator said, "Our intention has been to get under the skin of Burns, encouraging a creative response in the reader-visitor." A noble intention, and I think he has succeeded. But how important is the original language?

One translation of Burns into Russian apparently sold over 600,000 copies and Burns is still taught in Russian schools. But I'm sure Abraham Lincoln, who carried a volume of Burns' work with him, only read the original. And what of Steinbeck whose 'Of Mice and Men' was inspired by the ploughman poet and his line from 'To a Mouse': The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley.'? How did he make sense of it? 'Translated' or not? Well, maybe some scholars can help me with that.

I do not believe that Scots is a language in its own right. But if traditional words and syntax are not used somewhere today, will it only be future academics who can revel in the earthiness and wonderful rhythms of Burns' poetry?

When I had seen the museum I wandered over to the old Brig o' Doon (of Tam o' Shanter fame) and the nearby Burns Monument, where I learned that there are 58 monuments to Burns around the world. Fifty-eight! More than any other poet.

This does not, of course, make him the world's greatest poet but it does convince me that Burns should not be celebrated in translation.

A Witch's Cursing Bone

2011-01-22T19:01:00.004Z

It was a familiar voice on the car radio. But until he started talking about ancestry I hadn't recognised Bruce Durie, genealogist, broadcaster and chairman of the Ancestral Tourism Steering Group on which I sit. When he moved on to the cursing bone of Katherine McNure of Glen Shira, I stopped the car to listen.

The 'bone' in question is now in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. Further illumination is given by this 'Extract from the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Vol.78 (1943-1944) pg141:

Witch’s Cursing-bone consisting of the marrow bone of a deer or sheep, stained deep brown by peat, and fixed through a diamond-shaped pice of bog oak. It was formerly the property of a reputed witch living at the head of Glen Shira, Argyll. According to the local tradition,“When the “witch” wanted to “ill will” one of her neighbours, she went out with her bone between sunset and cock-crow and made for the neighbour's croft. She did not go to the dwelling-house, however, but to the hen house and seized the hen that sat next to the rooster (his favourite), thrawed its neck, and poured its blood through the cursing bone, uttering her curses the while.

I am reminded of Isobel Gowdie, from Auldearn, just two miles from here in Nairn, who gave a full and detailed confession of the doings of her coven at her trial in 1662. I have read the full transcript and she seems really quite proud of her doings - even giving the magic spell by which a witch can turn herself into a hare, then back to a witch.

But soon (25 Jan) it is Burns Night and I finish with my favourite witch: 'Nannie' famous for her 'cutty sark', short skirt, in Robert Burns' epic tale, Tam o' Shanter.

Satan is blowing the pipes, the witches are dancing, Tom is captivated, his horse Maggie terrified...

'Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain

And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main

Till first ae caper, syne anither

Tam tint his reason a' thegither

And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!"

And in an instant all was dark

And scarcely had he Maggie rallied

When out the hellish legion sallied.'

The new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum opened today, 22 January 2011.

I look forward to visiting on Monday and will report back.

David Hume and Thomas Aikenhead

2011-01-15T21:39:00.003Z

A man in a toga, 1.5 times life size, sits at the junction of Edinburgh's Royal Mile and George IV Bridge, more interested in his tablet than in St Giles Cathedral opposite - 'the mother church of presbyterianism'.

The man is David Hume, philosopher, historian, civil servant, founding father of the enlightement and one of the most influential Scots of the last millennium. Small wonder that he has no interest in St Giles, for Hume was an aetheist.

On 23 April this year, to mark the 300th anniversary of Hume's birth, a colourful parade will leave the Scottish Parliament and march up the Royal Mile to this statue. The celebration will start by re-enacting the notorious 1696 trial of an Edinburgh student, Thomas Aikenhead, the last person in Britain to be hung for blasphemy. Aikenhead's story will be familiar to readers of Arthur Herman's book, 'How The Scots Invented the Modern World', since a discussion of the case forms the Prologue.

The parade will pass the Old Tron Kirk, a little further down the High Street where the 18 year old Aikenhead made a poor joke about the weather, 'I wish right now I were in the place Ezra called hell to warm myself there'. This flippant attitude to the Bible was the lad's undoing. You might call it a fatwa called by Scotland's Lord Advocate and chief law officer, James Stewart, to discourage others from treating the Bible with disrespect. Years later, Hume was utterly apalled.

I am not an aetheist but I may be there on 23 April to celebrate Hume's extraordinary pioneering thinking.

Hope the weather isn't hellish.

Jacobite Symbolism

2010-12-21T12:00:00.000Z

I think the Jacobites could have done with a strategic marketing consultant. Brand confusion? Tell me about it!
WAY too many logos...

The white cockade, the white rose, rosebuds, blue bonnet, oak tree, acorns, oak sapling, star, thistle, birds, compasses, sunflower, moth, butterfly, JR VIII and 'Amen'.
Amen.

(Of course it is more difficult to get your marketing message across when you are a proscribed organisation.)

Did you know that ...?

'Amen glasses' (right) are so called as they were inscribed with the Jacobite version of the National Anthem which ends, 'Amen'. 'Amen glasses' are on display at Traquair and at Culloden Battlefield.
Jacobites would toast the king at official dinners whilst passing their wine glass over water bowls to signify the Stuart king in exile, "over the water." This is why water bowls were banned at royal banquets until 1903.

And now a musical expert believes that "O Come All ye Faithful" is actually a Jacobite call to arms...
"Fideles is Faithful Catholic Jacobites. Bethlehem is a common Jacobite cipher for England, and Regem Angelorum is a well-known pun on Angelorum (angels) and Anglorum (English). So 'Come and Behold Him, Born the King of Angels' really means, 'Come and Behold Him, Born the King of the English' - Bonnie Prince Charlie!"

So if you raise a festive glass this Christmas or sing a much loved carol, beware of being tacitly treasonable.

They're watching, you know.

Happy Christmas!

Lochindorb Castle

2010-11-16T12:30:00.005Z

Most people remember the scene in 'Braveheart' when Sir William Wallace, recently appointed Guardian of Scotland, is harangued by a figure in the corner about the Comyn claim to the Scottish throne. This was the 'Red Comyn', later killed by Robert the Bruce. His father was the 'Black Comyn', Earl of Buchan, Lord of Badenoch, also sometime Guardian of Scotland, who died in 1302 at Lochindorb Castle, an island fortress on the Dava Moor just north of Grantown-on-Spey.

I wish I could take credit for this stunning shot of Lochindorb, but that goes to 'coldwaterjohn', a skilled and very patient (or very lucky) photographer.

For many years the history, the location, the name 'Lochindorb' have fascinated me. I haved climbed all over it and last night enjoyed an excellent presentation given by Historic Scotland courtesy of the Cawdor Heritage Charity.

We learnt a lot. Lochindorb, controlling the route north from the River Spey, was one of a string of well-sited Comyn castles. They certainly had a good grip on the Highlands at that time - most of the clan's 58 castles (including Inverlochy, another favourite of mine) were in this area.

Inverlochy Castle by Fort William

But, in troubled times, they lost control and when, in 1303, Edward I (Longshanks) was strutting his stuff around Scotland he spent ten days at Lochindorb - enjoying the hunting and destroying castles (such as Urquhart on Loch Ness).

In 1371 the Lordship of Badenoch was granted by King Robert II to his son Alexander, hoping perhaps that he would control the cateran and bring about some prosperity in the Highlands. Far from it. He became known as the 'Wolf of Badenoch', and when denounced by the Bishop of Elgin for putting aside his wife and marrying another, he rode out from Lochindorb and burnt not just the Cathedral but also Pluscarden Abbey.

By 1456 the castle was under the control of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, who 'munitioned and fortified it against the king'. King James II, having taught the Douglases a lesson, then instructed the Thane of Cawdor to dismantle the castle. This he did, assuming possession of Lochindorb's 'yett' an impressive iron gate which can still be seen outside the Thorn Tree Room in Cawdor Castle.

The only disappointment of the evening was that these cautious academics refuse to accept that a foot beneath the water here was a causeway out to the island and that only the owners (and their horses) knew which way it twisted and turned. I, for one, am not going to let a nice story like that fade away: we must get out there and find it next summer!

Cameronians and the 'Killing Times'

2010-11-13T20:30:00.011Z

Tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday. We remember those who gave their lives for their country: nearly a million in the First War, 343 (so far) in Afghanistan.

Last month I was in Edinburgh, watching members of my old Regiment, now 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, marching down the Royal Mile, with bayonets fixed and colours flying, following a successful tour in Afghanistan. Successful, although three were killed in action.

It so happened that we parked in the 'Grassmarket' and returning to the car I passed the Covenanters Memorial. At the spot of the old public gallows, it commemorates others who willingly put themselves in harm's way. The legend reads, "Many Martyrs and Covenanters died for the Protestant Faith on this spot."

Over 100 'Covenanters' died for their adherence to presbyterianism between 1661 and 1688. The name comes from the 'Solemn League and Covenant', an agreement of 1643 with the English Parliament that presbyterianism would be preserved in Scotland. However after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the pendulum swung to the other extreme: presbyteriansim was outlawed and ministers were ejected from their parishes.

Staunch presbyterians followed ministers into the hills where they worshipped at open air services known as conventicles.

Cap badge of the Cameronians

Here they were hunted and if caught, arrested and executed. Armed picquets were posted to keep a look out during services and this was the origin of the Cameronians, a famous Scottish Regiment, formed in 1689, disbanded in 1968.
The period between 1680 and 1688 was (with considerable justification) known as the 'Killing Times'.

The last of the Covenanting martyrs was James Renwick from Moniaive near Dumfries, hanged on 17 February 1688.
The monument was opened in 1954 with a Guard of Honour found by the Cameronians.

The names of those who died are remembered on this memorial, just as those who died for their country in so many wars are remembered in war memorials throughout the country.

How to enjoy Scotland, on the cheap, off season, without a car, and travelling alone.

2010-11-06T08:43:00.002Z

This is an unedited email from a lady who descibes herself as a 'semi-retired divorcee, who teaches piano and Celtic harp'...

"I wanted to thank you for helping me organize my dream-trip to Scotland, which turned out just fabulously. I must have walked 6 miles or so on many days, but also many were spent just gazing out of train or bus windows at the intense beauty of the landscape. Yes, I had to forego the Shetland Islands (next time!), but in two weeks I covered pretty much every other bit of ground I'd planned on. Landing in Aberdeen, I at once took the train to Inverness, where I spent 4 nights. I was able to visit Cawdor Castle, which was having an artisanal food festival on the grounds, both were lovely. I toured Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle, as well as the "Nessie" museum with "The Jacobite," quite reasonable and fantastic guidance, lots of local lore. I walked along the River Ness and got into the rhythms of the people a bit, noticing how they are after work, fishing and swimming their ubiquitous dogs. I grew to love the border collies which were on trains and ferries, so smart they are! Visited the Archival Center for some free genealogy, and shopped at House of Fraser, shipping three boxes home in the end, so I would not grow heavy with my tiny rolling suitcase. How did I get by "on the cheap?" Well, eating a huge breakfast (nearly always inc., both at B&Bs and in the wonderful hostels you have), sometimes even kippers (now there IS a hearty breakfast), and carrying some oatcakes during the day, going to a pub for an ale and the "special" around 4 or 5, thus, black pudding, haggis, neaps & tatties, etc. Allowing someone to buy a local whiskey for me (!)

To make a long story short: I then went to Orkney, saw the seals, visited Kirkwall and the Cathedral of St Magnus, walked all over Skara Brae & the Ring of Brognar since my tour didn't go, as the ferry from John O'Groats didn't run that day! Got down to Skye, worshiped in the Presbyterian Church there with the old Scottish Psalter on a Tues. night, took a boat trip out to see the Sea Eagles and the salmon farms, the huge Cuillen mountains, and thence to Sleat, meeting a nice Professor of Gaelic at a Pub there. I must take a crash course in Gaelic someday! There was a castle ruin there I saw, and don't know which one now, in Sleat near a hotel. Thence from Stromness all the way down through Mull to Iona, where the hostel is really lovely, on the north shore, and then made my way to Arran and visited the Arran Heritage Museum, truly marvelous place, thence to Ayr to embrace Robbie Burns for a day, thence to Edinburgh for 2 nights, walking the Royal Miles, seeing the Castle and Holyrood, as well as lingering in the (free!) Museum of Scotland, always shopping a bit here and there to delight my children this Christmas and provide small souvenirs for my friends. I spent a lot on postcards, and it took 35 days for my parcel posted from Kyle an Lochalsch to get home!

So, a whirlwind tour of two weeks, meeting many friendly and helpful people, and not spending really as much as I anticipated. The B&Bs were roughly 30-40 pounds, and the hostels, some nicer than others, but none crowded in late September, I often had a "private" room, especially as I am older and they simply gave me a room that was not filled with others, hostels were only 15 pounds, and one often found a delicious salad left behind, or someone anxious to kill the bottle of whiskey in the evening, since they were flying out the next day, etc. The great room at Iona was simply lovely at the hostel. Yes, you had to walk a couple of miles to get there, but worth it! A Danish Pastor awaiting his "weeklong adventure" in the abbey, several other Englishmen and Scotsmen & women, gathering around the solid wood table adorned with candle light, as we drank and solved all the problems of the world...........

So, thanks for helping me organize my trip. Next time, I will bring my daughter, and we will be sure to go pony trekking in Arran and Shetland, before I get too old to do this!"

Celtic traditions and the Festival of Samhain

2010-10-30T14:28:00.007Z

'Today' is the BBC's flagship morning news programme and the word 'Celtic' doesn't feature very often. It woke me today, introducing a piece on Hallowe'en (a Scots word for the Eve of All Saints Day) which derives from the Celtic Festival of Samhain (pronounced Sah-wen).

It was one of the four annual Celtic festivals, and probably the most significant as it launched the new year. Samhain also marked the start of the dark months and was a time to take stock of grain and cattle (how many beasts could the available food sustain through the winter?).

The Celts are first recorded in the Danube and Upper Rhone valleys; they spread to Gaul (present day France), then to Britain and Ireland in about 700 BC. The Roman and subsequent Angle/Saxon/Jute invasions of England confined the Celts to the corners of the British Isles, principally Ireland, Wales and Scotland. By accidents of geography and history, Celtic culture endured most visibly amongst the Highland Clans:

"When their enemies fall they cut off their heads and fasten them about the necks of their horses... striking up a song of victory... and fasten them by nails upon their houses."
Diodorus Circulous, writing of the Gauls circa 60 BC.

"The heads of the seven murderers were presented at the feet of the noble chief in Glengarry Castle after having been washed in this spring."
Inscription on the monument at the Well of the Seven Heads, Invergarry. The incident referred to was in 1663.

and again...

Having made preparation for sacrifice and a banquet beneath the trees, they bring thither two white bulls...Clad in a white robe the priest ascends the tree and cuts the mistletoe...He then kills the victims, praying that the god will render this gift propitious to those to whom he has granted it.
Pliny the Elder, writing circa 70 AD on the Provinces of Gaul..

In the 1670s bulls were still being sacrificed to pagan gods in the Highlands and the presbytery of Applecross, on the mainland opposite Skye, complained of 'abominable and heathenish practices'. Apparently men from Achnashellach had gathered in an ancient holy place...then killing a bull in an attempt to propitiate the gods.
Alistair Moffat, 'The Highland Clans'.

It all makes turnip lanterns seem quite innocent!

The Jacobite Night March to Balblair

2010-10-13T17:08:00.001Z

Weather has moved along, as it always does. But last week was an 'Indian Summer': pure blue skies each morning. I was inspired to get on my bike and found myself at Balblair, west of Nairn, where the Duke of Cumberland made his camp on the eve of the Battle of Culloden. Cows now graze contendedly where nervous soldiers once celebrated His Grace's Birthday, 15 April 1746. (The house is behind those trees).

That night Prince Charles Edward's Jacobite Army embarked on an ill-fated twelve mile night march, designed to catch government forces asleep in their tents (and realistically the last throw of the dice to save the 1745 Rising).

I remember night marches. Not easy. There was a constant accordion effect: either you were bumping into the man in front or you couldn't see where he had gone! That was in a companyof 100 men; imagine an army of 4,000 - tired, cold, hungry!

The guides were local clansmen, Macintosh men, but it was thick country (roads and houses were avoided) and a dark night. It seems they alerted government cavalry well beyond the camp, since when they got to Knockanbuie, some two miles from Balblair (and already badly behind schedule) they heard the sound of a distant drum. Colder, hungrier and more tired than ever, they marched back to Culloden Moor.

Last year a re-creation of the Night March brought home the difficulty involved. It was led by Dr Tony Pollard and completed by only 12 of an original 20.

There's been no archaeological investigation at Balblair as yet, and to my knowledge there's only one artefact: a three pound cannonball found on the other side of the River Nairn, probably a test shot. And I am delighted to have held this lump of metal; it is handed round by Hugh Allison when he introduces clients on our 'Outlander Tour' to the weaponry of the period.

Next year's Outlander Tour details are now on the website.

We do know there is a very quaint island dubbed the "remotest island of Scotland".

2010-10-11T11:34:00.004Z

So writes a correspondent from up near Seattle.

I suspect this is St Kilda - World Heritage Site and Europe's most important seabird colony. It qualifies as remote being 41 miles west of the (fairly remote) islands of the Outer Hebrides.

In 1697 there were 180 - 200 inhabitants on this dramatic cluster of sea stacks and their consumption of fulmars (cliff nesting seabirds) worked out at 115 per person per annum! For many years the principal form of communication with the mainland was the 'mailboat': a tin containing a letter with an inflated sheep's bladder as a float. The photo is from 1897.

It was a fascinating and extraordinary way of life. However in 1930 the final 36 St Kildans requested evacuation to the mainland.

The island is now administered by the National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Ministry of Defence. In summer there is a resident National Trust Warden; he has just left for the winter and writes an excellent and thought-provoking blog.

Day visitors can get there with Sea Harris.

It's a fascinating place, albeit not one with tourist accommodation. If we can fix up a day trip I plan to be the volunteer guide!

Holiday experience of Bastide Towns.

2010-09-04T14:50:00.004Z

I am enjoying a few days in Aquitaine, south east of Bordeaux. It's a stunning, undulating, landscape of vines and sunflowers and fortified hilltops; these are mostly Bastide towns - 'new towns' of the 13th century, each with a market square surrounded by a grid of small streets and alleyways. Extraordinarily, many were built by Edward I of England (who executed William Wallace). Edward held Aquitaine thanks to his ancestor, Eleanor of Aquitaine. That so many of these wonderful buildings have survived intact into this century is remarkable.

My holiday reading is a book called 'At the Loch of the Green Corrie' by Andrew Greig. I thoroughly recommend it. Woven into a tale of a fishing expedition is philosophy, geology, autobiography and a lot about the culture of North West Scotland. It's packed with quotable quotes and today's is this: 'Sometimes the more you know, the less you see. What you encounter is the knowledge and not the thing itself'. This immediately recalled the time I saw a sea eagle plunge down for a fish off the Isle of Skye: I was so keen to take a good photo that I missed the drama. And sadly I'm not alone in this: many tourists are too keen to snap and move on, not actually benefitting from encountering 'the thing itself'.

So now I'll stop trying to work out the relationship between Edward I and Eleanor of Aquitaine and just relish those 700 year old timber-framed buildings! And a little of the produce of those ancient vineyards.

The Jacobite Campbells

2010-08-15T21:08:00.001Z

I drove past it again last week. South of Glencoe, scene of the infamous massacre, south of the loch-studded expanse of Rannoch Moor, there's a fast stretch of road near which stand the remains of Achallader Castle, seldom noticed seat of the Campbells of Glenorchy. A castle with a story.

Achallader was torched by the Jacobites in the Rising of 1689, but it was still serviceable enough to host a remarkable meeting in 1691, the year before the Massacre of Glencoe. Here John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane, met the principal Jacobite clan chiefs, MacIain of Glencoe included. Breadalbane had £12,000 (worth more than £1m today) of government money with which to buy their allegiance for King William. It was agreed there that all Jacobite hostilities should be suspended but that this agreement would lapse if King James himself were to invade Britain and that should King William not consent to the terms of the deal, then Breadalbane would join the Jacobites with 1000 men! A pretty good arrangement for the Jacobites - until the terms were leaked to King William; then all deals were off and the infamous oath of allegiance which led to the Glencoe Massacre was required.

If the 1st Earl was notoriously duplicitous, the same cannot be said of his sons. Two of them fought with the Jacobites at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, the defining battle of the 1715 Rising. Alongside them were more of the clan including the two sons of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, the company commander who carried out the Massacre of Glencoe.

Glenkindie Arms Hotel

2010-07-19T21:41:00.012Z

I don't normally highlight particular hotels or inns in this blog. We have about 700 on our database and they all have their particular strengths. But last weekend I stayed at a most remarkable place in Upper Donside, Aberdeenshire. Two years ago the four hundred year old Glenkindie Inn was a rundown pub, probably destined to become a private house or worse, a second home, but certainly nothing that would draw people into the area.

Enter Ian Simpson, an entrepreneurial chef from England, looking to start his old business. The bar is now a smart little restaurant, the rooms up above are comfortable if not luxurious.

The menu options are on the blackboard and my three course dinner was delicious, beautifully served, fully justifying the inn's newly acquired two AA rosettes.

For breakfast I went for honeyed apricots and yoghurt followed by scrambled eggs, mushrooms and bacon. I was invited to choose my own local free range eggs, the mushrooms were actually locally gathered chanterelles and the toast came with home made jam. Dinner bed and breakfast cost less than GBP 65.

We need more Ian Simpsons. Good luck to him.

If The Queen is to be present in your building, please contact the Protocol Team,

2010-07-08T15:05:00.000Z

People sometimes ask what is the difference between the Saltire (blue and white cross) and the Royal Banner (red lion rampant) and don't seem to believe it when I say that the Royal Banner should only be flown when The King (or Queen) of Scots is present!

Well, here is the official protocol, taken from the Scottish Government website:

The Royal Banner is The Queen’s official banner in Scotland. Flags showing the Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland (the ‘Lion Rampant’) or the Royal Arms as used in Scotland (the Quartered Arms) are Ensigns of Public Authority, and are therefore only used by The Sovereign or Her Great Officers, such as Lord Lieutenants, when acting in that capacity.

The Royal Banner is usually only hoisted above a Scottish Government building during the period The Queen is present in the building. It is not hoisted when The Queen is only passing in procession. If The Queen is to be present in your building, please contact the Protocol Team, Constitution Directorate, DG Constitution and Corporate Change to make the necessary arrangements.

The flying of the Royal Banner from a non-Government property or garden is not permissible, as it implies that the flag flyer is claiming the Royal Arms as his or her own.

The Munros of Novar

2010-07-06T21:58:00.009Z

On a hill overlooking the Cromarty Firth is a striking, most un-highland monument. I guess that travellers must have been wondering what on earth it is ever since its erection in 1782. In fact it is a replica of the gates of Negapatam in South East India - originally a Dutch colony, won by the British in 1781.

Responsible for this success was Sir Hector Munro, 8th of Novar (1726 - 1805) who won fame and fortune as a British Army Officer in India. When he retired to Scotland the following year he found that in the midst of the Highland Clearances many Munros and others in the area were unemployed and hungry, so he paid them all to carry stones to the top of Cnoc Fyrish where the monument to celebrate his triumph was erected.

Tragically, Sir Hector's two sons were both killed in India, one by a tiger and one by a shark in the Bay of Bengal and the estate passed to his daughter whose descendants still own it.

And, until yesterday, that was all I knew of the Munros of Novar.

I now learn that Sir Hector's nephew, Hugh Anderson Johnstone Munro of Novar was one of the most notable art collectors of his day and a close friend of the English artist J. M. W. Turner. Munro eventually owned fifteen oil paintings by Turner and one hundred and nine of his water colours. One of his favourites, 'Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino' was sold by Munro's heirs in 1878 to the Earl of Roseberry for the astonishing price (at that time) of 4,450 guineas. It comes under the hammer for the second time tomorrow in a Sotheby's sale in London with an estimate of £12-18 million.

A blow, though, for the National Gallery of Scotland, to whom it has been on loan since 1978.

The Hanging of Neil MacLeod.

2010-06-08T21:49:00.009Z

Yesterday, as part of the Nairn Book and Arts Festival, I was asked to introduce Alistair Moffat, author of 'Highland Clans'. Alistair has written a range of books, largely on Scottish history; and until last month I had read none of them.

I was intrigued by 'Highland Clans' - many of the points he makes, many of the anecdotes that he highlights, are those that I use on my own tours. But one extraordinary anecdote was new to me....

In 1597 the Edinburgh Parliament passed an act to enable the foundation of three new towns in the Highlands. One of these was to be on the Isle of Lewis, traditional land of the MacLeod clan. The name given to the company formed to establish the town on Lewis speaks volumes: "The Gentlemen Adventurers for the Conquering of the Isles of Lewis". Like those who were colonising the east coast of North America, they dug a ditch around their settlement and built a stockade. And, just as in Virginia, the indigenous inhabitants took exception. In 1601 the Adventurers retreated but legally they were still owners of the island and they sold it to the Mackenzies who established themselves with 700 men. Neil MacLeod, chief of the clan, resisted, was arrested and eventually stood on a gallows in Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

MacLeod, a Gaelic speaker, did not understand anything that was said to him - until the hangman referred to him as bhodach, 'old man'. He knew that word and took exception, headbutting the younger man; and the crowd bayed for the blood of this savage. They got their blood of course. And the idea of Highlanders as savages continued until and beyond the Battle of Culloden in 1746 when this view of an alien people, was encouraged by government generals whose men had several times fled in the face of the Highland Charge (but stood firm on that day).

For centuries Scotland was divided. In the north, a nation of subsistence farmers spoke Gaelic, wore tartan, played bagpipes and recognised no authority beyond their clan chief. The other nation (which controlled affairs) did none of the above and they despised, feared and hated their northern neighbours.

This has led to many problems and complications. The least of which, perhaps, is whether Lewis is MacLeod clan territory or rightly belongs to the Mackenzies whose traditional clan chief took his name from Loch Seaforth on Lewis (above).

The Teaghlach Wood

2010-06-02T14:03:00.001Z

I visited the Teaghlach Wood at the weekend and met Angus Crabbie (below) who heads up Trees4Scotland.

Teaghlach, pronounced 'Chowlach' means family or household and it was launched, appropriately, at the time of The Gathering 2009 with donations from those attending to provide a lasting (and living) legacy of the occasion. It is still growing (in both senses of the word) and will continue to do so as part of Trees4Scotland's plan to expand Scottish woodland. This expansion is in part funded by those who wish to offset their carbon emissions through a project in Scotland and shortly we will be launching our own project to plant a tree for every booking that we take - and encouraging others to join us.

More on that later, but meantime it was great to see this enterprising project underway in the Perthshire countryside. Red kites were circling overhead, sand martins swooping around us and primroses huddled on the banks of the burn.

And once the trees grow... there will be even more wildlife.

Perhaps, with your help, it will one day rival the wonderful Carrifran Wildwood.

The Termit Stone

2010-05-21T08:51:00.010Z

Two Mackintoshes from Pennsylvania were here last weekend searching for their roots. The Mackintoshes were traditional leaders of Clan Chattan (pronounced 'hatton') a confederacy of small clans, based south of Inverness.

Whilst doing a little research for the trip I came upon the signing of the 'Clan Chattan Band of Union' at Termit in 1609, and the stone laid to commemorate this event in 2009.

Termit? Try it in in Google and it suggests you mean 'termite'. Look on the map and it isn't there!
Well, now I can reveal to anyone who is interested that Termit (no buildings remaining) is about five miles east of Inverness on land now known as Moraystoun. The stone is accessible at Grid 753488 and, as you can see, it is looking well in the landscape.

Amongst the constituent Clan Chattan clans are: Mackintosh, Shaw, MacLean of Dochgarroch, MacGillivray, MacQueen, MacPherson, Davidson, MacBean, MacThomas, MacPhail, Cattanach, Ritchie, MacCombie and Farquharson.

So why did these smaller clans feel the need to band together? The official explanation in the Clan Chattan newsletter is here. More generally, I would suggest that since James VI, King of Scots, had recently accepted the throne of England, royal control of the Highlands was increasingly arm's length. The Gordons, the Frasers, the Camerons and the MacDonalds were all big beasts in the north. The smaller clans had to come together, or risk being eaten up.

Clan Chattan led the Highland Charge at Culloden in 1746.

Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre Macdonald, Maréchal d'Empire, Duc de Tarente.

2010-04-30T22:03:00.003Z

At Howbeg on South Uist today there was a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a plaque to the memory of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's most distinguished generals: Marshall MacDonald.

(I am obliged to Uist Lady for the picture).

The Maréchal's father Neil MacEachen was born on South Uist. A studious young man, MacEachan went off to the Scots College in Paris to study for the priesthood. He returned to find the 1745 Rising in full swing. It seems that he fought at Culloden; what is certain is that he was on that boat which carried 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' over the sea to Skye. MacEachen then stayed with the prince as escort/servant, until they eventually reached France and he had to make his own way in an unfamiliar world. Probably because no one could pronounce his name, he changed it to MacDonald and he joined a community of exiled and impoverished Jacobites at Sancerre. Later the family came along.

Little could poor Neil, whose wife took in washing and did cleaning jobs, have imagined what would happen 34 years later. In 1799: the new French Republic's wars against Britain, Russia and the Austrian Empire were not going well. A faction decided to mount a coup d'état and they needed a general to head it. According to author Jean Didier Hache who has written a book on MacDonald, the first choice general died in Italy, the second choice refused and the third choice was
MacDonald.

MacDonald refused. Napoleon Bonaparte willingly accepted!

In 1825 MacDonald returned to Uist to see his father's birthplace, but having no Gaelic and very little English, the visit did not forge much in the way of ties with the island. He did however return with some good Scottish earth which was buried with him on his death fifteen years later.

We often boast of enlightened18th century Scots who were world leaders in science, medecine, philosophy. It would have been quite nice to have had an Emperor too!

1776 and 1746

2010-04-24T19:56:00.007Z

Home yesterday after a great trip to the USA but, due to volcanic ash, eight days later than scheduled. My distraction as I travelled (and waited) was a book from a second-hand bookshop in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania: '1776' by David McCullough, a remarkable account of the tough campaigning of that year - first steps on the road to a United States of America.

I'm sure numerous people have made the connection between George Washington's brave but ill-equipped army and that of Prince Charles Edward who had faced the same enemy thirty years earlier in an attempt to recover the throne for the Stuarts. Both armies were short of money, food, equipment, gunpowder, cavalry, artillery, just about everything. Both leaders appealed to the hearts and loyalty of their soldiers, both suffered from desertion by those who felt they should be tending their crops. The main difference, of course, was in the generalship: Washington may occasionally have been indecisive but, unlike Bonnie Prince Charlie, he was a natural leader who was prepared to listen to advice.

Washington, who struggled to keep the Yankees, the New Englanders and the Virginians together, would have been appalled at the three day horror which was Gettysburg. I spent a fascinating day there and was struck by the statistic that total casualties at Gettysburg were more than three times larger than the total combatants at Culloden.

Returning to Newark we crossed the Delaware at Trenton, where a brilliant Christmas Eve night manoeuvre by Washington changed the course of the war. Charlie's last-throw night march on the eve of Culloden similarly expected to find the enemy drunk. But the Highland Army arrived when the porridge was already on the boil, and they returned to camp exhausted.

When I am next at Culloden I will be much better able to answer questions from American visitors who are looking for familiar yardsticks for the history they are learning in Scotland.

Vatted Whiskies of the 19th and 21st Centuries

2010-04-12T15:48:00.002Z

I have written before about Usher's Old Vatted Glenlivet - and proudly so, since Andrew Usher after whom it is named, happens to be my Great Grandfather. I explained then that the much used phrase 'single malt' is relatively meaningless nowadays since the days of vatted malts (a blend of malt whiskies) are long gone. Vatted malts were a great idea in the 19th century when independent (and recently legalised) distilleries across the Highlands produced wildly different products - some light and fiery, others heavy, peaty and a bit like cough mixture. Andrew Usher (amongst others) combined these different whiskies to produce a drink that was acceptable to the southern market. Nowadays malt whiskies differ, but all are more than palatable in their own right.

And so it was with some surprise that I found at 'Whisky Live' (part of Scotland Week in New York) last week nothing less than a new range of vatted malts. They are produced by the Compass Box Whisky Company of Edinburgh. I had a taste of their 'Spice Tree' which was excellent. I am also intrigued by Lady Luck (pity it costs £125!). This type of blending is very sophisticated and a great addition to the whisky story. Good luck to them!

As an addendum, the Scottish whisky blenders - Andrew Usher, John Dewar, Arthur Bell, Johnnie Walker and others - really made their fortune as a result of the Great French Wine Blight. In the mid nineteenth century on verandahs throughout the world (and certainly in the USA) gentlemen were accustomed to drinking a brandy and soda before dinner. When the blight meant no french brandy a vast new market opened up for the whisky blenders from Scotland.

Aye, it's an ill wind...

Why did Charlie want to go to Skye anyway?

2010-03-11T11:42:00.009Z

Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that's born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

There are two big clans on Skye - the MacDonalds and the MacLeods. When guiding out there I'm oddly reluctant to reveal that neither one supported the Jacobites in 1745, indeed that both chiefs signed up to support the government. Bonnie Prince Charlie arrived on Skye on 29 June 1746, disguised as Flora MacDonald's maid, piloted by Donald MacLeod of Galtrigal. One of the men tasked to search for him was the 22nd Chief of Clan MacLeod; another was Lieut. Alexander MacLeod of Talisker who commanded the local militia (and dined with Flora at Monkstadt on the night she arrived on Skye!).

So why on earth did Charlie want to come to Skye? In short, government troops were closing in on him too fast on South Uist...where one of those meant to be searching for him was Flora's stepfather, Hugh MacDonald of Armadale, who was actually in on the plot to save him! It's complicated. Although the chiefs, and perhaps most men, were prepared to put their backs into finding Charlie (hoping to claim the reward of 30,000 guineas if they succeeded), there were enough loyal individuals to ensure his safety.

We've been talking about this is in the office because our Clan Tour will visit Dunvegan Castle (top picture) seat of the MacLeods. Our clients will, ironically, be able to look over to Galtrigal (above), the home of the Prince's pilot, and see Jacobite relics such as Flora MacDonald's stays, her pin cushion, Bonnie Prince Charlie's waistcoat and a lock of his hair. Why is all this at Dunvegan? Well, it's because Flora left her Jacobite relics to her daughter who married the tutor to the next Chief of Clan MacLeod...

You see. Like everything to do with the Jacobites, it's complicated! But Pauline, our wonderful Clan Tour guide, will make it all seem quite simple!

MacThomas Clan and the Tax Gatherers

2010-03-06T16:39:00.001Z

I have been doing a little research on The MacThomas Clan. It's a sad (but not uncommon) story of a clan so rooted in their lands that they ignored what was going on in distant places such as Edinburgh. They were successful cattlemen at the start of the 17th century but they had their enemies, and in 1676 the MacThomas lands in Glenshee were sold as a result of law suits and fines for not paying fines.

The MacThomases who also briefly owned Forter estate in Glenisla (including its then ruined castle) dispersed throughout Scotland and the traditional lands were abandoned. However the present chief, Andrew MacThomas of Finegand is, unlike his ancestors, at home in the world of money and was a successful banker. He has recently presided over the purchase for the MacThomas Society of their traditional Gathering Place, Clach na Coileach or 'Cockstane (above); and the new bridge at the Spittal of Glenshee has been named after the clan. Finegand (as he should be addressed) has also written a history of the clan which was launched at The Gathering in Edinburgh last year.

And if you wonder where 'Finegand' comes from, it is a corruption of the Gaelic feith nan ceann, meaning burn of the heads. It seems that the Earl of Atholl sent some particularly officious tax gatherers across to Glenshee and the MacThomases took exception to this. They used their dirks and tossed the taxmen's heads into a nearby burn. Perhaps that is what is being conveyed by the clan crest.

Would that it were that easy to deal with officious officialdom nowadays!

The Braemar Gathering

2010-02-25T21:35:00.001Z

'Always the first Saturday in September'. The Braemar Gathering is one of the constants of Highland Life. It was reputedly started by King Malcolm III (who replaced MacBeth as King of Scots in the 11th century), but the first modern day games was held in 1832.

'Gatherings' or Highland Games were arranged by clan chiefs to display the prowess of their fast runners, strong men, pipers and dancers. It was also a good way of distracting their attention from moonlit raids on neighbouring clans' cattle. Clan Gatherings were banned by the government in 1746 following Bonnie Prince Charlie's 1745 Rising. But less than 100 years later Queen Victoria graced the Braemar Gathering with her presence - and Royalty have been attending ever since.

I was asked today why our Small Group Clan Tour was taking place in September. The answer is simple: we would like our clients to enjoy the Braemar Gathering - unique, royal and ancient.

Redcastle or Killearnan

2010-02-11T22:58:00.012Z

Went to an excellent lecture (one of the HOSTGA series of winter lectures) about Recastle on the Black Isle. This tiny community boasts one of the largest saltwater crannogs, a quarry that provided the stone both for Cromwell's Citadel in Inverness and the Caledonian Canal, and the most wonderful eponymous castle. Redcastle was built as a 9th century wooden fort to hold the line against the Vikings, owned by the monarch, rebuilt as a 16th century Mackenzie L-Plan tower house, burnt by Cromwell, rebuilt as a grand lodging in the early 19th century, enhanced with the proceeds of slavery, became a fine Edwardian country house with extensive gardens (below), was used as a bomb store in the second war and is now a dangerous ruin.

But the most memorable story told by Graham Clark, author of a fi ne book on Redcastle was about Kenneth Mackenzie, 8th of Redcastle. He was married at nineteen, an officer at twenty, fought in the American War of Independence, was captured, repatriated, court martialled for outrageous behaviour, formed his own company of 100 men, was sent to the Gold Coast where he tied one of his officers to a post and executed him with a nine pound cannon; he also commandeered a couple of merchant ships (which together would have paid off ALL his debts), but was instead thrown into Newgate prison on charges of murder and piracy. He was granted a Royal Pardon but killed a fellow officer in Edinburgh and disappeared to join the Russian Army; he became Vice Consul at Constantinople, got involved in yet another brawl, duelled at dawn and was shot dead. He was 41.

How Narrow is the Irish Sea!

2010-02-03T17:21:00.013Z

Travelling round Ireland, I expected the stud farms but was amazed by all the golf courses. I'm glad we introduced the Irish to golf, since it seems that a worrying amount of Scottish culture first crossed the Irish Sea!

We went first to the Hill of Tara, home of Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Ireland and eponymous ancestor of the O'Neill dynasty (and St Columba). Why he had nine hostages is a long story but I now understand better why the MacNeills, MacLachlans and others so proudly claim descent from him.

We then saw the High Cross at Kells (small town made famous by the eponymous Book). High crosses at Iona are more impressive.

But I couldn't fail to be impressed by the neolithic ceremonial site at Brú na Bóinne. It's similar in many ways to the later Clava Cairns near Inverness but the ambition in Ireland was greater and more lasting: the extraordinary 20 foot high chamber, built without mortar, has lasted for 5,000 years. The smaller chamber at Clava was unfortunately broken into in the 19th century.

Last stop was the Fort at Navan, sacred place of the Kings of Ulster and the Red Branch Knights, of whom Cu Chulainn is the best known. Cu Chulainn learned the arts of war from Queen Sgathach and became the lover of her sister Aoife; he then went on to save Ulster from Eire and Skye from 'The Small Dark Men'. Sgathach's name lives on at Dunscaith Castle on the west coast of Skye, a favourite walk of mine.

The Book of Kells

2010-01-31T11:32:00.007Z

I am in Dublin, courtesy of Lynchpin Tours an Irish tour operator with whom we have worked for some years, providing an integrated experience for those wishing to visit our two countries. We flew from Inverness to Belfast and were met by David of Lynchpin who whisked us down to Dublin under pure blue skies. The same skies had allowed a great aerial view of the west coast of Scotland, the islands and the Antrim coast. Now 'divided' by sea, this was all at one time the Lordship of the Isles, controlled by the great Clan Donald and connected by these busy sea lanes.

We went straight to Trinity College Dublin and were met by Anne Marie Diffley, curator of the university library which now houses the Book of Kells, which in short contains the four gospels written on calf vellum by monks at the monastery of Iona in the 8th century. So far so remarkable that such a document should have survived, given time and the constant raiding of Iona by Vikings in the 8th and 9th centuries. (The golden case that housed the Book of Kells was actually stolen but the book discarded). What is truly remarkable is that on this tiny remote island, there were artists of such extraordinary genius since the book is illustrated extravagantly and exquisitely with images, symbols and Celtic knotwork created in pigments that had found their way from present day Afghanistan and Egypt to Iona.

No photograph can do justice to this incredible work of art; you have to see it.

When I asked when the book would return home to Scotland I was met with a wry Irish smile.

Death of Sir William Wallace

2010-01-02T11:07:00.011Z

In London for New Year, I came upon a Place of Execution: Smithfield, a little north of St Paul's Cathedral. Sir William Wallace is the most famous victim; well, he is the only one for whom there is a memorial plaque. On the pavement below lay a faded sprig of heather and small bouquets, tied with tartan ribbon. The romance of Wallace, guerilla leader, born four hundred miles away in another country, executed 1305, is enduring.

Smithfield, sandwiched between St Bartholomew's Hospital (founded 1123) and Smithfield meatmarket (slightly older) has seen numerous executions. More than 200 Protestant martyrs were burnt at the stake in the reign of Queen Mary, swindlers and coin forgers were boiled in oil there and Sir John Oldcastle, the original Falstaff was roasted alive in chains. But the only plaque is that to Sir William Wallace.

Only a few feet away is the lovely Church of St Bartholomew the Gre at. It has been in continuous use as a place of worship since 1143, is adjacent to the oldest inhabited house in London and has featured in such films as 'Shakespeare in Love' and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'.

There is an odd connection here. Wallace was executed on the Eve of St Bartholomew's Day 1305. The Bartholomew Fair at Smithfield seems to have been a great party. Was Wallace's Execution the day preceding perhaps a curtain raiser to the celebrations? This might have appealed to Edward Longshanks.

PS. In Scotland we have a wonderful monument to Sir William near the site of his most famous victory; it's a pity that other significant places in his life are not well cared for.

Nairn is one of the World's Top Five Travel Destinations for 2010!

2009-12-20T16:06:00.013Z

I am delighted, privileged even, to be writing from Nairn, one of the top five travel destinations in the world! And no, this is not as voted by the Association of Nairn Businesses but according to the all knowing Tripadvisor. In the days of Charlie Chaplin Nairn was known as the 'Riviera of the North'; it doesn't look quite like that today with five inches of snow on the ground, but this news will be heartening to Ian Bochel of Nairn's excellent Sunny Brae Hotel and Iain Fairweather who doughtily promotes Nairn via www.visitnairn.com and took the excellent photo above.

Disappointing that neither Fodor's nor Lonely Planet have warmed to Nairn's charms but they don't even put Scotland in their top ten so what the hell do they know! They'll catch on one day.

We all look forward to welcoming you to Nairn.

Cleits and Whisky Distilling in Achapharic

2009-12-16T20:28:00.008Z

It's a lovely time of year.

Not just the frost (picture taken yesterday) and festive stuff, but those of us lucky enough to be running holiday companies have a few minutes to ponder: 2009 holidays are done and only a few people are embarked on next year's arrangements. Of course there is still plenty to do, but I allow myself to pursue the occasional 'red herring' . A Canadian client wrote:

'The reason for the Kintyre Peninsular is that my parents found our ancestors' place of residence (a ruin) on the west coast of the peninsular near A'Cleit on a visit a couple of years ago. We absolutely need to visit that place. It was called Achapharic)'.

I learned that cleit is a word that survived largely on St Kilda (before it was evacuated in 1930), meaning a stone built storehouse and I came on this wonderful picture of a man on a cleit roof holding a fowling rope. The rope would be so that a youngster would have a safety rope as he raided the nests on cliff ledges below for plump young gulls. Another picture of a cleit below.

'Achapharic' took me to stories of illicit whisky distilling to make money that was needed for ever higher rents...

In 1806 a typical rent would be one or two 3-year old wedders at six shillings each, six dozen eggs and six hens valued at four shillings plus a sum of money which entitled the tenant to a seat in church. The tenants were also bound to cart loads of turf for dyking, grow oats and bear for meal, flax for coarse linen and give the services of a man and a cart free for two to six days annually.

Living off young gulls or keeping hold of your house only by distilling whisky in the hills and evading excisemen...

We've come a long way in 200 years.

Or have we?

Fatlips and Gilnocky

2009-11-21T18:36:00.015Z

I was in the Borders on a glorious autumn weekend (just before the floods!). As we passed Fatlips Tower on Minto Crags, I gave the traditional explanation of the odd name: 'The Turnbulls had fat lips'. But apparently there is a more interesting theory: one of the pleasures of a visit to Fatlips used to be that "every gentleman, by indefeasible privilege, kisses one of the ladies on entering."

The Turnbulls were a small Border clan; but travelling south we passed Caerlanrig, a place of pilgrimage for the Armstrongs, a big beast in the Border reiving jungle. In the 1500s Border families were raiding into England, embarrassing the Kings of Scots and in November 1530 Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnocky, one of the most successful reivers of his day rode out to Caerlanrig. He was invited to meet his king. Dressed in his finery, and with promise of safe passage, he rode with thirty-six followers to meet the youthful James V of Scotland who was hunting in the area.

Well, in brief, Johnnie and his men were taken and hanged without trial - pour encourager les autres. Johnnie's grave is there. His exploits are commmemorated in The Ballad of Johnnie Armstrong.

We went on to Johnnie's home at Gilnocky Tower (below), now a Clan Armstrong museum. (And yes, this photo was taken on 13 November 2009!).

As we headed further south, west and into England, we passed Carlisle, whose castle is made famous in another great story of the Borderlands. Kinmont Willie, also an Armstrong, was dramatically sprung from the castle by a bold Border raiding party led by Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch.

But that... is another ballad.

The Highland Archive Centre

2009-10-30T21:49:00.003Z

I had a tour today of the very new Highland Archive Centre in Inverness: four large temperature and humidity controlled rooms house a mass of maps, records, letters, books, some dating from the 15th century. This is now the official depository for most of the records in the Highlands, but there are also large leatherbound volumes recording deaths, wills and landholdings throughout Scotland together with 'Burke's Peerage' and records of Scottish landed gentry. Out of curiosity I looked up a distant aristocratic ancestor who was apparently notable for having been rowdy in a Lyon théatre in 1768: he refused to shut up and accepted the offer of a duel in the foyer where both men were apparently run through but neither died! Of more general interest perhaps is the Family History Centre, full of clan and family histories. Staff are on hand to help, and you can make an appointment with the Highland Council Genealogist. But note that the centre is not open at weekends.

Albannach and Cymry

2009-10-23T20:15:00.009Z

I've had a fascinating couple of days at 'Scotland's Global Impact' Conference in Inverness. I expected to learn more about well... the words in the title, but I didn't really expect to be re-educated on the origin of well-kent words.

I always thought 'Alba' was a deep-rooted, chest-puffing term for ancient Scotland. I enjoy explaining to clients that Sassenach are Southerners and by contrast, Albannach are us - Scots, Highlanders, Celts. Not a bit of it! I learnt yesterday (from Dr James Fraser of the School of Celtic and Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University) that Alba actually means Britain, the whole island. Hence, I suppose, 'perfidious Albion', a well established epithet for England, perhaps due to the white (albus) cliffs of Dover. Viewed, as this island was, by Gaels from Ireland, I suppose this all makes sense.

I did actually know that 'Welsh' (also Walsh and Wallace) means foreigners. But I didn't know that "Wales" originates from the Germanic word Wahl which referred to foreigners who had been "Romanised".

Talking of Romanisation, James Fraser also explained that Britons in the South of Scotland (south of the Antonine Wall) were proud to be thought 'Romanised'. Even after the Romans had left. Some legacy!

In the tenth century 'Alba' came to mean the nation of Picts and Gaels. And in the afternoon we, too, moved into the Middle Ages. Masses of interesting thoughts and stories, but no etymological shocks.

The Stone of the Maiden

2009-10-11T21:05:00.006Z

It has been a lovely bright autumn weekend and I took a walk to a local landmark called the 'Stone of the Maiden'. Lying in the dappled sunlight of a larch wood, this extraordinary rock, a mass of small stones bound together many millions of years ago, played a key role in Nairnshire's 16th century version of Romeo and Juliet. This was the stone where the lovers would meet prior to the tragic denouement, ultimately played out at Rait Castle.

The gist is that an attempt by the Comyns of Rait to murder their neighbours the MacKintoshes by inviting them to dinner at Rait was dramatically reversed, thanks to two young lovers. The story is told in full on my Save Rait Castle site.

Three questions remain in my mind...

1. How do you cut off both of a young girl's hands when she is hanging out of a window?
2. Why did the MacKintoshes leave the castle to become ruinous and not take it over when it was available to them in 1442?
3. Why do the Custodians of Scotland's architectural heritage continue to allow this, the best standing example of a 13th century Scottish Hall House, to be overtaken by the surrounding undergrowth?

Cawdor Castle

2009-09-13T13:59:00.010Z

Yesterday I spent a happy late afternoon in the Cawdor Castle gardens, trying out a new camera.

For many the word 'Cawdor' brings just a faint echo of 'Thane of Cawdor' in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. In fact Macbeth became king of Scotland in 1040; and so long before the castle was built (circa. 1400) or even the first Thane appointed (1295).

Cawdor has a golden thread of authenticity: built by the third Thane, it is now the winter home of the 25th Thane's widow. It is also a stylish survivor: despite the Battle of Culloden ten miles away and the Battle of Auldearn six miles away the castle is undamaged by battle or ill-advised additions and has grown in sympathy with the original architecture. Today the castle shows how history, art, fine gardens, gracious 21st century living and a successful visitor attraction may be happily combined.

And the golden thread is there for those who look. The thorn tree, over which the castle was built in 15th century, (whereby hangs a tale) is still there; radio carbon dating confirms it. The joining of the families of Cawdor and Campbell in the early 16th century is in the crest above the drawbridge: Campbell Motto, Cawdor crest. That's another tale - one of kidnap, mutilation, murder and a surprisingly happy marriage!

And above the main entrance is the coat of arms of Sir Hugh, 15th Thane. He married Henrietta Stewart whose arms, including the familiar red lion rampant, are on the right. Their 17th century marriage bed, recently reconditioned, is on display in the castle.

As I wandered round the gardens, I started to notice dates. An aromatic herb native to North America, collected in 1744. Lavender beds laid out by the Lady Cawdor of that time in 1850. The holly maze, planted in 1981. And one part of the Rose Garden is closed as it is currently being reconstructed. And so it continues. An age away from Lady MacBeth and her devilish plotting.

Release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi

2009-08-26T03:47:00.005Z

Scotland finds itself blinking in the spotlight of international attention. The land of tartan, whisky, clans and castles suddenly has a role on the world stage.

So how did this unusual situation come about?

Well, it all goes back to the Union of Scotland and England to form a United Kingdom in 1707. Scotland was very much the weaker party and was out-negotiated on the all the important issues such as trade, tax and political representation. We did however hold on to institutions that were important to us: our own education system, our own established church and our own legal system.

Until Prime Minister Tony Blair gave Scotland its own parliament and a degree of devolution, justice here was in the hands of the Secretary of State for Scotland, a member of the UK Government. But since 1999 we have elected our own Scottish administration to deal with health, education, prisons, environment ... and justice.

'And so', I am asked, 'is all this going to affect tourism?'
Well I really cannot imagine so. I fully understand the strong feelings expressed, but this release does not reflect any groundswell of pro-Libyan opinion in Scotland. Far from it. This is one man's decision, flowing from a long established and compassionate legal system. Right or wrong, it is now a fait accompli and the Scottish Government is unlikely to have a similar decision to take in the next 500 years.

In my view the big loser in all of this is Libya: that country has missed a unique opportunity to raise its standing in the world by demonstrating dignity, gratitude and respect for the dead.

Château de Grimaud

2009-08-22T18:49:00.007Z

We had just under two hundred people in Edinburgh during The Gathering - a busy time for our small company. And once everyone was safely back home, I took a few welcome days off in the South of France. Castles continued to call though, and I climbed up to the Château de Grimaud, dramatically overlooking the Gulf of St Tropez. I had thought it was a Saracen fortress, but it was actually built by the king's grand sénéchal, Jean de Cossa in the 15th century. Essentially a medieval castle, it has massive towers with firing slits and high walls surrounded by a long stretch of crenelated ramparts up to seven metres high. In 1791 the French Revolutionaries confiscated and then demolished this aristocrat’s residence and it has been a noble ruin ever since. There are great views but the lack of maintenance and any interpretation made me realise what an excellent job Historic Scotland do for us and our visitors.

But the charm of Grimaud village with its colourful alleyways and a game of boules in the shade of the plane trees is something we may struggle to match!

A Funeral by Loch Ness

2009-08-05T21:14:00.004Z

The redcoats stopped when they saw the funeral. A troop of six was escorting the bread wagon to Inverness and any gathering of Highlanders was worth a look in 1746 - there might be a wanted man, an illegal weapon. If nothing else, there was no harm in emphasising who controlled the food supplies, controlled the Highlands, following the Battle of Culloden earlier that year.

The ragged group around the coffin huddled closer, guarding what dignity remained to them. The priest looked up, paused and continued. Dismounted troopers were moving round for a better view. As they did so, an old woman swept a loaf of bread from the back of the cart into her dark shawl. Someone shouted. The woman ran. Troopers cocked their weapons. The funeral party dived behind gravestones. A shot rang out. Then another. Someone was hit…

It wasn’t a major incident in that incident-rich year. But it left its mark. Three marks in fact – the pits made by bullets on the gravestone of a James Fraser, buried in 1730.

It is not easy to bring the past to life, but last week my Outlander Tourists (fans of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books) were able to touch some little marks of conflict, unchanged, unrepaired, largely unnoticed since that fateful year of suppression.

Basking at Inverness Highland Games

2009-07-18T19:41:00.020Z

There was a distinctly Basque feel to this year's Inverness Highland Games. Guests Nazioen Mundua supplied music, dance, strongmen, wood choppers and a yoaldunak band - who play their instruments with their bums (actually just one instrument and just one note but impressively loud). This unmissable display punctuated my personal highlight of the games, a quiet (well it was meant to be quiet) drink with best selling author Diana Gabaldon who was doing a book signing in the clan village.

Diana's novels must have brought thousands of extra tourists to Scotland, exploring the romance of 18th century Highland living, hoping perhaps to meet her dashing, scholarly, gentlemanly (and above all sexy) hero, Jamie Fraser.
I have been running guided tours for fans of the novels for several years now and it was an enormous pleasure to meet the softly spoken, highly engaging, creator of the series - so interested in this distant world where she is a celebrity guest. I'm looking forward to continuing our conversations, without the unforgettable accompaniement of the yoaldunak.

Incidentally if you would like to see the yoaldunak being performed in a Basque village, rather than the Clan Village, click here (and wait a minute or so for it to load).

An Edinburgh citizen with a gift for words.

2009-07-12T08:20:00.005Z

A leather-bound volume offers this overview of Edinburgh...

"For centuries it was a capital thatched with heather, and more than once, in the evil days of English invasion, it has gone up in flame to heaven, a beacon to ships at sea. It was the jousting-ground of jealous nobles, not only on Greenside, or by the King's Stables, where set tournaments were fought to the sound of trumpets and under the authority of royal presence, but in every alley where there was room to cross swords, and in the main street, where popular tumult under the Blue Blanket alternated with the brawls of outlandish clansmen and retainers."

And of its citizens...

"To see them thronging by, in their neat clothes and conscious moral rectitude, and with a little air of possession that verges on the absurd, is not the least striking feature of the place."

The author was Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) whose book, simply titled 'Edinburgh' should, in my view, be compulsory reading for every Edinburgh tour guide - and for any would-be wordsmiths tempted to write a guidebook on our capital city.

One Old Jacobite and formal terraced gardens

2009-07-08T21:10:00.026Z

One of my heroes is George Keith, the last Earl Marischal of Scotland. Born into one of the great offices of state, with extensive lands round Dunnottar Castle, he had a good life in store. But in 1715, aged 23, he risked it all by declaring for the Jacobites. He commanded the right wing cavalry at Sherrifmuir - an extraordinary battle in which the right wings of both armies routed the other side; the Jacobites had the superior numbers but, under the bumbling leadership of the Earl of Mar, failed to hold the ground and the government forces took the day. Along with other dispirited Jacobite leaders, Keith retired that night to nearby Drummond Castle, home of the Duke of Perth.

I was there two weeks ago. Looking out on the fine formal terraced gardens it was hard to imagine the despair of brave men contemplating defeat, attainder, life-long exile, the loss of everything that they couldn't carry with them.

George Keith went on to have a long and varied life. He returned to Scotland from Spain as leader of the 1719 Jacobite rising and later was a roving ambassador for his exiled king. His travels took him to the court of Empress Catherine II of Russia and when that court was purged of foreigners he went to Prussia, eventually becoming Frederick the Great's ambassador to Paris. Here, in 1745, he tried hard (with the benefit of bitter experience) to dissuade Prince Charles Edward from making an attempt at the throne without foreign help.

He retired to a life of intellectual debate and the tending of plants at Frederick's Potsdam Palace, Sans Souci (above). In his eighties he was still writing energetically to friends in Scotland. Ultimately, it seems, he was far more at home amongst the sophistication (and yes, the formal terraced gardens) of Sans Souci than he was in the wave-lashed fortress of Dunnottar Castle which would otherwise have been his inheritance.

Hats off to Clans & Castles!

2009-06-16T17:46:00.008Z

Just arrived...

"We just completed an extraordinary 10-day family vacation in Scotland based on a customized itinerary developed with the expert services of Scottish Clans & Castles. The trip was a mix of city and country with a terrific blend of classic and modern hotels, as well as two top-notch B&B’s, namely Brough House (Elgin) and Ethie Castle (Arbroath). The arrangements were flawless, the accommodations perfect and it appeared to us that they were able to secure the rooms with the best views, every single time. To us, this was an unexpected benefit of dealing with a local expert and a reflection of the intimate knowledge of their recommendations. Dealing with Alastair and his team in planning this memorable trip was a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to returning, hopefully sooner than later. Hats off to Clans & Castles!"

I hate self congratulatory blogs! But the above is a nice (unedited) word of appreciation. Now and again it is good to wave a flag. We are in business after all!

We enjoyed looking after the VanderPlaat family from Canada since we had a clear brief which included accommodating the requirements of two children, seeing round the privately-owned Dunderave Castle (above) and also visiting the Perthshire estate from which Jane VanderPlaat's family had emigrated three generations ago. It all seemed to work very well.

Many thanks to all our excellent hotels and B&Bs.

Dunollie Castle. In need of a Little TLC.

2009-06-12T19:50:00.016Z

Camouflaged in the intense green scenery of Oban Bay is Dunollie Castle, seat of the MacDougalls, senior branch of the sons of Somerled, but one that opposed Robert the Bruce and suffered grievously for it. I was in Oban on Tuesday for a meeting of Scotland's Tourism Innovation Group; and as you can see, the weather was sensational.

They lost a lot, but the MacDougalls kept hold of Dunollie and the island of Kerrera from which this photo was taken; they also kept hold of the Brooch of Lorne, famously snatched from King Robert at Dalrigh, and still in the possession of the clan.

Dunollie, a place of pilgrimage for the clan, is badly in need of restoration. And the Brooch of Lorne, a clan icon for 700 years, is playing its part in raising funds as the talisman of a play 'The Hidden Jewel' to be performed at the castle 17 to 23 July 2009. Tickets and more detail here.

Another MacDougall initiative is the Hope MacDougall Collection, a remarkable collection of artefacts reflecting domestic and working life in the Highlands and Islands over the past 200 years. A selection is currently on display in a shop on George Street. More here.

Dunollie badly needs help; and happily the MacDougalls have some impressive form in the field of restoring castles. In May 2006 remote Gylen Castle (below), on the southern tip of Kerrera and ruinous since 1647, was opened to the public. Let's hope they can pull it off again.

It was alsoat Gylen that the Brooch of Lorne was stolen by the Campbells of Lochawe. But that is another story...

The Gathering of the Clans

2009-06-07T18:35:00.005Z

In seven weeks time The Gathering of the Clans 2009 will be over: the first such event since George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822 - and set the kilt on its road to recovery after its banning following Culloden. In seven weeks the last caber will have been tossed, the last piobaireachd played; the March up the Royal Mile and the Clan Pageant at Edinburgh Castle will be a mass of colourful and inspiring photographs dominating the Sunday newspapers and, in due course, Scottish magazines worldwide.

You can still be there if you would like! Just drop us a line and we'll fix it for you.

The Butter Castle

2009-05-28T20:30:00.022Z

It had been a great stay on Mull - Duart Castle (above), sea eagles, otters, and an afternoon of hot sun! Leaving the Fishnish ferry at Lochaline I almost drove off the road at the sight of a beautifully restored tower house. Correctly termed Kinlochaline, the locals call it 'Butter Castle'.

This was a MacInnes castle. It was said that one of the clan women Dubh-Chal (Lady of the Black Veil) paid the architect an amount of butter equal in size to the castle, hence the name, Caisteal an Ime, or Castle of Butter. A carving, thought to be Dubh-Chal, is above the fireplace.

In the 14^th century, Chief MacInnes of Ardgour was foster father and counsellor to John, Lord of the Isles. MacInnes had advised John to divorce Amy MacRuari and marry Margaret Stewart, daughter of the future King Robert II of Scotland. Then Amy got her revenge by relating that MacInnes had complained, when he stayed at John's house, that ‘his quarters did not smell well because they were used as a dog's kennel’.

John was duly enraged and ordered Donald MacLean of Duart to kill MacInnes. This he did, also killing MacInnes’ five sons and so gaining possession of Ardgour.

The Clan never recovered and has not had a chief since. In 1997, Sir Lachlan MacLean of Duart and Morvern offered an apology to Clan MacInnes President William MacInnis.

The castle, ruinous from 1644 until the 20th century, is now a family home.

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c.1695 – 1770)

2009-05-09T20:30:00.007Z

I was in Arisaig today, enjoying the wonderful views out to Eigg, Rhum, Skye and Canna. I also noticed a plaque on the wall of the ruined 16th century church, 'Cill Mha'ru'...

More detail on Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair is in an excellent article on Wikipedia. He was some man: poet, Jacobite officer, student of Greek and Roman literature, publisher of the first Gaelic/English dictionary, Gaelic tutor to Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Not bad for a man who never went to school but was taught at home by his father!

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's name also points up a problem. 'Mac' is the Gaelic for 'son of ', thus Alasdair's father was Maighstir Alasdair (in English, Rev. Alexander MacDonald). Alasdair was 100% MacDonald (first cousin to Flora MacDonald), but there was no convention of surnames in 18th century Arisaig. Had Alasdair given up hiding from the redcoats and instead taken a boat to North Carolina, the clerk writing out the passenger list would probably have abbreviated the name to 'Alasdair mac Mhaighstir' or even Alasdair MacMaster. Quite a challenge therefore for any descendants tracing their roots!

Which way is it to Obar Dheathain?

2009-04-19T20:21:00.020Z

Spring has arrived in the Highlands. The fields are green. The geese have left and the ospreys are back. The snow is fast disappearing and the salmon are running nicely in the meltwater. All of this brings tourists flocking to Inverness Airport.

Now then, leaving with the rental car do they head for Inbhir Nis or Obar Dheathain?

Well of course translations are helpfully provided, but the arrival of Gaelic signage is a guaranteed topic of conversation at Highland dinner tables ("What the hell is the point? No-one understands Gaelic!").

So I though I'd put in my two pennyworth...

We've had a few tussles with the French but so far as I know have never tried to re-christen Paris as 'Paree' or Marseilles as 'Marsay'. And so why did Inbhir Nis have to become 'Inverness' - a poor phonetical rendering of a perfectly good Gaelic name? Of course French is a far better established language than Gaelic, but you get the point: 'Inverness' is not a 'real word' in any language. At least the USA retained the correct spelling of Orléans, even if they can't pronounce it!

Most mountains, like Glencoe's Buachaille Etive Mhor, (the big Shepherd of Etive), have retained their Gaelic integrity. And there are placenames, like 'Fort Augustus', that are pure English. No problem there. Its the large grey area in the middle...

So what's it all about?

The problem is that Gaelic is currently spoken by only about 60,000 people. If it reaches the stage of being nursed along by a few academics and enthusiasts, it will be dead in all but name. This matters because it was Scotland's principal language from the sixth to the sixteenth century and the vast majority of long established placenames are from the Gaelic. From these names we understand more of both our culture and our countryside. Let Gaelic go and we lose not just an impressive body of literature and song, but slice of social history.

The heavy responsibility of saving the language lies with Bòrd na Gàidhlig and their focus is of course on Gaelic medium schooling. But increasing awareness of Gaelic names is an important part of the process. Hence the road signs.

I see that Historic Scotland has recently restored the original Gaelic name of the Calanais Stones (previously anglicised as Callanish). It all helps.

Tapadh Leat airson leabadgh seo!

Harthill Castle

2009-04-03T20:14:00.010Z

Each time I go down the A93 to Aberdeen, my eye is taken by the pink walls of Harthill Castle near Oyne - four stories and a garret, its bartizans tower above the surrounding trees. Today, for the first time, I arranged to take a couple of photos. It's a stunning place. Strange to think that for three hundred years it was a noble ruin.

The castle was built by John Leith of Harthill in the early years of the seventeenth century; his son was Patrick Leith, a passionate Royalist in those difficult civil war times. So passionate that he was executed aged 25, having first torched his own castle to stop the wretched Covenanters getting their dirty hands on it! (Charles II seemed to have a string of eccentric Scottish lairds in his entourage - Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty fought with him at Worcester, was taken prisoner, did a translation of Rabelais' bawdy stories and later died laughing when Charles became king).

Like many other fine restored Scottish castles, it is now a private residence, having been beautifully restored in the 1970s using the traditional harled exterior. (I don't suppose anyone knows if it was originally pink).

And so ironically it has probably been occupied about as long since it was restored as it was when built in the 17th century.

What is a clan? When is a clan not a clan?

2009-02-21T11:36:00.024Z

Clans (Gaelic clann, children) provided the social fabric of the Scottish Highlands from medieval times until 1746. Central to this system, the roots of which lie in the Celtic tribes that confronted Julius Caesar, was that the clan chief held land, duthcas, on behalf of his people. He was responsible for their security, wellbeing and the administration of justice. The clansmen (anyone living on the duthcas) in turn owed unswerving loyalty to the chief. Clansmen felt no allegiance to the king of Scots or his lowland adherents, sasannach.

The last Gaelic speaking king of Scotland died in 1513. Thereafter Gaelic became marginalised and the Highland clans developed separately from Lowland Scotland which housed the ruling elite. Apart from a different social structure and a different language, the Highland clans had a different dress (kilt), different music (bagpipes) and a different morality (the clan chief had an absolute duty to ensure the clan had food; if that meant stealing cattle then so be it). Clansmen raided regularly into Lowland Scotland and the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century all had their roots in the Highlands. As with any minority aggressively asserting its own culture and threatening the status quo, the clans were resented, feared, despised. It was only in the 19th century under the influence of Queen Victoria's 'Balmorality' that Highland culture became not just accepted but highly fashionable.

In my recent post on the last Cunningham Chief I referred to the 'Cunningham Family'. But the tombstone states 'Chief of Clan Cunningham'. So which is it?

When the Cunninghams arrived in Ayrshire south of Glasgow in the 12th century (along with the Bruces, the Grahams and many others), they spoke English and it's unlikely any land-owning Cunningham ever spoke Gaelic, understood about duthcas, or felt the least affinity with Gaelic culture. Their language became the rich Ayrshire Scots of Robert Burns. And the last Earl of Glencairn, who took holy orders in the Church of England, was certainly the most unlikely clan chief.

So runs the argument for the Cunninghams being a Lowland Family rather than a Highland Clan.

Sadly, since the death of the Earl of Glencairn in 1796, there has been no chief to provide guidance. There is also no Cunningham Association in the UK. There are two quarrelling Cunningham Associations in the USA; about the only thing that they agree on is that we are a clan not a family. Our American cousins actually take an active interest in preserving the Cunningham heritage; so who are we, who do nothing about it, to tell them what is right or wrong?

So 'Long Live Clan Cunningham!' and thank you Larry Augsbury, High Commissioner of the Clan Cunningham Society of America, for that fine memorial to our last clan chief!

A Memorial to the last Earl of Glencairn - and a little soul searching.

2009-02-10T22:02:00.014Z

The way we Scots see our clan heritage is a bit different to the view from North America or 'down under'. Whilst sometimes we may consider that others go a little over the top, at other times I am in awe of their dedication and enthusiasm. Take for example, the memorial stone to the last Earl of Glencairn (died 1796), which I visited on Saturday.

When the Clan Cunningham Society of America discovered that the tombstone of Glencairn, the last chief of the Cunningham Family was missing from St Cuthberts Kirkyard, Edinburgh, they commissioned another one. Not just a tombstone but a granite memorial, the 'full achievement' of the arms of the Earl of Glencairn, carved in Colorado and dedicated on 25 November 2003.

"What", the Clan Cunningham Society of America might well ask, "have Scottish Cunninghams been doing these last 200 years to honour the last of their line of chiefs?" 'Not a lot' is the anwer. Challenging question. Perhaps, with our roots deep in the Scottish soil, we feel comfortable as part of 21st century Scotland and so have less urge to seek connections with our ancestors. The two need not be incompatible however. Happily I think that we Scots are now better at meeting the needs of those who come over here on a significant emotional journey. Clan Societies are becoming stronger and this year we will welcome 9,000 clansmen as part of The Gathering 2009.

There are also companies, such as my own Scottish Clans and Castles, which arrange personalised journeys to clan lands. I have felt quite emotional on several occasions when guiding visitors to the places where their ancestors lived, fought, feasted, died. I hate to sound like a politician, but it really was a privilege - and a prod that we Scots should relish what we have here on our doorstep.

Rait Castle (and inadequate leglislation)

2009-02-02T07:14:00.022Z

Rait Castle, a mile south of Nairn, is the best surviving example of a Scottish hall castle and yet in the last twenty years or more nothing has been done to protect this unique 800 year old structure. I took a walk up there yesterday. The owners have done a certain amount of shrub clearance, (I am told that more is planned) and with the foliage now at its thinnest you can get an idea of how the buildings within the protective barmkin wall might have looked when the castle was abandoned in the 15th century. But it is damage to the building itself that really concerns me: trees grow out of the wallheads, their roots boring into the handiwork of those who probably also built Barevan Kirk and some of Kinloss Abbey.

Some ten years ago I put up a site, provocatively titled Save Rait Castle. It is now a bit out of date but I hope you can see there why this castle is both historically important and architecturally impressive. There is also a good ghost story.

Why has nothing been done? It's a long story, centring round a protracted dispute over ownership which allows bureaucracy to look the other way pleading, "We can't do anything until we know the legal owner". Personally I think the law must be changed so that landowners are obliged to take responsibility for historically important buildings on their land and the state is obliged to intervene to get things done, imposing harsh penalties for non-cooperation.

Finally, and a little whimsically, Gervaise de Rait was Edward I of England's man in Nairnshire. When Edward was strutting his stuff as the self-appointed 'Overlord of Scotland' in 1303, he spent ten days at Lochindorb Castle. During this period his army famously took Urquhart Castle, but also Nairn Castle. Rait lies on the road from Lochindorb to Nairn and it would be strange indeed if he didn't dine, or sleep, or both with his adherent at Rait!

Jerome S. Anderson (The First)

2009-01-29T21:04:00.009Z

This was never meant to be a family history site but I was delighted, back in November 2007, to have united descendants of Jerome S Anderson who left the Isle of Skye for the New World in 1706. The descendants in the original post were living in Norway and France. I wrote then, "Who knows? There may be a whole lot more of you out there waiting to be linked up", and little suspected that this would unearth descendants in Waterford Connecticut, New Mexico, North Carolina and Schuylkill Pennsylvania!

Here now is a picture of the great man. Many thanks Suzanne Tedeschi.

Mullach Clach a'Bhlair

2009-01-28T20:37:00.010Z

This post has nothing to do with clans and castles - I forsook the office and took to the hills today. This is what I saw.

Glen Feshie:
A little of the ancient Caledonian Pine Forest (and three generations of cocker spaniel):
Cadha na Coin Duibh:
Approaching the summit of Mullach Clach a'Bhlair:

Barack Obama and Robert Burns

2009-01-25T16:56:00.015Z

It's always irritating to be beaten to a good idea! With the newspapers today packed with the words of these two plain speaking, egalitarian-minded men (today is the 250th anniversary of Burns' birth), it seemed a good idea to link the two. Unfortunately Emma Cowing in the Scotsman got there first.

I have written already of how Abraham Lincoln used to carry a volume of Burns around with him. Indeed I wrote then that Burns' passion for social justice fuelled the US leader's crusade to emancipate African-Americans.

Has President Obama read any Burns? I suspect not, but I think he would enjoy it...

The Tree of Liberty (circa 1789)

Wi' plenty o' sic trees I trow,

The warld would live in peace, man;

The sword wad help to mak a plough ,

The din o' war wad cease, man.

Like brethren in a common cause,

We'd on each other smile, man;

And equal rights and equal laws,

Wad gladden every isle man.

I would like to trawl through President Obama’s Inaugural Address and other speeches looking for parallels but the haggis is smelling good and I am being called on to mash the neeps!

It looks like a good evening. Och Aye. And we’ll tak a right guid willy waught, for auld lang syne.

Happy Burns Night!

Britannia's Slaves

2009-01-21T12:12:00.017Z

Most of us in Scotland watched yesterday's inauguration of the 44th President with a degree of excitement. The BBC commentators made the point several times that whilst President Obama's roots are in Kenya, his wife Michelle's ancestors were slaves.

The talk of slavery set me thinking for some reason about that great English anthem, 'Rule Britannia', (sung with great gusto each year at the Last Night of the Proms in London):

When Britain first, at Heaven's command

Arose from out the azure main;

This was the charter of the land,

And guardian angels sang this strain:

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:

"Britons never will be slaves."

Leaving aside the question of The Almighty's role in creating this island, it is interesting that these words, (by Lowland Scot James Thomson) were first heard in London in 1745. It was in the following year, after the Battle of Culloden, that thousands of clansmen (each one a British citizen) were sold into slavery in America. More would follow.

Mind you, this had already been going on for a hundred years or more:

On 28 July 1651, John Cotton, a Puritan Minister in Boston, wrote to Oliver Cromwell, "The Scots whom God delivered into your hands at Dunbarre and whereof sundry were sent hither, we have been desirous (as we could) to make their yoke easy. Such as were sick of the scurvey or other diseases have not wanted Physick and chyrugery. They have not been sold for slaves to perpetual servitude. But for 6 or 7 or 8 yeares as we do our own."

Note: The reference is to the Battle of Dunbar, September 1650.

Dunnottar Castle

2009-01-17T14:08:00.016Z

I have felt a great warmth towards Dunnottar Castle ever since, ten years ago, I wrote and published the official guidebook. The castle, however, has never reciprocated - mainly since it has no heating. And this is one of the concerns expressed by our Schools Minister, Maureen Watt who has called for the castle to be taken into state control .

Dunnottar, on a windswept clifftop south of Aberdeen, is about fifteen minutes walk from the road and there is no shop, no tea room, no electricity, and normally only one member of staff in the place. And yet this is one of the most significant of Scotland's castles - William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, the Marquis of Montrose, Charles II, they have all been here and added their stories to this extraordinary cluster of buildings. Dunnottar also saw the dramatic saving of Scotland's crown jewels, the oldest in the United Kingdom, from under the nose of Oliver Cromwell who hoped to destroy them.

The owners of the castle point out that visitor numbers are rising. But Dunnottar should be seeing 60,000 visitors per annum, not the present 40,000. More importantly, the visitor experience is not nearly as good as it could be. Government administration is not necessarily the answer: some of the most exciting visitor attractions in Scotland are privately owned castles - Glamis, Cawdor, Inveraray. But these have been in the family for 50o years or more; the last Keith Earl Marischal of Scotland left Dunnottar in 1651 and the castle fell to Dunecht Estates, the present owners, almost by accident in 1925.

At the moment Dunnottar is a convenient cash cow within a business whose main interests lie elsewhere. To be fair, much has been done in the last ten years - there is now an exhibition, there are benches and the rock doves have been denied access to at least some of the buildings. But this is not enough. Back in 2001 I researched the opportunities for grant funding to allow Dunnottar to become a modern, welcoming, visitor attraction. No doubt rules have changed but if government ministers are expresssing concern, then money will be found and if Dunecht Estates are not able to embrace such an initiative, then I hope Maureen Watt gets her way.

PS. The stunning shots in this post are by Jim Henderson whose photos also account for the great success of the castle guidebook.

Aldourie Castle

2009-01-08T09:12:00.010Z

Every good tour guide knows Aldourie Castle - it's the fanfare of towers and turrets seen across Loch Ness for about ten seconds before it disappears again. Apart from ruined Urquhart, Aldourie is the only castle on Loch Ness but for years tour guides have not known what to say about its present state: it was privately owned by Angus and Judy Cameron until 2002 and then sold to some Americans who did nothing with it.

I was there yesterday with three of my Scottish Clans and Castles colleagues and can report that Aldourie is now embarked on the most amazing rebirth. Furniture, fittings and thousands of books are all in store whilst the castle is gutted and reorganised as a dramatic 'exclusive use' venue. Quite unusually, the English owners are passionate about restoring the castle to recall its Victorian glory - the time when the Fraser Tytler family entertained with great style in their very fashionable Scottish Baronial castle, recently created from a traditional laird's house, built by the Dunbar family in the 17th century.

We stood on the battlements and looked at Loch Ness through diverging vistas of mature trees. We went through a lychgate to see the private graveyard in the woods. We admired the arboretum and three massive dilapidated greenhouses flanking an enormous kitchen garden. All of this is being restored.

There is no doubt that the revitalised Aldourie Castle will again see entertainment in great style. If you would like to book Aldourie for a family or business event, just let us know.

Jacobite Symbolism

2008-12-19T10:03:00.026Z

'Amen glasses' (right) are so called as they were inscribed with the Jacobite version of the National Anthem which ends, 'Amen'. 'Amen glasses' are on display at Traquair and at Culloden Battlefield.
Jacobites would toast the king at official dinners whilst passing their wine glass over water bowls to signify the Stuart king in exile, "over the water." This is why water bowls were banned at royal banquets until 1903.

And now a musical expert believes that "O Come All ye Faithful" is actually a Jacobite call to arms...

"Fideles is Faithful Catholic Jacobites. Bethlehem is a common Jacobite cipher for England, and Regem Angelorum is a well-known pun on Angelorum (angels) and Anglorum (English). So 'Come and Behold Him, Born the King of Angels' really means, 'Come and Behold Him, Born the King of the English' - Bonnie Prince Charlie!"

So if you raise a festive glass this Christmas or sing a much loved carol, beware of being tacitly treasonable. They're watching, you know.

Happy Christmas!

A Bedrock of Scottish Civil Life dies after 313 Years

2008-12-13T08:45:00.014Z

I wrote on Thursday about the attempted castration of Scotland by Edward I of England. Well, some here feel that a combination of greed and arrogance both in Scotland and in the USA have now more or less done the job. It happened yesterday in Birmingham where shareholders voted to approve the merger of the Bank of Scotland with Lloyds TSB.

Just three years after the Massacre of Glencoe subscription books, bound in red leather, were opened in Edinburgh and London. In time, 172 shareholders emerged and gathered together a working capital of some £100,000 sterling. The following year The Bank of Scotland was the first in Europe to issue paper currency; seen here is a twelve pound note dated 24 June 1723 .

When Prince Charles Edward took Edinburgh in the 1745 Rising, all the bank's papers and valuables were safely stored in Edinburgh Castle which never fell to the Jacobites. And in the 1800's when many other banks failed, the Bank of Scotland soldiered on. Until yesterday.

The history of the bank is given here and the page's title is
'Bank of Scotland (1695 - )'.

Well now they can fill that bit in!

A Significant Escape

2008-12-11T20:51:00.011Z

On this day, 11 December, in 1282 the last native prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, was killed by Edward I of England's soldiers. Edward then announced that the new Prince of Wales would be "a prince born in Wales, who did not speak a word of Welsh" and produced his infant son, later Edward II, born at Caernavon Castle when his father was campaigning in the area.

And so it is that to this day the male heir to the British throne automatically becomes 'Prince of Wales'.

Which makes me ponder on the lucky escape we had in Scotland. Edward was good at castrating the countries that he aimed to control. After Wales he moved on to Scotland and removed the ceremonial Stone of Scone upon which Scottish kings were crowned. How fortunate we were to have William Wallace to lead the resistance to Edward's 'overlordship' until the English king was overcome by a surfeit of campaigning, and King Robert I to defeat Edward II in battle at Bannockburn (above).

R.I.P. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.

St Andrew's Day

2008-11-30T12:52:00.008Z

Today is St Andrew's Day. 30th November is celebrated as a national saint's day not just here in Scotland, but also in Russia, Greece and Romania. He is our saint because a monk called Rule brought one of St Andrew's bones to Scotland in the fourth century; Rule was actually shipwrecked at a place now known as St Andrews. And the holy relic, held for centuries in the cathedral there, caused St Andrews to be a great place of pilgrimage until the Reformation. Still the pilgrims come, but now they bring their golf clubs.

And now that we have a Scottish National Party Government, today has increased prominence and civil servants are enjoying a National Holiday. We are encouraged to become involved and Nairn Academy, my daughter's school, has obliged by creating a St Andrew's flag made of 1000 staff and pupils .

This year St Andrew's Day is also being used to launch the Year of Homecoming 2009 with a very neat little TV advertisement: "Caledonia" featuring pop singers, sportsmen and even Sean Connery. Worth watching.

One of the most prominent events of Homecoming 2009 is the The International Clan Gathering in Edinburgh next July, but if you are planning to be there, you should be stirring yourself as tickets (known as 'passports') are in short supply. (Only from Scottish Clans and Castles can you still get a hold of Gold Passports!).

Clan Chiefs and their ancestral homes

2008-11-26T21:41:00.020Z

There is an understandable curiosity amongst visitors to Scotland about our clan chiefs. Generalisaton is impossible, however. The chief of Clan Murray is the 11th Duke of Atholl: his seat is at Blair Castle and he commands the Atholl Highlanders, the only legal private army in Europe but actually lives in Haenertsburg, South Africa. The chief of Clan Campbell is the 13th Duke of Argyll: his seat is Inveraray Castle built by his ancestor in 1746. In 2005 he captained the Chivas Regal Scotland team to win the World Elephant Polo Championships for the second year running.

I could go on. They are a colourful bunch.

A year or two ago I took a German journalist to meet Lachie Rattray, chief of Clan Rattray. We met in the beautiful and dramatic Craighall Castle (above) which has been in the family since 1533. He shattered a few of her illusions however when he explained that to fund the castle upkeep, he runs an architectural salvage and bath cleaning business and his elegant wife Nicky owns a bunkhouse in Stirling and offers Bed and Breakfast in the castle (enjoyed by several of our clients).

Alas it seems that the struggle has been too great and the lovely Craighall Castle is up for sale.
Much though I like them, I do hope there are no worthwhile offers.

A Jacket with Pedigree (and Airmiles)

2008-11-20T22:25:00.023Z

The owners of Campbell & Co, ladies' and gentlemen's tailors, hosiers and outfitters of many years standing, will often recognise their clients as they come through its doors in Beauly near Inverness.

And so it was one sunny day in September. Except that it was the jacket rather than the face that was familiar. "
I haven't seen that tweed for a while," remarked Mr Campbell.
"No," agreed his sister. "It used to be a Hunters of Brora favourite."

The jacket's wearer, Tim Krech from Carmel, California, here on a Clans and Castles holiday is rather intrigued by this. "Well, my grandfather married an English lady. He loved Scotland and bought a lot of his clothes here."

"Would you mind, Sir, if I had a very quick look at the inside of your pocket?" Tim's smile broadens. "As I suspected," continues Mr Campbell, "I measured your grandfather for this jacket myself. In fact if you give me a moment I may be able to turn up the ledger."

And there it was. The picture shows Tim Krech with Mr Campbell holding the book which his grandfather, also from California, signed in 1971 when the jacket Tim is wearing was ordered.

And there it will remain, long after 2008 internet purchases, (and probably many of the goods themselves) are forgotten.

Outlander Film

2008-11-02T21:42:00.005Z

I was going to write about ghosts today - seemed appropriate for Hallowe'en and at Scottish Clans and Castles we are planning a self guided tour of haunted places for 2009.

But then I opened my Sunday paper and saw myself quoted in connection with the upcoming (?) Outlander Film based on Diana Gabaldon's novels. I had put Brian Pendreigh, the journalist, in touch with some of our Outlander tourists for ideas as to who should play the lead parts.
'My personal pick for Jamie Fraser is Gerrard Butler http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2194444800/tt0402057' wrote Macy from Arkansas, ' (in fact, I can't see anyone else playing the part - if you have seen Beowulf and Grendel or Atilla you will know what I mean'.
Dawn from Minnesota is voting for Tony Curran. 'He's worn a kilt in many movies so he wouldn't be afraid to wear one again!'

As you can see Pendreigh favours James McAvoy and Keira Knightley (above). Feel free to join the debate!

Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln

2008-10-05T06:46:00.009Z

I have previously referred to the influence of Robert Burns on Abraham Lincoln. Now a leading American academic, Dr Ferenc Morton Szasz, has published his findings that Lincoln could recite Burns' work by heart and that the Scot's passion for social justice fuelled the US leader's crusade to emancipate African-Americans. More detail in today's Scotland on Sunday.

The publication is timely as we approach 2009 and the 250th anniversary of the poet's birth, celebrated here in Scotland with the Year of Homecoming.

The Wallace Monument

2008-10-04T16:46:00.017Z

I visited the Wallace Monument last week. This is not what I saw - but it might have been!

The idea of a monument to commemorate William Wallace, the Great Patriot, first discussed in 1818, found form in 1856. But the proposed massive sculpture of a Scottish lion in the act of killing the English typhon designed by Sir Joseph Noel Paton was considered ‘too provocative’!

So a competition was arranged. It was won by the Glasgow-based architect J T Rochead, with the present tower, designed to recall the tower houses that had sprung up all over Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Like them, the Wallace Monument is of rough hewn stone and is light on windows; it is topped with a crown spire, a peculiarly Scottish motif.

Nowadays we treat the monument on Abbey Craig by Stirling as part of the landscape. But in Victorian times it was the centre of some controversy. Some thought it a 'fantastic nightmare of a memorial', others detected the vital connection between a rugged castle-like monumentalism and an idea of 'Scottishness'. I would agree with neither but it provides a good oversight of both Wallace and Stirlingshire - well worth a visit if you can cope with the 246 turnpike steps.

Outlander Tourists and Highland Weapons

2008-09-16T20:23:00.005Z

Amongst his many accomplishments Jamie Fraser, hero of Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series, was highly skilled with Highland weaponry. Last night those on our fourth Outlander Tour enjoyed trying the weapons for themselves under instruction from Hugh Allison, author and mine of information on the Battle of Culloden.

I always enjoy leading these Outlander tours. The weather has been a bit grey, but a happy group has interrogated salmon fishermen, tapped feet to Highland folk music, seen where the Brahan Seer's prophesies came true and sampled local malt whisky and elderflower wine. (This in additon to the headline activities noted on the website!). Tomorrow, it seems, the weather will be better and we head by Loch Ness to Glenshiel, the brochs at Glenelg and the Isle of Skye.

The Great North of Scotland Railway

2008-09-05T05:34:00.018Z

Yesterday I was tempted out to walk a stretch of the 'Speyside Way', a long distance footpath, and found myself on part of the old Great North of Scotland Railway line between Grantown-on-Spey and Nethy Bridge. Nethy Bridge Station, terminus for this line from 1863 to 1866, has been a bunk house since the line closed in the 1960s. At one stage, though, there were two Nethy Bridge stations. Potentially a little confusing. The other, built by the rival Highland Railway on the other side of the Spey is still in use and now called Broomhill. As we walked we saw the steam train of the Strathspey Railway pulling in, turning round and heading back to Aviemore.

The two lines shadowed each other on either side of the Spey for about six miles. Competition between the rival companies was clearly intense, yet quality in these massive works of engineering didn't seem to suffer. One hundred and fifty years on and the line is flat as ever; the bridges, untended for fifty years, and now shrouded by trees, stand as a testament to Victorian building standards.

We watched as anglers enjoyed some of the best salmon fishing in Scotland. The Spey, 100 miles long, is one of the 'big four', yielding 10,000 salmon annually. This lovely river which of course gives its name to speycasting, also has happy associations with drinking (Speyside Malts) and dancing (The Strathspey).

And just by Nethy Bridge we passed the very fine but very ruined Castle Roy, a thirteenth century courtyard castle of the Comyns. A good day out.

The MacKinnons of Strathaird

2008-08-09T15:34:00.035Z

‘An Srath Fhionnghain gheal,
‘S an grinne beus gun smal’

The MacKinnons arrived on Skye in the early 14th century. The clan chief followed about two hundred years later after some local difficulty on Mull where the MacKinnon chiefs had been hereditary Abbots of Iona and Standard Bearers to the Lords of the Isles

A MacKinnon from Canada was in the ancient clan lands on Skye with her husband and family on Tuesday.

We went to Kilmarie and so out to Dun Ringill, a dramatic cliff-top ruin and the clan's principal castle until the later 15th century. Rory got stung by nettles in the 2000 year old doorway, Mark discovered how they barred the door, Deanna found white heather and Denise learnt a little more Gaelic: Dùn ruabh mòr-ghil, the fort at the point of the ravine.

On the way we saw the the burial place of the MacKinnons of Strathaird at Cill Chriosd....

Sadly the clan has not been a presence on Skye for 250 years. In 1746 the chief, Iain Og (that's 'Young Iain', Denise) helped Prince Charles Edward escape to the mainland. For his pains he was apparently given exclusive access to the recipe for Drambuie , but also spent four years on a prison ship in the Thames. His son sold the MacKinnon lands to pay off debts in 1765.

I'll leave the last word to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull who used to own the land at Kilmarie:

..We'll wait in stone circles 'til the force comes through
lines joint in faint discord and the stormwatch brews
a concert of kings as the white sea snaps
at the heels of a soft prayer whispered
In the wee hours I'll meet you down by Dun Ringill...

Auld Wat of Harden

2008-07-29T20:00:00.008Z

Cattle graze peacefully in this picture I took last Sunday of Kirkhope Tower in the Ettrick Valley. But it was not always thus. Kirkhope was the home of 'Auld Wat of Harden' one of the most notorious and colourful of the Border Reivers. In 1597 he led a raid on Bellingham in Northumberland with three hundred men and came back with four hundred head of cattle. The Scotts have always dominated the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys and Bowhill, residence of the (Scott) Duke of Buccleuch lies just a few miles down the valley, not far from Abbotsford House, famously home of Auld Wat's descendant, the novelist Sir Walter Scott.

'Not really a castle though, is it?', someone said. In fact these tower houses were the style of the time for landowners throughout Scotland: economical to build, one big room on each floor and high enough so that a fire on the battlements could be seen by the next tower up the valley and so pass the warning if a raid was coming up from the other direction.

Ironically it may be Auld Wat's wife that has left us the best story from Kirkhope. She was Mary Scott of Dryhope (below) known as the 'Flower of Yarrow', and when the larder was bare, she would just put Auld Wat's spurs on a plate and set it in front of him at dinner time!

Can we book a haunted castle please!

2008-07-15T18:42:00.006Z

Sometimes people ask to spend a night in a haunted castle - prompting a thought as to whether, in this litigious age, they have any recourse if they book a 'haunted castle' and neither see nor hear anything!

But last month a group from Pennsylvania innocently celebrating a fiftieth birthday in one of our Aberdeenshire castles experienced the unexpected...

"Our Ghost was first seen when my friend Ed was putting wood in the fireplace in the basement room ... [He] swears there was a man sitting in the chair, dressed in tweed-like clothing - patches on the elbows, arms on either armrest staring straight ahead. He vanished very quickly.

The second sighting was when my friend Nancy and I were in the room watching the Stanley Cup playoff hockey game .... I was sitting in the chair closest to the door and Nancy was on the couch. Nancy saw a person sitting on the other chair. She was scared, didn't want to scare me so she left to go to bed. The next day she related the story, and she and Ed started comparing the look of the ghost and described him wearing the same exact thing, sitting in the exact same pose, etc.

Nancy is an artist and is going to draw "Angus."We felt no animosity from him, talked to him every time we went into that room - but no one else saw him. We figured he liked hockey and just wanted to hang out for a while!

Nancy also said in her room (the 4-poster which would have been the master bedroom at one time) she heard as clear as a bell a child saying "ma ma," in a whiny distressed kind of way, and when she looked out the window she thought she saw someone in the field above the house, however figured it was a tree. The next day when she looked there were no trees in that particular place.

Others who stayed in the castle said they felt cold breezes and "felt" a presence, never angry or mean - just peaceful and curious."

Out of consideration for Angus, future tenants will be asked to leave a hockey game showing on the TV where possible when they retire to bed!

Iona - pilgrimage site or holiday destination?

2008-07-13T16:03:00.010Z

Iona has an ancient and a sacred ring to it: burial place of Scottish kings; monastery founded by St Columba in 563; heart of the Celtic church for 500 years; pilgrimage site and home to the Iona Community.

Happily Iona is not easily accessible; it is still a bit of a pilgrimage involving two ferries. But inevitably in summer it attracts plenty tourists like the couple from New York whom I was guiding.

Geographically similar to many other Hebridean islands, Iona is different. Even from the ferry port on Mull you can see the impressive abbey on the other side, and once you approach it along the pilgrims' route, studded by massive Celtic Crosses like St Martin's Cros (above), you come to the 12th Century Chapel of St Odhrán (right) and Reilig Odhrán containing the unmarked graves of some 48 Scottish kings. From there sràid nam marbha, 'the street of the dead', an ancient cobbled track, leads to the abbey, a holy place which straddles the millennia, now home to the (ecumenical) Christian Iona Community.

It was lovely being there in the summer, but on this island chosen for its remoteness, there were too many people. I am going back when there is snow in the air and may perhaps come closer to the long-lived spirit of St Columba.

The Clans in Paris

2008-06-30T20:01:00.017Z

No, you're right. Edinburgh is indeed the setting for the The Gathering of the Clans in 2009, but last week I was exploring those places in Paris and its environs where Scottish history was played out, guiding six American ladies, previous clients of ours in Scotland.

I have written that the 'Auld Alliance' was a rather one way affair, with the Scots giving the French help that was rarely reciprocated. But for for selected Scots, French kings were exceptionally hospitable. In 1418, suspicious of his countrymen, the future King Charles VII of France formed a personal bodyguard, 'La Garde Écossaise', from the 6000 Scots fighting for him at the time. The guard gave invaluable service, was well rewarded and was finally disbanded in 1830.

Pausing only briefly at 'Le Loch Ness' (!), we walked across the Seine to the Rue St Antoine, scene of a low point in the history of La Garde Écossaise: in 1559 its Captain, Gabriel de Montgomery, riding in a tournament there, accidentally delivered a fatal blow in the eye to King Henri II (incidentally brother-in-law to Mary Queen of Scots). The unfortunate Scot was later executed.

Beyond lies the wonderful Place des Vosges, the heart of fashionable Paris in the 17th century. We visited No. 6, not because it is the MuséeVictor Hugo but because this was the home of Marie-Louise de Rohan, Prince Charles Edward's mistress in the two years following the 1745 Rising. Nothing of that period survives except the official address: Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée. To the right is the front door, one that Prince Charles Edward rarely took, since Louise was his first cousin and her husband one of his best friends. His visits, well documented by the Paris police, were via the nearby alleyway.

Next day we visited Versailles: breathtakingly extravagant and so strikingly different to courtly life in Scotland at the time (even taking on board Charles McKean's excellent book on The Scottish Chateau). It was also odd to be there with coach loads of Italians and scores of french school children when Prince Charles Edward who so longed for and so needed Louis XV's help with his forthcoming attempt to win the throne, was never allowed inside the place!

Time did not however allow us to go to St Germain-en-Laye, birthplace of Louis XIV, home to the exiled Jacobite Court from 1689 and base for thousands of impoverished, rootless, exiled Jacobites for the next two generations. Our King James VII is entombed in the church there. Next time.

Finally, herewith a shot of the Tuileries Gardens where old George Keith the last Earl Marischal of Scotland met secretly with Prince Charles Edward in 1752. George was by then Prussian ambassador to Paris . Scotland was by then part of the United Kingdom. This was probably, then, the last play in 400 years of Scottish political intrigue and involvement on French soil.

I am returning to Paris in the autumn to revisit these places and more. I would be delighted if you could join me.

Culloden - Did it really change World History?

2008-06-07T16:04:00.009Z

The National Trust for Scotland is a conservative sort of organisation, not normally given to rash claims. And yet at the new Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre there is a prominent announcement that this battle changed World History! I have visited several times and enjoy the new centre very much , but find no evidence that the battle 'changed history'! Even if Prince Charles Edward had by some extraordinary stroke of good generalship won on 16 July 1746, would he really have gone on with his army 6,000, valiant, tough, but mostly untrained Highlanders, to overcome the British Army of 62,000? Would Louis XV,who did not support the Prince when he embarked from France, nor at the propitious moment following the victory at Prestonpans, really have committed the French troops required to turn the tide? I think not, and anyway we are a long way from the Battle of Culloden changing European or World History. Surely it merely prolonged the status quo!

It's an excellent exhibition nevertheless, giving the lie to any idea that this was a Scots v. English affair, and well worth a visit.

And if you disagree with me, please post a comment!

Scottish Clans and Castles on the Move

2008-06-01T15:40:00.000Z

Today we completed our move to Geddes House - a classic Georgian houses in the Scottish Highlands. We are in the cellars but we still love it! We have more room, and are surrounded by Geddes Free Range chickens and pigs!

The Emigration Stone at Cromarty

2008-05-12T21:19:00.009Z

It was a treat to visit Cromarty on this beautiful spring day, whin flowers on the hillsides a splash of vivid yellow. Cromarty still retains a whiff of the 18th century even though the traditional houses are now home to computer programmers, web designers and to Calico UK, internet service provider for Scottish Clans and Castles.

I was with the first of our 2008 Outlander Tours. We wandered the narrow vennels, told stories of smugglers and pirates, and rope made here from hemp imported from St Petersburg. Most of all, though, we admired the 'Emigration Stone', above.

The words on it are from Cromarty's most famous son, Hugh Miller - Geologist, Writer and Naturalist, who watched ships sail off to the New World in the 1830s...

"The Cleopatra, as she swept past the town of Cromarty, was greeted with three cheers by crowds of the inhabitants and the emigrants returned the salute, but mingled with the dash of the waves and the murmurs of the breeze, their faint huzzas seemed rather sounds of wailing and lamentation than of a congratulatory farewell."

Hugh Miller also wrote. "Life itself is a school, and nature always a fresh study". Particularly true today.

Runic Graffiti on The Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

2008-05-04T07:18:00.011Z

Sixty stones once stood in The Ring of Brodgar. Each slab, nine or ten feet tall, was set about five degrees apart to form an almost perfect circle on the open moorland. This remarkable monument was created some time before the Pyramids. We don't know exactly why. It is a World Heritage Site, but this hasn't stopped people carving their names. The most interesting is 'Bjorn', a Viking with some time on his hands in the 12th century. Underneath his spindly runic writing, he scratched a cross. How remote these runes seem to us! And yet we are separated from Bjorn by just 800 years; he is separated from those who erected these stones by some four thousand years.

Note: Only the first three of five runes that make up the name are illustrated.

The Declaration of Arbroath & The American Declaration of Independence

2008-04-23T20:15:00.016Z

Several people have pointed out the parallels between the Declaration of Arbroath (1320) and the American Declaration of Independence (1776). Similarities are perhaps not surprising since of the governors from the thirteen signatory states, nine including Thomas Jefferson, were of Scots descent. The documents are from very different times, written in very different ways, but both enhance the power and rights of the people. Arbroath, written at the abbey of the same name (below), airs for the first time the radical idea that a king is only king for as long as he protects the freedoms of his people.

Fans of the Diana Gabaldon novels will remember that in Chapter 112 of 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes', her hero Jamie finds that he is spurred on to join the revolutionaries by his own stirring rendering of the well known lines from Arbroath, '... for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.'

Aye, and there's a good few that still get carried away with their anti-English rhetoric! Just the other day our First Minister, Alex Salmond, was telling his Scottish National Party conference that, 'we can make Westminster (UK Parliament) dance to a Scottish jig'. But the English are not particularly good dancers, let alone to Scottish music. Soon, I believe, it may be the English people who will be drawing up a Declaration of Independence. And this would be just as biased in favour of the larger nation as was the 1707 Act of Union!

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

2008-04-20T17:40:00.015Z

Vikings don't enjoy a great reputation as Christians or as builders. However in the 12th century, the Norse Earl Rognvald of Orkney brought master masons up from Durham to build a cathedral in honour of St Magnus, his uncle.

Magnus gives his name to Kirkwall's impressive cathedral and his spirit presumably inhabits the building; as does, at least in part, his body since during some renovation work in 1919, his skull, famously cleft by an axe for reasons too long to recount here, was found and still lies in a pillar of the building.

I was there on Friday and once again marvelled at this Romanesque masterpiece, where local red sandstone often alternates impressively with yellow stone from the isle of Eday. But my eye was taken by something else (well, it was pointed out by our excellent guide, Steve Nottage): a 'Mort Bord', in memory of a Robert Nicolsone.

I wonder if Robert was a rather 21st century person who thought gravestones to be grotesque, and preferred the idea of a wooden memorial which would return to dust in due course of time. If so it would be a shock that his 'bord' is still hanging there 400 years later. Mind you, it also seems a bit hard on St Magnus to have his skull still stuck in a pillar 800 years on. I'm sure he deserves better.

The Declaration of Arbroath and the Butler of Scotland

2008-04-02T20:09:00.010Z

The letter sent by 38 Scots Lords to the Pope in 1320, contains a certain amount of whimsical stuff about the Pillars of Hercules and the Tyrrhenian Sea, but its ringing declaration of nationhood bears repeating:

"Yet if he (King Robert, 'The Bruce') should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."

Amongst the names on the document we find 'Walter, Steward of Scotland; William Soules, Butler of Scotland; Gilbert Hay, Constable of Scotland; Robert Keith, Marischal of Scotland.
The hereditary titles of Steward, Constable and Marischal to the crown continued in use until the 18th century. But the title Butler of Scotland quickly fell out of use.

I became interested in the de Soulis family when I was doing a little research on Hermitage Castle. Whilst there are plenty Stewarts, Hays and Keiths living in Scotland today, I can discover no record of anyone called Soules or de Soulis - at least not one with a telephone. Kilmarnock boasts a Soulis Street and a Soulis Cross (left) but no living Soulises! If anyone out there can tell me more about this family who were once so prominent in the Scottish court, whose ancestor was one of 38 Scots Lords who signed the famous Declaration of Arbroath, I'd be delighted to hear more!

Mary Queen of Scots in Liddesdale

2008-03-26T19:10:00.005Z

Potential visitors sometimes ask what the weather will be like in Scotland and I invariably resort to the comment that Scottish weather is 'notoriously unpredictable'. But even I didn't expect Easter weekend to be sub-zero and punctuated with snow showers. I was in the Borders, visiting Liddesdale, hard by the English border, and Hermitage Castle - "guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain".

Like Glencoe, Hermitage is best seen in foul weather to reflect all that has occurred in that remote place. The castle was once owned by a Baron de Soules, a noted warlock, who had been told that only a rope of sand could destroy him. However local people created a belt of lead into which sand was poured and, thus restrained, he was boiled in oil in a vast cauldron up on Ninestane Rig, a local stone circle.

The sun came out just long enough to allow this photograph and provide respite to reflect on the arrival here in October 1566 of the 24 year old Mary Queen of Scots. She had given birth to the future James VI of Scotland (James I of England) only four months earlier and so the 46 mile round trip from Jedburgh was perhaps ill advised. James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, was her host during the two hour visit. Bothwell, Lieutenant of the Marches in Scotland, had recently been wounded by a notorious reiver known as 'Wee Jock Elliot of the Park'. Next year Mary and Bothwell would be married. So whether it was the lieutenant or the wounded man that she was so keen to visit is an ongoing debate, but the weather was unpredictable as ever, and Mary's horse became stuck in a mire. On arrival back at Jedburgh Mary fell ill, suffering convulsions and losing both speech and sight.

Were it not for her French physician who bandaged her limbs, massaged her, and poured wine down her throat, the funeral, already being planned by the Earl of Moray would have proceeded. She is said to have remarked later in her troubled life, "Would that I had died in Jedburgh".

The house where she lodged in Jedburgh is open to the public.

Where are the Highlands?

2008-03-09T19:04:00.009Z

A passenger alighting from a cruise ship once asked me what altitude we were at and I replied that we were at sea level.
'But I thought we were coming to the Highlands!' she replied indignantly.
Perhaps she thought that the Highlands, along with the laws of physics, should be suspended a little for the benefit of tourists!

But the question as to what constitutes the Highlands is not a straightforward one.

Many historians have drawn lines on a map of Scotland (often called Lalland lines), showing the Highlands on one side, the Lowlands on the other. The problem is that any such line must include as part of the English speaking Lowlands all of the coastal strip north of Aberdeen. This coastal strip ultimately arrives at Inverness, capital of the Highlands and so begs the question of where the dividing line should be drawn.

When James VI of Scotland became James I of England he remarked playfully to his English courtiers that he had a town in Scotland so large that people at one end could not understand those at the other since they had a different tongue. That town was Nairn, 16 miles east of Inverness. A Gaelic-speaking market town, Nairn had seen an influx of English-speaking fisherfolk who had spread round the coast from Aberdeen. So Nairn has traditionally been considered the dividing line. But of course it is not as simple as that.

Last week I gave a lecture on the Campbells of Cawdor, an influential Nairnshire family whose castle is between Nairn and Inverness. Whilst researching, I was amused to come on the following quotation from 1691 in a letter by Sir Hugh Campbell, 15th Thane of Cawdor - and, you would certainly think, a Highlander... "Just upon the back of this there came two or three parties of Hielanders, one of them carried away above an hundred head of cattle out of Aitnoch. The people were secure and without fear; in short they were surprised and the cattle were carried into Lochaber."

Lochaber. Now THAT's definitely the Highlands. Despite much of it being at sea level!
See also my post on the Clans of Lochaber.

Barevan Kirk

2008-02-24T21:31:00.020Z

Spring has come early to Nairnshire. Today I bicycled out to one of my favourite spots, Barevan Kirk. Now a ruin, it was built in the 13th century on a site which had probably seen Christian worship since the days of St Columba in the 6th century. As you may see, Barevan is full of old gravestones; many of the inscriptions are irregular, like those cut by children into the trunks of old beech trees.

The most evocative tombstone in the kirk yard is that of Elizabeth Campbell of Clunas. Beautiful and well educated, she was born in Rome where her father was living in exile following his part in the 1715 Rising. She was engaged to tall, red-headed Alexander MacGillivray of Dunmaglass who led Clan Chattan at the Battle of Culloden; and since Clan Chattan was the first clan to charge in that well-documented disaster, he led the last ever Highland Charge. Every tourist visiting the battlefield walks past his memorial stone by the 'Well of the Dead'.

It may be that Elizabeth was also one of those local ladies who watched the battle. It is certain that some time afterwards, she bribed the picquets to release MacGillivray's body which was then buried in nearby Petty kirk yard. Elizabeth, aged 24, survived MacGillivray by just four months.

Just outside the kirk yard is a new private burial ground in which the late Lord Cawdor, father of the present earl, lies buried. He converted to Roman Catholicism late in life and thereby lies a longer story.

The Great Fraser Yew

2008-02-11T21:56:00.003Z

It is often thought that clansmen were recognised by their tartan. Not so. Tartans reflected regional preferences and the local availability of dyes. But all clansmen wore a plant badge: the MacDonalds heather, the Robertsons bracken, the Campbells bog myrtle and the Frasers wore yew. The significance of the Frasers' choice was lost on me until this last weekend when I walked out with some fellow guides to the Great Fraser Yew on the south side of Loch Ness. The Frasers arrived in the Highlands in the fourteenth century and the yew had already been there for about one thousand years by then. Young yew trees grow up around their dying parents and so, if left undisturbed, each tree will steadily expand. The Great Fraser Yew is now more than thirty yards in diameter.

The old trunk is hollow, moss covered, crumbling away. But its offspring form a cathedral around it. A hundred clansmen could gather here unseen. And this was indeed the principal gathering place for the Frasers of Stratherrick. How natural that, before a battle, they should put a sprig of yew in their bonnets as a symbol of fraternity; an impromptu idea perhaps, now enshrined in clan lore.

The walk in takes an hour or so over some fairly rough country. But there are rewards there, especially for Frasers; rewards that go beyond the lovely views of Loch Ness, the eerie uniqueness of the ancient tree, and the distant sound of men responding to a call to arms. To know more you need to go.

Castle Lachlan

2008-02-04T20:40:00.009Z

I was by Loch Fyne this weekend, a place which prompts thoughts of oysters, (the world's best, they say) and of Campbells (for many years Scotland's most influential clan) . Inveraray Castle, seat of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell, dominated this area before there was even a road from the rest of Scotland. And the clan, which steadfastly opposed the Jacobites, was similarly dominant throughout Argyll.

It was therefore bold, to say the least, of Clan MacLachlan a small clan with lands on the opposite side of the loch, to support the Jacobite Risings in 1689, 1715 and 1745. The seventeenth chief led his clan at the Battle of Culloden and was shot off his horse by a canon ball. It is said that the news of the battle was brought to Strathlachlan by the dead chief's riderless horse.

As punishment for joining the rising, Castle Lachlan, surrounded on three sides by the sea, was bombarded by the Royal Navy. It is now an evocative, and puzzling, ruin - an old 15th century keep to which two significant towers have been added and an internal courtyard formed. Windows have become doors and latrines perhaps turned into chimneys. And for those not intrigued by architectural history, the views of Loch Fyne are stunning. Well worth a visit.

Close by is Kilmorie Chapel where
the MacLachlan chiefs are buried.
The gravestone of Marjory MacLachlan, the 24th chief, is shown in this picture.

Cash for a Peerage Prompts Clan Slaughter and Two Pipe Tunes

2008-01-24T21:02:00.000Z

We were contacted yesterday by a lady called St Clair from West Palm Beach, Florida. She will be here for The Gathering in 2009 and wishes to visit Inveraray Castle (below) where her 3 x great grandfather was a gamekeeper. Well, Inveraray Castle in the south west of Scotland is the seat of the Duke of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell; the Sinclairs, on the other hand, come from Caithness in the far north east. Back in the early 19th century people did not move around that much and so this struck me as interesting.

I speculate that this may have its roots in an affair of 1680. The Sinclair Earl of Caithness was short of cash and sold his lands and title to Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy. The latter's claim was however disputed by George Sinclair of Keiss and Glenorchy marched north to settle the matter. The armies met in the evening of 12 July at Altimarlach, but it was too late to join battle. What happened next is open to debate but it seems the Sinclairs were able to lay hands on significant quantities of whisky in Wick. Next day they were ill-equipped to take on the Campbells and the Wick River was packed so full of Sinclair bodies that the Campbells were able to walk across it dry-shod.

Glenorchy became Earl of Caithness and laird of those lands for six years, during which time it seems that many Sinclairs took up the offer of employment down in Argyll. This, the last clan battle, also gave rise to two pipe tunes composed by the Campbell piper Finlay Ban MacIvor on the way north to Caithness: 'The Campbells are Coming' and 'The Breadalbane Gathering'. Play either of these in Wick at your own risk!

But all this may explain why our 2009 St Clair client is making a special journey to the seat of Clan Campbell.

Scotland: sustainable tourism destination.

2008-01-16T11:41:00.000Z

Television in Britain is punctuated with the advertisements of companies parading their green credentials to sell more products. Nothing wrong with that. But here in Scotland we are going further and parading our nation's green credentials. The Scottish Government has committed itself to a target that "Scotland will be Europe's most sustainable tourism destination by 2015". Happily we are starting from a strong position since a recent poll of 60,00 enquiries at www.responsibletravel.com ranked Scotland as the top European eco-destination.

Yesterday I was at Cameron House on Loch Lomond with other members of Scotland's 'Tourism Innovation Group' to discuss how this bold objective can be translated into the management of individual destinations and tourism sectors.

The goal is an ambitious one but here are a series of first steps already taken towards that destination.

Climate Change Scotland - the Tourism Innovation Group's carbon offset scheme for Scottish tourism with the investment remaining in Scotland (the first such national scheme).
The 4 Bs initiative - Boat, Boot, Bike, Bus - in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
Cairngorm Mountain - National Centre for the Mountain Environment.
Carbon Neutral Biggar - Scotland's first carbon neutral village?
Trees for Life - restoring the Caledonian Forest (Glen Affric forest regeneration, above).
Visit Scotland's Sustainable Tourism Unit.
Wild Scotland and its innovative Best Practice Guidelines

And every tourist to Scotland can contribute
to our objectives. Using accommodation with membership of the Green Tourism Business Scheme is now madatory for Scottish Government employees travelling on business.

Please make it mandatory for you too!

Beginnings

2008-01-02T21:11:00.000Z

The beginning of Scottish Clans and Castles was in February 2001 when I booked two clients to stay at Castle Stuart - a place that, over the years, has probably given more pleasure to our clients than any other lodging. The authenticity is important (that's why people choose it) but what they write about when they leave is the food, the atmosphere and, above all, the warm welcome from the Stuart family

The land was given by Mary Queen of Scots to her half brother, the first Earl of Moray. But he was murdered, as was his son, so it was the third Earl of Moray who built the castle in 1625. He had plenty money to make a statement with his new property and Castle Stuart was the finest in the Highlands in its day. However the ravages of time, history, and a few ghosts conspired to prompt its demise and it was unroofed in 1835.

In the late 20th century it was restored by a family of Stuarts from Canada and it is they who are your hosts today.

A Happy New Year to anyone who reads this. I hope that I can amuse and interest you with my 2008 observations!

The New Culloden Visitor Centre

2007-12-23T19:24:00.000Z

Camera pans the battlefield as curlews cry, and the lilting tones of Finlay MacDonald intone, "We are here. On Drumossie Moor. Now restored to look more or less as it did in 1746. Except for the gravestones of course. They came later."

Yes, I liked the old presentation of Culloden Battlefield - simple, effective, familiar. But today I visited the new, multi million pound, hi-tech version. And I liked it even more. The new centre works on a number of levels - attention-grabbing presentation, plenty detail for those who want it, and good Scottish wood and stone to house it all. But most of all, this new exhibition is effective in setting the battle in a global, rather than a highland context. This will surprise, and I hope intrigue, many people. It also presents the whole Jacobite campaign of 1745/46 in shades of grey, rather than the black and white view with which many visitors arrive. This was a complex campaign of difficult decisions, bad decisions, divided loyalties, a campaign in which public relations and half truths drove the actions of both sides.

So, I recommend the new centre heartily. But allow a good two hours to get full benefit from your £10 entry fee.