A Wedding and Stirling Castle

Love around the world. Enjoy this happenstance photo of a couple, kilts and all in the family, and the bagpiped processing up the cobblestones to their reception at Stirling Castle.

Stirling, like so many castles, rents itself out to banquets and special events. See its formidable location here, at ://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/. In 1299, Robert the Bruce reclaimed it from the English. Short-lived. See its timeline at ://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/timeline.html, and history at ://www.instirling.com/sight/castle.htm

Travellers in Scotland - Roma, Romani

Hardly visible when you are there, just looking like "poor people," but no indication from dress that these are "gypsies." Or Travellers. No caravans on the roads, just shantytowns off to the side, a distance away. See the Scottish Traveller Education Program or STEP at ://www.scottishtravellered.net/travellers.html for an overview. There is also a Travellers Times at ://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/ that serves Great Britain's Travellers.

Their identity may be different from mainland Europe's groups.

Language: a "non-standard Scots" says STEP. Also contains Gaelic and Old Scots. A Travellers' Cant.

Groups: Some call themselves "Newkins" or "Nachins" says STEP. They have cultural elements in common with Europe's groups, but are not recognized as an ethnic group in Scotland. There are Occupational Travellers, New Travellers, Scottish Gypsies/ Travellers, Travellers from elsewhere in Europe or Britain.

Interest: mention of Welsh Kale gypsies at the STEP site - and mention of Cale gypsies in Spain at a site (have to look it up) at the England Travellers post, where there is a migration map. Did the Spanish Cale get up to Wales? By boat? How? Any connection?

Cultural connect: Johnny Faa - the Gypsy Laddie, 17th Century, ballad, lured off the Lord's Lady - see //www.maybole.org/history/books/legends/johnnyfaa.htm. There is a John Faa in the film, "The Golden Compass," see Gypsies, Roma, posts on Johnny Faa.

Atholl Highlanders, Atholl, Blair Castle, McConaghy coat of arms

Looking for McConaghy folk. For anybody with an interest in names, try www.houseofnames.com, but check the results elsewhere as well. Geneologies must be lucrative these days. For us, recreation: McConaghy - Scotland's west coast, and Hebrides. Find what is fun, and believe it, or not.

The name may be spelled various ways - including "McConaghey" - here the "e" added by Maurice McConaghey, his brother retaining the McConaghy, both in the military, and Lt. Maurice McConaghey in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, buried from WWI at Arras, France, see France Road Ways, Somme WWI Royal Scots Fusiliers.

The McConaghy Clan is an ancient clan - among the Dalriadan clans. Known also as Clan Donnachaidh, from Gaelic "Donnachadh Reamhar", or - here is a good one, Duncan the Stout. Sometime, all these to be looked up for black sheep.

Duncan the Stout was one of the Celtic Earls of Atholl, and here is Blair Castle in Atholl, home of the Atholl Highlanders, and near Queen Victoria's favorite little town, Pitlochry, see //www.scotland-calling.com/forts/blair. Begun in 1269, its appearance now is largely from 18th century remodelings,. Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed here, as did Queen Victoria who bestowed on them formal regimental colors, to that they are the only private army in Europe. Mostly bodyguards now. Grounds are some 145,000 acres. The Duke of Atholl - Dukes were second only to the King.

1777-1783- During this period, the Atholl Highlanders, the 77th Highlanders, or the 77th Regiment of Foot, were established, then sent to Ireland, then involved in a mutiny against going to the Indies, then disbanded, and reorganized later. See ://www.coghlan.co.uk/athole.htm. Here is the military tartan, part of the Murray, Murray of Atholl - //www.regiments.org/tradition/tartans/murray-a.htm

1839-Present - Queen Victoria's award of Regimental Colors.

See them and listen at //www.usahpd.com/tunes.htm. Do an images search for them On Parade yet.

World War I: Fought in South Africa, then to France at Delville Wood, and the Somme, Ypres, Arras, in particular, see http://www.jocks.co.za/history.htm. For an excellent photgraph and history book on the Somme, see "The Somme, Then and Now - A Visual History<" by Duncan Youel and David Edgell, Dorling Kindersley 2006. This is a commemorative volume, with histories of regiments that fought there from different parts of the world.

Place names, language

Any map in the US may well show a place name that derives from Scotland, or another country where the immigrants from it settled and wanted to feel at home. Scotland, Connecticut. Paris, Maine. Berlin, Connecticut. Toledo, Ohio, etc. Around Philadelphia, for Welsh derivations, see Bryn Mawr.

For Scotland, see //www.st-andrews.ac.uk/institutes/sassi/spns/index.

Go to the home page at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/freefun/didyouknow/placenames/.

Bannockburn - Robert the Bruce; Templars?

This site reports that there have been lasting tales of Templars assisting Robert the Bruce here at Bannockburn. See The History of Central Europe, at //mysite.du.edu/~etuttle/misc/europe.htm#Mong. Scroll down to the Crusades section, and also read there the saga of Robert the Bruce's heart. For Bannockburn and the great victory of the Scots over the English, even though the struggle would continue, see //www.braveheart.co.uk/macbrave/history/bruce/bannock.htm. Bannockburn is near Stirling Castle, see post.

Inverness - not far from Culloden

This is the place where the World Highland Games returned to Scotland in 2007 after 12 years, says the New York Times July 24, 2007, in the "outdoors" section. The games consist of throwing stones, huge hammers and weights, and something called a caber. A caber is a pole tossed end over end. Twenty feet long, 123 pounds, says the article (by Joshua Robinson). Americans increasingly are joining in.

The article provides a history - games dating from the 11th Century, where bystanders to a long race where the king was searching for the fastest man, amused themselves with the various tossings. From there the sport moved to clan chieftans and royalty watching at the gatherings.

And websites. See www.highlandgames.net. And the brouhaha at Glasgow, www.glasgowhighlandgames.com. For your own trip, here is a schedule Scotland-wide: /www.albagames.co.uk/Highland_games2000.htm

Battle of Culloden; and Bonnie Prince Charlie

Culloden - the place of the battle that Bonnie Prince Charlie, a champion of the Jacobite Cause, lost to some 9000 English troops, led by the Duke of Cumberland. 1746. The last battle fought on British soil, and dashing Scotland's hopes of independence. See www.electricscotland.com/history/culloden/index. It is also known as "Bloody Culloden." See www.highlanderweb.co.uk/bloody/culloden/home. From here, the Bonnie Prince fled to Skye.

Here is where Clan Campbell fought. There is a fine, winding, narrow, woodsy memorial pathway through the battlefield, with worn headstone identifications where the clans had fought. We spent a fine morning looking up old family names. Relatives or not, the hunt was on for every McClure or McConaghey, Mac or Mc, and all the related clan septs, including (f0r us, we think) Campbell, MacLeod, Black, MacGregor. Most Scots have the Mac spelling, but some have the Mc, and the earliest Irish were known as "Scotties," so the names are back and forth. Read about "Remnants of the Roman Empire in Britain," at www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch26. - scroll down to the section entitled, "Independence and a Celtic Revival in Britain." That addresses the early Scotties.

Here is a site to track the clan septs, or subdivisions - www.electricscotland.com/webclans/septs.

Stirling, William Wallace - "Braveheart"

Movies are an excellent trip-organizer. Follow them all.

We landed at Glasgow, and went first to the Stirling Castle area -- full of William Wallace, Rob Roy (his arms are said to been so long that they dangled to his knees, thus his excellent swordplay) and battlefields.

Links, posts, archives

References to third-party websites are in longhand, not the direct blue link format. This is until we are assured somehow that direct access links are acceptable - see, for example, issues that this site raises: www.bitlaw.com. It is a pity for us to have to wall ourselves off like this - like Midas, the more I think about it. Everybody wants a buck for what they do - turn it into gold - until there is nothing to eat for anybody.

There must be a better way - there is a high value to keeping ideas flowing freely, balanced with appropriate protections. Is this your field?

Posts - listed from arrival to departure, not by date of first posting. So do read the archives - those complete the trip.

Technorati Profile

On Skye - Dunvegan Castle; Flora MaDonald

The Isle of Skye - and its Castle Dunvegan. There is no longer a need to go "Over the Sea to Skye," although you can listen to part of it here: http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1182806&title=Over+The+Sea+To+Skye+-+Folk+Songs+From+Around+The+World. Go to the dot com home site, then use the rest only as needed to get to it.

You don't need to speed in the bonny boat because there is a bridge now, to Skye.

Dunvegan is the castle (1549 or so) that is the stronghold of the MacLeods, and where Samuel Johnson visited in the 1770's. See
http://www.dunvegancastle.com/

We were told that the castle used to be the staging point for kidnapping local people and taking them to the Caribbean as slaves. There are cells and underground passages leading to the water, where the rowboats would wait to be loaded.

That is why there are so many scottish last names for people on the islands there. True? That slave trafficking was stopped at about the same time that the Crown stopped other slave trafficking.





While on Skye, do look up the grave of Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape - he fled in the disguise of her lady in waiting. Someone had left a fresh bouquet there. More on Flora MacDonald at http://www.tartans.com/articles/famscots/floramacdonald.html

It really doesn't matter what you head for out of the guidebooks, you see most everything on the way anyway.

Hebrides - side trip

From Skye, we took the car ferry to the Hebrides - see Hebrides Road Ways. We returned to Scotland another way, to Ullapool.

In any trip, sudden signs on the roadway to elsewhere just can't be resisted. There is a bridge to Skye from mainland Scotland, so that is an easy jaunt across.

And once there, is worth the careful drives around - remember that you will be on one lane roads, with lay-bys for one vehicle to wait on the side while the other passes.

There are high poles on the roads marking the lay-bys and the rule is this: when you see another vehicle coming your way, even if it is several curves away (tiptoe around curves), the closest vehicle to the nearest pole is to pull over. As you pass, you hold the steering wheel with a hand at the noon position and wiggle your fingers as an acknowledgment, and a kind of courtesy thank you. I saw no competition for who got to go by whom. It is not worth any kind of accident out there.

Then you will see the ferry signs to the Hebrides - go there, find out the schedules, and take the most convenient one. We were finishing up on Skye in a late afternoon, and why spend another night there? So it was off to Harris and Lewis - got a reservation this time through the ferry company and directions because we would be arriving about 8:30 PM, and near dark. Worked out fine. Stayed in the town of Rodel . See , Hebrides Road Ways.

Sharing the road - the Highlands; Tongue

High donkeys. Drive carefully. The roads are often one lane, with a lay-by for passing that is marked with a tall flag. If you see a car coming, whoever is closest to the lay-by is supposed to pull over and wait. People did. We kept the gas tank full, and kept a water bottle and bread and cheese just in case, and never needed them.

Highlands: more remote and stark than expected. Lunch at Tongue - best platter of local cheeses ever. See www..fortunecity.com/bally/leitrim/147/tongue921.jpg.



Tongue, the name, comes probably from the Old Norse - see www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/tongue/tongue/index. See the photos there. I believe we had our fine cheese platter at that Tongue Hotel. Just feel the wilderness and the mountains.

Orkney - side trip

We have a rule - if you see a ferry sign, you have to take it.

That has taken us afar. We were on Skye - easily visited, the island to which Bonnie Prince Charlie fled, and now connected by a bridge from the mainland. Off to the Hebrides. Then, back at Ullapool on the mainland, we headed to the Highlands because the weather was good. Do not attempt in the fog, because many roads are one lane, with laybys for passing.

At the Highlands at Scrabster (near the topmost point of Scotland, at John o'Groats), there was a sign for the Orkneys - so we took the car ferry to Orkney.

Do not expect to be coddled. We had no advance reservation, so had to be on line with other cars and trucks by 5 or 6 in the morning. See Orkney Road Ways. If the chain comes down in front of you, you lose. We made this one. Enjoyed Orkney, then we returned to Scrabster, same ferry route.

It was the quickest and least expensive, way to get to Orkney. No flights for us once a car is rented. Spontaneous routing. Sleep on the ferry.

Pitlochry

This was Queen Victoria's favorite town, and a known hiking center for all skill levels.

The place is filled with people in boots, and shops. The old train station used to be going all the time, and is still very busy. There are grades of hiking trails, each with its own historical tales. One has the soldier's leap - a fellow leaped 18 feet across the gorge here, to escape the Jacobites. See www.beautiful-scotland.co.uk/pitlochry.

Blair Castle, at Atholl - with the Atholl Highlanders - is nearby. See Scotland Road Ways - Atholl.

Sheep; the clearances; crofters

There came a time when landlords realized they could make more money with sheep on the land, than if they continued to rent to "crofters." So, they initiated clearances, forcing crofters off the land, so the more lucrative sheep could take over.

Sheep are still a main industry, with the dogs herding. There is the dog, to the far left. I believe the animals nearby are a cow or two, to test the dog's ability to stay after the sheep and not get distracted. The dogs are guided by whistles tweeting from the owner, at a distance.

For a fine photo gallery for a Scotland overview: see www.pbase.com/bauer/scotland..

Tower Houses

The original tower houses were just square towers.




Here is a later and abandoned tower-type house, with improvements in the form of larger windows, more rooms.

Balmoral

Balmoral Castle was closed to the public when we were there - with no way to get reasonably close. Look beyond, through the trees. We were there in the fall, so had better visibility than summer tourists in the same boat. The British Royal Family uses this as its home in Scotland - see www.balmoralcastle.com/.


Do consider fall travel. The heather was lovely and russet.

Castles Stalker and Eilean Donan

There are so many Scots castles and manor houses, that we only went to those on our way, and did not even try to see them all. See www.castles.org for a list of Scots castles. This large castle is Eilean Donan, with refurbished and refurnished rooms and wax figures (as in Madame Tussaud's) in action: kitchen staff at work, a lady choosing her gown, butlers. There is even a bridge now to get to it. Before, the tides coming in served as a fine defense. See more on the layout and history at www.eileandonancastle.com/.









This smaller castle, on the island, is not open to visitors. It is Castle Stalker, north of Oban. It is not occupied, but is a fine backdrop to a walk on the beach area at the loch. See www.castles.org. Building on peninsulas or islands made sense for security. From reading, it appears that the men were often away fighting. Note how high and narrow the windows are. Better defense where women may be left.

Spending the night: Go first to the castle you want to see, then look for a nearby B&B or hotel. Do not go to the town first, and then look for the castle. It may be at a distance. If you find the castle first, and stay near it, you can enjoy the evening and the morning light near the site, and walk around, and without getting back in the car. See www.castles.org.

Loch Ness; Castle Urquhart ; glens;

Castle Urquhart, at the top, is on Loch Ness. We did wait for Nessie. See www.aboutscotland.co.uk/ness/urquhart. There was a huge medieval catapult construction there, where people were trying to follow the directions and hurl a good one. There is a picture of the catapult at www.mini-tours.com/tours_westhighland. This site says that the task was to build a siege machine that would dash a wall at 200 yards. It was the subject of a TV special. See www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/27mstrebuchet.

Scotland in the fall was gold and warm. Misty evenings, mornings. Hard to imagine all the battles here, in these peaceful-looking places.

The formations that enable lochs, and the highlands, would be excellent geo-tourism sites because of the geological sites and attractions. See book "Geotourism" by Ross Dowling at this site: elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/706060/description#description.

Melrose Abbey - The Heart of Robert the Bruce; Dunfirmline

Here is the heart of Robert the Bruce, buried at Melrose Abbey, one of the border Abbeys in southern Scotland. That is the tale, and here is the marker stone. See www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail.htm?propertyID=PL_210. For more details, see www.aboutscotland.com/melbruce.

The body of Robert the Bruce is elsewhere, at the Abbey Church at Dunfirmline, the capital until 1603. We followed R the B wherever we found a sign. As in many hundreds of thousands (probably) of families with Scots and Scots-Irish backgrounds, there is a Robert Bruce going back generations. That does not mean a relationship, maybe just a revering.

The "Brave Heart" phrase that is attached to Rob Roy MacGregor, historically seems to belong to the story of Robert the Bruce. See the "Scottish Wars of Independence" site at www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/as/warsofindependence/info.shtml?loc=melrose. The account has Sir James Douglas, a close friend of the then King Robert the Bruce, following R the B's wishes in taking R the B's heart on crusade. Blocked in Spain, Douglas is said to have called out, "On, Brave Heart," and more, and hurled the heart toward the Holy Land. How did Brave Heart get attached to Rob Roy? Anyone know?

Food - Haggis; black/blood pudding; full Scottish breakfast; times to eat, and what when

Haggis is delicious and is made this way: see www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/haggis_66072.. Go to your local Big Supermarket and ask for the ingredients, and do it. Then report.

Blood pudding, or black pudding. This is more difficult. See www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_blackpudding. Most people seem to buy it, then incorporate it into whatever else they are making. Scroll down to the list of recipes and choose one. Or go to www.sausagelinks.co.uk/black_pudding. It is also known as blood pudding. Go to the recipe list and do your own. For the Luxembourg version, that uses cabbage instead of oatmeal, see Luxembourg Black Pudding.

Full Scottish breakfast: Here is a picture. Add to it: grilled tomatoes, baked beans, and a variety of breads. Excellent. See www.flickr.com/photos/cocovan/365416/.

Eating times in Scotland are limited in the rural areas. You may only get cheese at off-hours, if anything - such as at midday, when you may want much more. Go to a local grocery and buy what you need instead, if the cheese is not enough.

Eating at pubs is a good idea. Cheaper than tablecloth restaurants, usually a good selection of main dishes at a proper mealtime. May find a carvery - a pub where there is a whole roast out for slicing and sandwiches, platters.

Itinerary After The Fact

Glasgow, Stirling, Inveraray, Tarbert, Campbelltown, Oban, Glencoe, Fort William, Skye (Dunvegan, Portree), ferry to the Hebrides (Harris and Lewis), ferry to Ullapool, Durness, Tongue, Straty, Scrabster, John O'Groats, Thurso, ferry to Orkney, ferry to Thurso, then Wick, Dingwall, Inverness, Pitlochry, Edinburgh, Dumfries, Ayr, Largs, Glasgow.

See also www.europeroadways.com.

Freedom! Scots Petition for Devolution and Possible Independence

Scotland just wants to be free.

See what we found: Here is a petition you can sign, if eligible, to promote the independence of Scotland from Great Britain. "Devolution" is the term for the events in 1999 that provided for Scotland to have its own parliament, but the move continues for more independence than that. See www.petitiononline.com/scots1/petition. William Wallace would be pleased.

More on the News: www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13663. Just go to the dot com home page and navigate from there. Dateline was 11/3/06 - Majority in Scotland wants independence. Here is an accounting of some of the problems: www.hfienberg.com/scots/490independence.

Longevity of the idea: With the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, and wars after, this idea clearly has legs. www.tartanday.gov.uk/arbroath. See the William Wallace and Robert the Bruce posts here.

More blogs about Scotland Road Ways.

Balquhiddar. MacGregor Despite Them - Rob Roy

The Trossachs - an area of lochs and mountains. Rob Roy and his family are buried here. The English tried to stamp out the MacGregor name, forbidding anyone to use it. See www.clangregor.org/history-kill. I heard that many MacGregors in the villages after the name ban took the name of White, or Black. See www.open.org/glennab/macgregorfamilyhistory.

That's us - thank you, grandmother Teressa Black.

Some went back to MacGregor - meanwhile, they were also called Children of the Mist. See www.lenymede.demon.co.uk/history/rob_roy. There he is.

Notice how long his arms are in the statue shown at the site. They say his arms hung down to his knees, and that is why he was such a fierce swordsman. More history, the legend, and pictures, are at www.incallander.co.uk/rob_roy. Go see the film, "Rob Roy." Liam Neeson. This site shows where it was filmed, on a map: www.scotlandthemovie.com/movies/frobroy.

The grave is at Balquhidder Kirk (Church). Under the crest at the grave is written, "MacGregor despite them." A while back I found on YouTube a short video of the church and this gravesite. Go look.

Getting there: Take the back road, not the main one, and you will come to an old manor house, where the people serve soup and tea and sandwiches. A real home, trying to make ends meet. The Rob Roy residence itself was a long walk, a dirt road going farther away than I was comfortable doing by ourselves, so we didn't do it this trip. It also was getting late. Plan the time and do it if you get there.



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* See YouTube and Rob Roy's Grave. History at Rob Roy History; Trossachs area, including Balquhidder, at Trossachs.

Highland cattle

An old breed. Shaggy. See Highland cattle at www.blueoxfarms.com/Scottish%20Highland%20Cattle/scottish_highland_cattle. Go to the home page at the dot com, and only use the rest if it is helpful.

You can see them sometimes here. Poconos
them as we go. Belted Galloways are also striking, with the belly stripe, black and white. Oreo cattle. See www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/.

Many breeds of sheep also, and goats. Think of all that we are missing with our limited genetically engineered same things around, such as our preoccupation with Holsteins. See www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/ for the many types of livestock.

There is also a large herd of the highland cattle on Skye.

Clan map

Try this one, for tracking where clans came from, and the clan sept names associated with them, the major towns in the areas, and miscellany: www.clanrossassociation.org/LearnScotland.