Scotland Road Ways Two on the Loose TRAVEL HUMANITIES PHOTOS

Stirling. Robert the Bruce. And Independence

2012-02-27T20:05:00.002-05:00

Robert the Bruce, Stirling Castle, Scotland

Scotland may press, and possibly succeed, in seeking independence. Who is to judge?

Robert the Bruce, 1279-1329. He. as King of Scotland at the time, fought for that against the English with their overwhelming resources and military experience, and lost. See Scots independence issues, Global post, at http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/120224/scottish-independence-alex-salmond-cameron-referendum. England is not keen. They had the military victory, but apparently hearts and minds remain elusive.
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How many families, including ours, with both Ireland and Scotland roots, and English, have put a Robert Bruce in every generation. Does that mean we are related? Probably not. Fantasizers like to think so, even if through the time-honored route of bastardy, as was William the Conqueror. A bastard, that was, as probably were our forbears. Wonderful, but hardly in "the line." Independence for Scotland. The fantasist likes it. Scots independence. Salute, with a balance needed so the common good is served, both sides.

The usual photos of R the B seem remote, medieval, not connected. We prefer ours. ROBERT THE BRUCE. See above. A mind, a body, an intelligence, a strength, a leadership, not to be diminshed by statuary presented in the usual way, interchangeable. He needs to be on his horse. Not this tripe: see yjr BBC -- usually, and here, a reliable fact source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bruce_robert_the.shtml

This, a tribute to our family's most recent, Robert Bruce McConaghy. Hi, Rob. Will a niece, a nephew, a child, a cousin, pass on the tradition. Tradition of naming. The actual genes do not matter. The heart does. The heart of Robert the Bruce, severable from other remains. Heart at Melrose Abbey, or elsewhere, not diggable. See the fate of the heart at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/robert-the-bruces-heart-finds-its-final-resting-place-1167359.html

A family value, with or without genes to boot: autonomy regardless of gender or surrounding ideologies from people with steeples. Go, R the B. See your sword in the displays at Stirling Castle. Huge. Enormous. Whose arm could wield but thine. Go, R the B. Fitness with a purpose.

Stirling. Norman Impact on Scotland. Violent Transition of Governments.

2011-09-15T18:59:00.000-04:00

Norman Impact on Scotland

Why the Wars

King David. 1124-1153. Dabid mac Mail Choluim in the Scots Gaelic. In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated England's King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. His control moved to all parts of the British Isles, more slowly into Scotland, but areas soon showed the influence, including Stirling. David was educated in England, and became a strong proponent of the new Norman ways, including the Reforms of the Roman Catholic Church in the British Isles. See http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Counties_of_Scotland

Thane to sheriff. A difficult transition.

The Norman displaced Celtic forms. The Celtic did not go down easy.

All this displaced the earlier Celtic ways, the tradition, the tribes, the Christians who had followed a more flexible, individualized and a less institutionalized regimentation than had been in effect on the Continent.

Do these changes, from the Celtic to the Norman, explain the antipathy of even Robin Hood in England, at Notttingham, to the sheriff. What did the sheriff represent? We were looking for England sources, and found this Scots one. David founded the continent's big monasteries, all answerable to Rome and not anyone local, or any founding local Christian family. David followed the Norman feudal land-grant system, and where there had been Celtic "thanes" there now emerged Norman "sheriffs" in sheriffdoms, or shires. Think of the Hobbits in their shire. Same thing, is that so?

The border shires, and the eastern coast shires soon came under royal (British-English) control. The western shires took a little longer. By 1305, the list was nearly complete.

After 1305, some larger shires had been subdivided, others merged, and an emerging county system was on its way.

Norse influence waned. By 1266, Norwegian claims to Argyll were erased.

1707 -- Union of Scotland and England. No more sheriffdoms, counties instead. And those, long with a tradition of being inherited as to who is sheriff, were abolished as to inheritability.

Normans in Scotland. Changing the face of culture, introducing bureaucracy, and new forms of land ownership. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/scotland/borders/article_1.shtml

Skarfskerry. Norse Surname - Skarf, Skarfr, Scharfe

2010-06-14T14:39:00.020-04:00

Skarfskerry

North, on the flatland north of the Highlands, farming country, near Orkney.

1. The Norse were in Scotland early, the 9th Century or so. Their surnames and place names remain, but are eclipsed in modern times by all the tartan-related clan names.

For a history-chronology of Norse settlements-invasions of the British Isles, see page 2 at Scandinavian Influence on Southern Lowland Scotch, by George Tobias Flom back in 1900, reprint 1966: see page 59, at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14604/14604-h/ScandLatin.html/

2. Norsemen moved in later years also from Ireland and Man to Scotland and the Western Isles, the Hebrides (Harris, Lewis, others) in about the 852 AD (how can they be so precise? This from the Cleasby Introduction to the Dictionary, see below. The work by the Late Richard Cleasby, completed by Gudbrud Vigfusson, MA,, introduction by others, here the Cleasby Dictionary, from 1874. It, can be downloaded from http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html . Also find there manuscripts and specific references, pages given by first entry to last on that page.

3. Specific word -- skarfr, or variations.

For the Cleasby dictionary, you need the page to go directly to the Skarfr - Do a search either for Cleasby Icelandic Dictionary, or try the address at http://books.google.com/books?id=RnEJAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=English+Icelandic+dictionary&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0&cd=3#v=onepage&q&f=false
For the Cleasby dictionary, you need the page to go directly to the Skarfr - Do a search either for Cleasby Icelandic Dictionary, or try the address at http://books.google.com/books?id=RnEJAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=English+Icelandic+dictionary&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0&cd=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

Find Norse words skarf or skarfeor at page 539 of the dictionary. In Orkney, skarf as cormorant.

4. Also at that site, are Grammar outlines, signs, wonderful for International Scrabble or the worst crossword puzzle you could imagine. Memorize this book and you WIN.

There is also a list of the Sagas (our family is represented, at least by name, in the Icelandic Burnt Njall Saga, http://omacl.org/Njal/, with Otkell, son of Skarf, and Otkell was not a generous person). There are poetries, laws and histories. Icelandic was spoken by the four main branches of the Scandinavians, see Introduction at iii, and was called Old Norse. Is that so?

Kindle can never compare to holding this old book. I need that book.

5. Browsing:

In the Shetland Islands, skarf
In Scotland, scart

the green pelican
pelicanus grandus
topp-skarfr that is the crested cormorant
dila-skarfr that is the common cormorant (what is that?)

Local names: Skarfakletter
Skarfaholl

Plant: Skarfakal, or "scurvy-grass" - a plant growing on rocky shores, "good against scorbutic diseases" (like citrus?)

6. Spelling - many variations as the word eased into the Gaelic with Norse plundering and settling. Or just repeated contacts.

Scarth, sb. the cormorant. Dunbar, T.M.W., 92; F., 194; Douglas, I, 46, 15. O. N. skarfr, Norse skarv, cormorant. Shetland, scarf. People of the Settiscarth

And later, at page 81, another spelling - : O. N. f > th in scarth (O. N. skarfr).

Find the Scandinavian origin of Gaelic names in the Gaelic sgarbh ("SKAR-av") and the Norse scarf, at The Nature of Scotland, at http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/A317496.pdf / -- scroll down to Seabird Names, cormorant.

The name "Skarf" or a variant such as Skarfr, scarff, occurs in Orkney, and Shetland, and in Skarfskerry, Scotland; near John o'Groats, in Caithness, near Thurso. See it at http://www.donaldfordimages.com/gallery/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=453054895/ In the Gaelic, it is Sgarbh Sgeir. In Old Norse, it means Cormorant's Rock, see http://about.qkport.com/s/skarfskerry

Norse roots: Norway itself.

Skarfjellet is a mountain in Norway, above Innerdalen in Nordmere, and rock climbers flock there, see http://about.qkport.com/s/skarfjell/ and on a map and also a photo at http://exviking.net/highlands/innerdalen.htm

Caledonia - Scotia; and Scotland before Scotland. Scota. Women Warriors; Thistle

2010-03-11T17:58:00.005-05:00

The Ship-Wrecked Brig, The Caledonia

and Queen Scotia; Scota

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Clue from a Figurehead

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A thumbnail is fair use of a photograph. Here, from arbroathtimeline.moonfruit.com is a copy of the figurehead of the wrecked ship, the Caledonia, showing Queen Scota of the Milesians.
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1. Caledonia. The Romans called this area that is now Scotland, north of their Britannia, by the Latin, Caledonia. It lay beyond their wall, their armies, their provinces. As "Caledonia" evolved, look at the legends of women warrior there: we found this on. Meet this figurehead from the Scottish ship, "The Caledonia", that wrecked between Falmouth and Gloucester, in 1842, see http://www.submerged.co.uk/caledonia.php/

Looking at a map, Falmouth is down at Cornwall, England; on the underside of the peninsula, toward Plymouth; and Gloucester is around the water 'way northeast, where Wales meets England. Vet everything. Where was this ship wrecked? But the point here is the figurehead. And the site does specify "Morwenstow." That puts it on the Cornwall coast, about midway between Bude and Hartland Point. Better. Not Gloucester at all.

The figurehead has come to be known as The Last Virgin of Morwenstow, and shows a woman warrior in Scottish garb, complete with tam o'shanter, sporran, sword, and large swath of kilt. Morwenstow: village on the coast at north Cornwall.
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This review by Ann Skea for a book written about the wreck, The Wreck at Sharpnose Point, by Jeremy Seal 2003, says this lady with the sword is an identifiable figure: fair use quote --
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"But the woman is Scotia, "national emblem of Burns and Scott," and she is an old wooden figurehead, salvaged from the Caledonia, which was wrecked in 1843 on the rocks below this graveyard at Morwenstow in Cornwall. "

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If so, she is far more than the national emblem. She is a Queen, who led her troops into battle. Must all women warriors be deemed "Amazons?" Amazons were tribes of women, whose battle leaders were women leading other women. That is specialized as a culture: Scotia instead led troops of men, and - why not - women.
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"Queen Scotia had led her troops in a well-fought field, and when the day was won retired to the rear to rest from her toils."

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See The Thistle for Scotland, November 25, 1888 -- fair use quote here from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F00EEDA1E38E533A25756C2A9679D94699FD7CF/.
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"She then lay down to rest, but unfortunately did so upon a thistle, prickers and all, and rapidly leaped up, tore it out, and was about to cast it off. But she thought she would never forget it anyway so put a sprig in her casque and it became the national symbol."
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The lady, as well-dressed as she is, and clearly in charge of her own sword, well-balanced, cap not even askew, is called a "wild woman" at http://curiousexpeditions.org/historical/ Not so wild. Just good at what she does.
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Women in war. At least as far back as the Scythians of the Caucasus, as far as records go. See Studying Wars: Women in War.

See also details of the wreck at http://www.submerged.co.uk/caledonia.php/ Women have long been participants in the bloodiest aspects of war. See http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/amazons/Amazons_Women_Warriors.htm. See also http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai131_folder/131_articles/131_amazons.html/

2. Is this Scotia?
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The BBC does not make that connection, see its report on the 166th anniversary off the disaster, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2008/08/28/history_caledonia_feature.shtml/
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Who is Scotia? If she is as ancient as this story suggests, then her garb is not appropriate, is it? Or is it.

Ireland-Scotland-Ireland-Scotland-Ireland.
It looks like Ireland was first, with its Scotti people then going to "Scotland",
then back and forth for centuries? Scotti. Queen Scota. Milesians. Were they Celts from the central-east Europe? Or what?

Scotia the woman warrior.

Queen Scota, see http://www.danann.org/library/arch/mil.html

This stems from the mists when Irish "Scotties" settled parts of Scotland, so we understand, and from a legend in 1700 BC. Scotia, or Scota, was a queen, the wife of Milesius (the same or of the same tribe as those who raced Ui Niall to the shore of Ulster to claim it, when Ui Niall hacked off his hand and hurled it to the beach just in time, and won the land?) and mother of 6 sons. The red hand of Ulster, now coopted in American political-economic maneuverings, see http://kngdv.blogspot.com/2010/03/red-hand-family-jp-morgan-chase-code.html
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The Milesian invasion. Part of Irish history-mythology. See http://homepage.eircom.net/~seanjmurphy/irhismys/milesians.htm
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She was killed, say some, in battle at Slieve Mish Mountain, in Ireland, fighting with the legendary Tuatha de Denaan (who are we to say this is only legend?) (read further here to find the Tuatha-de as originally a Hebrew tribe).
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Read the overly-romanticized but enjoyable Scotia's Grave, by Nell Sullivan, at http://danmahony.com/nellstories7.htm/ She had come in vengeance, as her husband had been killed in an ambush earlier in South Kerry. Her sons went on to defeat the Tuatha de Denaan to rule Ireland, it goes on.
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For those who enjoy connecting legends, Scotia is said to be was the daughter of a pharaoh, and there are hieroglyphics on her grave. That idea of an ancient Egyptian liaison is echoed in some of the legends of migrations of Hebrews (yes, Hebrews) from Palestine through Egypt, to Hiberia (Spain) and to Hibernia (Ireland). There are other ancient connections people find, or want to find, with Egypt and western religion or groups. See, for example, the Black Madonna traditions, one of which (at least) cites the blackness as designating Mary Madonna's color, as a person from Egypt, see that at http://denmarkroadways.blogspot.com/2011/07/bjernede-inside-round-church-rundkirke.html
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This migration route and origin is supported at an early source: The British Chronicles Vol I by at David Hughes, at page 46. See http://books.google.com/books?id=QnDtohOe8-QC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=scotia+milesians&source=bl&ots=NSFqVAwcKD&sig=4kc_qwckfgwkpuBDLSoqJBvbszQ&hl=en&ei=TY6aS-fGBMGB8gb3x9H7DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=scotia%20milesians&f=false/

But the role of Scotia is downplayed; the role of the sons of Milesius (whose origin is unknown, but who fought in Egypt and Spain, and one of the sons is named Heber) is set up as the main event. Milesians could have been Scythians or Iberians, or "Gaelicized" descendants of the original Irish Tuath-de who were - here we are - Jews. It would be more accurate to call them Hebrews, designating the tribe -- at that early time they were not "Jews". Hebrew migration.
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But the Brits focus on them as Gaels, which actually is less likely but fits the Brit mythology better.
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The Scotti were the first Irish; who were pressed into the northeast corner, Ulster, and from there launched their raids against the Picts of then-Scotland, also settled and joined in with the Picts against the Romans, and ultimately the Scotti in Scotland surpassed the Scotti in Ireland in influence. Is that so?
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An Egyptian or Milesian arriving in Spain, and from there to Ireland? Recall that ancient Carthage and ancient Egypt were great empires before Rome, navigators, and took over Spain as well as the Mediterranean coastal areas, and tips of other places. See legends from the time of the Flood, through the Old Testament, at After the Flood: Irish Biblical Roots and Egypt.

Surname Roots, Exodus. Campbell, McConaghy - Maconochie. Ireland to Scotland and Back:

2009-10-25T11:43:00.011-04:00

Family Exodus.
Maconochie - Maconachie -McConaghy

1. The Exodus

2. Maconochie's in Burke's General Armory 1844

3. Atholl Highlanders

4. Family Miscellany

For Irish "Scotti" roots to Scots clans, see Irish (Scotti) raiders from Ulster making their incursions into Wales and England and what is now Scotland, soon after if not before the fall of Rome. See http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/GaelsHighKings.htmWhat image fits our forebears' migrations around the globe, our silly sense of rootedness, to places where originated people of our name, that we never knew.

1. The Exodus

First, the oldest "Scotties" went from Ireland to Scotland, we understand, see gaggle of information at http://www.naciente.com/essay55.htm/; then the Scots went to Ireland again, and to parts everywhere after that. Find the Irish side at Ireland Road Ways, McConaghy: Ireland Roots in addition to the http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/GaelsHighKings.htm site.
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McConaghy, MacConaghie, Maconochie, McConnaghy, McConaghey, and other spellings. Here: a family's exodus. Exodus. A human concept, a going forth. Where to start on a geneology, and absent specific names, a heritage.
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We lay out here our family copy of a 1944 letter tracing the Maconachies, using John Burke's Encycloped a of Heraldry or General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1844, FN 1, Scotland. Campbelltown. Visit there and find McConaghy's still there. Our family exodus. Or, some of it. A connection with the Atholl Highlanders, FN 3. On the other hand, others find the link with Robertson, not Campbell, to be checked out.
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A start on our Exodus:

"MACONOCHIE (Meadowbank, co. Edinburgh; originally Campbell, of Inverawe, co, Argyll, being descended from Duncan Campbell, of Inverawe, living temp. David II, eldest son of Sir Neil Camphell, of Lochow, by his second wife, a daughter of Sir John Cameron of Locheil. Duncan's eldest son was named Dougal, after his mother's family; and his eldest son Duncan, who, according to the Celtic custom, was patronymically M'Dowill Vic Conachie (sic); and thus the appellation, Maconochie, came to be adopted by each succeeding chieftan of the family of Campbell of Inverawe, while the cadets still bore the name of Campbell. The present representative of this ancient line is ALEXANDER MACONOCHIE (sic), of Meadowbank, one of the Senators of the College of Justice, as Lord Meadowbank, only son of the late eminent and scientific Judge, Allan, Lord Meadowbank.

"The ARMS, according to the Charter recorded in the Register of the Lyon Office, are, azure three dexter hands couped fesseways in chief, each holding a bunch of arrows, ppr. and in base a royal crown gold, all within a bordure gyronny of eight, gold and black. But the family have lately returned to the older form of the armorial ensigns, which instead of having the gyronny of eight as a bordure, places it in chief on the dexter side party per pale from the three hands holding arrows on the sinister.

"CREST -- A demi Highlandman holding in the dexter hand a bunch of arrows, all ppr.; above, an imperial crown.

"SUPPORTERS -- Two Highlanders attired ppr. in old Campbell tartan, each holding in the exterior hand a bow and arrow, also ppr.

"MOTTO -- His nitimur et munotor. ("We rely on these and are strengthened by them.")

"(Copied from the Encyclopedia of Heraldry or General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland by John Burke, Esq.)

"To Harold McConaghy
Christmas 1944

"The Motto -- Pax cum ustitia et acquitate ("Peace with justice and righteousness") chosen during these days of the Second World War."
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In Art and Religion, Exodus is an important concept. Appreciate with us one Helen Siegl print on the topic. Helen Siegl was an artist, printmaker, prolific in Philadelphia in the 1960's.

She made this "Exodus" woodcut, and we bought and cherish it. FN 1. Here is our fair use of it.

This to us represents the sojourn to parts unknown. See this improbable beast, the guy leading has his eyes shut, for heaven's sakes. How do you lead that way. And the beast is holding out the lure of some fruit or something. It is not the reins-holder to the beast, holding out the lure; but the beast to the dozing one, with the useless reins, drooping around the beast's neck. The so-called leader is not even able to steer if he wanted to, while the passenger muses, thinking plus ca change.

Whatever, she says.

"Exodus", Helen Siegl. Woodcut. From our small collection, see FN 1.

It is an allegory of marriage in an ironic way, but it can be any migration, or children heading out.

Diaspora.

Groups, individuals from family trees. Maconochie - McConaghy - McConaghey - or Mc's or Mac's, do your own spelling. The original historic Maconochie Clan nonetheless, evolved into those that are recorded at "Meadowbank, Co. Edinburgh; originally Campbell, or Inverawe, Co. Argyll" and as set out in a letter to my uncle, Harold McConaghy, Christmas 1944. FN 2; and in Burke's Geneology of the Landed Gentry. See below.

2. Tracing an Exodus Through Burke's Geneological and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry

Now we find the source of that family letter, the book now online::

Burke's Geneological and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, at page 814.

This source lays out the information in the 1944 letter, and clears up some ambiguities in the later transcription about the sons, Duncan and Dougal, and more -- find also a land grant from Robert the Bruce to forbears of the Maconachies, via other clans and marriage, going back to 1330 -, at ://books.google.com/books?id=0NEKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA814&dq=heraldry+maconochie#v=onepage&q=&f=false/

I am not a geneology-focused person. I like finding clues, but not putting it all together. And all these names are so diluted and spread about by now that there is arguably not a single full drop of a hypothetical bloodline left in anybody. But this sleuthing gets interesting for its own sake. Try it for your family name, if you are fortunate to know. Do go there for the precise wording of the Mc Conochie Vc Conochie (not "Vic").

Of special interest: Some pre-1800 data that our family archivist, VP, had been looking for, may be there. Find executions of a Maconochie father and son for participation in the Revolution of Argyll (what?), whose 9-year old son received compensation later, and a residence in Edinburgh. See who bought and sold which residences and married whom.

This becomes our personal filing cabinet of information, not organized, just collected for ourselves: From The Scottish Nation, by William Anderson (Surnames, Family, Literature, Vol 3), google book, at ://books.google.com/books?id=WoNmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA59&lpg=PA60&ots=gcILhJOCdP&dq=Revolution+of+Argyll+Maconochie&output=text/. A fair use of tiny portion of huge work, not retyped:

" Macosochir, a surname derived from the Gaelic Macdonochie, the son of Duncan. The Maconoohies of Meadowhank, Mid Lothian, the princ,pal family of the name, ure descendants of the Camphells of Inverawe, Argyleshire, the first of whom was Duncan Camphell, eldest son of Sir Neil Camphell of Lochow, ancestor of the ducal house of Argyle, hy his 2d wife, a daughter of Sir John Cameron of Lochiel. The eldest son of that marriage, Duncan Camphell, ohtained a grant of Inverawe and Crnachun from David IL in 1330. His eldest son was named Dougal, after his mother's family, and Dongal's eldest son Duncan was called in the Highlands Mac Douill Vic Conochie. He named his son also Duncan, who was thus Maconochie Vic Conochie, the son and grandson of Conochie, or Duncan. Maconochie, from that period, hecame the patronymic appellation of each succeeding Camphell of Inverawe, while the cadets of the family still hore the name of Camphell.

From the Camphells of Inverawe sprnng the Camphells of Shirwun, Kilmartin, and Crnachan.
In 1660, l,.m .. 1 Camphell, or, as he was called, the Maconochie of Invernugh, engaged in the rehellion of the marquis of Argyle, in whose armament of the clan Camphell he held the rank of major. He was tried with the marquis in 1661 and attainted. He was soon afterwards executed at Carlisle.
After the Revolution of 1688, Dougall's son, James Maconochie, who, at his father's death, was little more than nine years old, applied to goverument for the restoration of the Argyleshire property, which had got into the possession of an uncle, hut was unsuccessful. From King William IIL, however, he ohtained a grant in compensation, which he invested in the purchase of the lands of Kirknewton, in the muir now called Meadowhank, Mid Lothian, which his descendant still possesses, and, adopting Lowland customs, all the family took the name of Maconochie. His ouly son, Alexander Maconochie, was a writer in Edinhurgh. The son of the latter, Allan Maconochie, a celehrated lawyer, horu January 26, 1748, died June 14, 1816, was a lord of session and justiciary, under the title of Lord Meadowhank, heing appointed to the former in 1796, and to the latter in 1804. While attending the university of Edinhurgh, he was one of the five students who originated the Speculative Society, and was afterwards for some time Professor of the Laws of Nature and Nations in that university. He was the author of a pamphlet entitled ' ConsideraDons on the Introduction of Trial hy Jury in Scotland,' and in 1815, when the Scottish jury court was instituted, he was appointed one of the lords commissioners. He is said to have heen the inventor of moss manure, now extensively employed in various counties of Scotland, and printed for private distrihution a tract on the suhject. He married Elizaheth, third daughter of H"hert Wellwood, Esq., of Garvock, hy whom he had issue.
His eldest son, Alexander Maconochie, passed advocate in 1799, and after heing sheriff-depute of the county of Haddington 1810, solicitor-general 1813, and lord-advocate 1816, was appointed a lord of session and justiciary in 1819, when he also took the title of Lord Meadowhank. He resigned in 1841, and died Nov. 30, 1861. On the death of his cousin, Rohert Scott Wellwood, he succeeded to the entailed estates of Garvock and Pitliver, in the county of Fife, and assumed the name of Wellwood of Garvock (see Welwood). He married Aune, eldest daughter of Lord-president Blair; issne, with 5 daughters, 4 sons, viz.—1. Allan Alexander Maconochie, LL.D., horn in 1806. passed advocate in 1829, and in 1842 appointed professor of civil law and the law of Scotland in the university of Glasgow. 2. Rohert Blair, writer to the signet. 3. William Maximilian George. 4. Heury Dunda«,

And this: Note the different spellings found in acts of parliament and old deeds -- here from The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, 1339-1343, ye gods, that seven generations later and longer, angles ultimately over to a US branch (not us) of McConihe's. See http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA1340&lpg=PA1340&dq=Revolution%20of%20Argyll%20Maconochie&sig=hhF5V4CawZj6VzRW-qBO282D1GU&ei=uv_mSsiJK5TKlAf6yPiNCA&ct=result&id=YBxWAAAAMAAJ&ots=TBS_DDSPIL&output=text/

"[In 1369, Sir Neil Campbell of Lockawe, Ar¡ryleshiro, chief of the powerful clan of Campbell, married the sister of Robert Bruce, and from them the Campbells of Argyleshire descended. Duncan Campbell, grandson of Sir Niel, the founder of the clan of the Campbells of Inverawe, assumed, according to a Highland custom the name of Donaohie or " The Macdonachie," that is, " the son of Duncan," his father's name. Some of his descendante dropped the name of Campbell, and others took the patronymic Maconochie which is spelled variously afterwards in the acts of parliament and in old title deeds, Maconochy, McConahy and McConihe. In 1661, Maconochy of Inverawe was second in command in the Earl of Argyle's army against the reigning house of Stuart. In the same year his estate and family titles were attainted and sold by the crown : but in 1668, after the Revolution, the attainder of the Earl of Argyle and of his adherents was reversed and Maconochy of Inverawe was paid by the government for his lost estate there, and he purchased with the money given him the estate ever since held by his family called Meadowbank in Mid-Lothian. The present chief or representative of the clan of the ancient line of Campbells and Maconochies is Alexander Maconochie, with the title of Lord Meadowbauk, residing on his estate near Edinburgh.]"

So: A forebear married the sister of Robert the Bruce. Is that how the land grants came about? Lore tells us that each generation has a Robert Bruce, and that is true of mine as well.

Have to get all this to VP. Oh, dear. How old is she now? More at ://books.google.com/books?id=gzMwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA277&dq=heraldry+maconochie#v=onepage&q=&f=false/ including Orkney connections.

Comment on dependency on old texts for any belief: With transcription errors in peripheral geneology issues, and spellings all over the map, that matter to no one else, even in our own day, what to believe about the important stuff: people relying on Bibles and monks in solariums etc. Hate to think. What if the words people rely on for their faith are just errors.

Maconochie Hotpot - Meet another side of the Maconochie clan. They made stews put in cans and served to people in the trenches, and also in WWII. Maconochie's was WWI slang for (an apparently dreadful) chewey stew served at the front - see http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/95/images/exhibitions/maconochie-hotpot-600.jpg / This was based on something called Maconochie rations, or a tinned stew. Could be beans and pork, could be turnip and carrot, or those with other mystery meet.

It keep people alive, but was it appreciated. Look up WWI Maconochie's stew. Made of sliced turnips and carrots, some meat in some versions, and made by the Aberdeen Maconochies. See ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maconochie Buy a ration label for two pounds. See ://www.tommyspackfillers.com/showitem.asp?itemRef=RL003/ They also ate it at Monte Casino WWII and hated it. See ://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/14/a3197414.shtml

Alexander Maconochie. Meet a star. Born in Edinburgh 1787, died 1860 was a penal reformer, and notable as a naval officer and geographer, and he also fought for the British in the American Revolution, see ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Maconochie_(penal_reformer)/ VP, this gets to be enjoyable. All speculation as to real connections, but fun. There is a long biography at ://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020160b.htm/ Penal reform: tie to tasks, not time; with credit if job well done; not punishment but rehab. Ahead of his time.

Spellings. Anything goes and means little. Much had been transcribed from the Gaelic, and mixes of Gaelic and English with all its spellings. Add an e, change a sound to fit the pronunciation, still the same root. We had one group in 1900+ who added an e somewhere just to distinguish themselves from the others for the convenience of the postman.

3. Atholl Highlanders.

We had found a connection to the Atholl Highlanders, see Atholl Highlanders, Blair Castle; but I am retyping the full letter here because it is illegible scanned. Typing it out, we keep the mis-capitals and mis-punctuation and all.

Meet the roots of the Maconochie's, part of which later ended up in Ireland (not the English Plantation group, but still in the north).

We added space between paragraphs, and note another format adjustment: that the last sentence about a different motto chosen during World II is actually typed and indented beside the "To Harold McConaghy" section, but we had to put it below.

4. Family Miscellany

Also not presented here yet. There follow, in the stapled 3 page packet, a reproduction of the new Maconochie motto, and a photograph of grandfather Robert McClure McConaghy and his wife, Louise Lucinda (or Lucinda Louise) Hilliard or Brien, from Trillich and that is a tale in itself; with their first son, Robert. Photo taken in the Bronx, NY where they lived? Both Robert and Louise had migrated, but separately, to New York in about 1900?

Now to find out what all the heraldry means.
..................................

FN 1 More on Helen Siegl.

Looking up Helen Siegl on Images, we see that an entire book with some of her woodcuts, Clip Art of the Old Testament, is selling for $3.95, see ://www.litpress.org/Sales.aspx/ As Clip Art, are the pictures public domain? We think so, but will continue to research. Bread for the World, see ://www.bread.org/ reproduces her work freely, see ://www.bread.org/get-involved/at-church/resources/bfw9-aa-tbltnt-12-9.pdf/; as does this church group - "woodcuts were created by Helen Siegl, a long time Bread for the World member", see 4th week in Lent entry at ://www.westcharltonupc.org/uploads/March2009Beacon.pdf/); and that came up with a search for "Helen Siegl". So does this violate anything? Ye gods, who knows. Speak up, somebody authoritative, and we will take it down, with sadness.

Here she is! A website, at ://www.helensiegl.com/ She was Austrian, 1924-2009. She just died. Oh, my. Cropped portions of Exodus appear there at ://www.helensiegl.com/collections.html/ Do we have to crop ours? I have emailed the website to see. Stay tuned.

FN 2 More on the letter.

My mother was Harold McConaghy's youngest sister, Marjorie McConaghy, and we have a copy of that letter - purporting to include hand-typed copy from The Encyclopedia of Heraldry or General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland by John Burke, Esq." Looking that up, we find Burke's General Armory from 1844 selling for $62.00 at ://www.gould.com.au/Burke-s-General-Armory-of-Eng-Scot-Ire-p/sna018.htmBack in 1944, when the letter was typed, there was no photocopying, so it may contain errors.

.........................................................

Addendum: family legends - Truth is beyond us. Believe, then!

Family is descended from Robert the Bruce (aren't we all) through Clan Robertson. That line, the MacConachies by then, had to leave because they were sheep-thieves. Were they moved as part of King James "Protestant Plantation" policy?
Family members were in the Siege of Londonderry in 1688 (this from the same family archivist, letter to my brother February 9, 1977)
1700's. Stories move to Ireland - see Ireland Road Ways.

White Slavery, Picts, Scots, the Caribbean, Skye

2009-02-16T18:57:00.003-05:00

Balmoral, Castle, Scotland

Slavery and Europe

The Scots? Enslaved? This land of castles and monarchies - how did that happen.

History hides. Here, Balmoral Castle, a favored vacation place for Queen Elizabeth II, dates only from the 1850's - an earlier, smaller "regular" castle having been torn down for this nice granite one. See://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50812/Balmoral-Castle/. We would like to know about the earlier one. Where to go? Here we are - earlier one was built in 1380, as a mere home for Sir William Drummond, see ://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50812/Balmoral-Castle/

What does history say about slavery and the Scots? Also benign?

Among the oldest enslaved peoples on earth are, says this site, the Pics (same as the Picts from our school days?), the Irish and the Scots, and then a group named the "Alba," see://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/white_slavery.htm/

Here is more about the Alba - connected to Albania? Not sure. See the BBC on the Alba at ://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/darkages/intro_darkages.shtml / Since the 1st Century BC, see White Slavery: What the Scots Already Know, at ://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/white_slavery.htm/

We were told of the slave trade at Dunvegan, the castle on Skye that is the home seat of the MacLeod clan - a favored group for us, as we fantasize about a strained, ancient connection - probably stemming from ignored black sheep, and bastards, rather than the honored first sons.

See this site for names and events related to the enslavement and sale of Scots in the New World, including judges in Edinburgh regularly shipping the less savory rogues off to the North American colonies, and Rouen, France, as a favored shipping point, at the White Slavery site.

See the castle at Scotland Road Ways, Dunvegan. There, at the water line, is where the boats would glide up at night to pick up the captives, and haul them away to the ships to the colonies.

A Wedding and Stirling Castle; History of Stirling

2008-03-14T20:38:00.004-04:00

Stirling, Scotland, traditional wedding

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

Stirling Castle, on its high outcrop of rock, stands vigil over the lowest point for crossing the River Forth. Records are paltry for prior to 1100 AD. Then, things begin. A Chapel is dedicated there, Cambuskenneth Abbey is built on the grounds below, by the river, and William the Lion sets up a hunting park at Stirling.

British hunting parks were an early land-management idea, geared, however, for the benefit of the local lord. A monarch or ruler would set aside lands for fostering herds of game animals, but included in the concept were laws governing forest management, and restricting access by common people, see Encyclopedia of World Environmental History at page 979 of this Google book, http://books.google.com/books?id=Dmky95hwKr0C&pg=PA979&lpg=PA979&dq=%22hunting+park%22+British+history&source=bl&ots=LROh5xO5KK&sig=iPKUG6APTaeb_T-6R3junxM05fU&hl=en&ei=-uPxSd_RFYvaMcyV1LgP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA979,M1/. The book also describes and compares uses of "commons" and later public parks.

Then William I was captured, and his release was conditioned upon the English getting Stirling. Then the British give it back, and William ultimately dies there. See Timeline at ://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/timeline.html/ Read there of the series of building programs, murders, sieges, all the stuff of England vs. Scotland and aspiring ruler vs. aspiring ruler at that site. Use these sites that offer timelines - quick reference for an overview.

Travellers in Scotland - Roma, Romani

2008-01-02T16:54:00.001-05:00

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.

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

2007-11-13T17:08:00.004-05:00

MacConaghie, McConaghy
Two Roots:
Robertson: Duncan, MacDhonnchaidh, MacConachie, McConaghy, M'Connachie
or
Campbell of Inverawe

We sleuth on.

Blair Castle, Atholl, home of Atholl Highlanders, the Duncan Connection, Perthshire, Scotland

Family history is not an obsession here, but an interest. We are looking for roots of McConaghy, that being one of the three heritage clusters we enjoy, ending up in Ireland: 1. this McConaghy heritage, Donegal-Ulster; 2. a Norse Scariff-Scharfe heritage, Kilkenny and Clare; and 3. Normans, Trillick, Guy de Brien, William Brien, a Brien cluster.

All may well be debunked as we go. For anybody with an interest in names, start at a simple one, http://www.houseofnames.com/, but check the results elsewhere as well. McConaghy - Scotland's west coast, and the Hebrides. Find what you want to find, and believe it, or not. MacConachies leaving Scotland and becoming McConaghys in Ireland, not necessarily part of the Plantation at all, and in about 1650, says our Venerable Family Archivist, Violet. We trust her completely. You may want to document on your own, if you do not know Violet.

McConaghy.

1. The name may be spelled various ways - including "McConaghey"; and McConnaghy, early Donegal land records.

In our family, the "e" was added by Maurice McConaghey to the McConaghy that his brother used. Both appear in the histories, both were in the military in World War I. We finally found Lt. Maurice McConaghey in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, buried from WWI at Arras, France, see France Road Ways, Somme WWI Royal Scots Fusiliers. The search for Maurice was blocked for a time until we learned of the different spelling he creatively applied.

The McConaghy Clan. Who? Not in the limelight, but durable.

2. Dalriadan roots. The name goes back in the mists to the time of the ancient kings of Ireland, to that group -- Dalriadans -- who were pushed to the Antrim area and from there, as Scotties, settled Scotland, see this account glorifying one particular family but touching on the overall history, at a MacKay site, Dalriada, at http://www.magma.ca/~mmackay/dalriada.html

Blair Castle, Atholl, home of Atholl Highlanders, Scotland

59BC - 409 AD. Two Celtic (are we sure these were Celts??) groups occupied Scotland, then Caledonia, says the Magma site. The Picts and the Bretons. Rome never conquered them, never made that area part of the Empire. After Rome fell, other invaders entered Caledonia: the Scots, from the area known as Dalriada (Antrim-ish), Ireland, who appear to have gone to Kintyre and Argyll; and Angles, from Germany.
.
Names of the ancient Dalriadan kings are listed in sources like the Book of Ballymote, and the Pedigree of the Scottish Kings, and Annals of the Four Masters, with reliability questionable after time and tweakings, but a start. See the Magma site. In time, the Scots kingdom in Ireland surpassed in size and influence the Irish Scots, and the Scots -- ah, the name appears about 500 -- set up firmly at Argyll, ancient capital of Dunadd. Hill Fort at Dunadd. See photo at http://www.clan-duncan.co.uk/dalriada.html. Duncan. Clan Donnachaidh. Are we right so far?
.
So this is an ancient clan - among the Dalriadan clans, even if not kings (rats), those who were pushed to the northeast rim of Ireland under pressure from other invaders. McConaghy is known also as Clan Donnachaidh, from Gaelic "Donnachadh Reamhar", or - here is a good one, Duncan the Stout. How about King Duncan in Macbeth? 11th Century. See http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/DuncanandMacbeth.htm

3. An ancient king of Dalriada in Scotland was also one Dunchad mac Conaing -- not a far cry from McConaghy there. Must be so. And soon the kingdom of the Dalriada extended to Atholl. See http://www.clan-duncan.co.uk/dalriada.html
.
Sometime, all these to be looked up for black sheep.

4. Duncan the Stout was one of the Celtic Earls of Atholl, and the top photo is Blair Castle in Atholl, home of the Atholl Highlanders, and near Queen Victoria's favorite little town, Pitlochry, see http://www.scotland-calling.com/forts/blair. Begun in 1269, its appearance now is largely from 18th century remodelings.
.
Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite forces attacked here 1745-`746. Mary Queen of Scots in 1564, and 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.
.
5. Atholl Highlanders

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 http://www.coghlan.co.uk/athole.htm. Here is the military tartan, part of the Murray, Murray of Atholl - http://www.regiments.org/tradition/tartans/murray-a.htm

6. Pomp and Circumstance

1839-Present - Queen Victoria's award of Regimental Colors. See them and listen at http://www.usahpd.com/tunes.htm. Do an images search for them On Parade yet.

7. Modern

World War I: The Atholl Highlanders fought in South Africa, then to France at Delville Wood, and at 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

2007-09-16T19:44:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-09-08T18:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-07-30T19:52:00.000-04:00

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

2007-01-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

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"

2006-12-31T10:38:00.001-05:00

William Wallace Statue, Wallace Memorial, Stirling Castle area, Scotland

The tower memorial to William Wallace, near Stirling Castle, is about 220 feet high, and this smaller commemorative statue is at the base, near the parking area. From this height, Wallace is said to have watched the collecting English soldiers, before the Battle of Stirling.

This Wallace statue has not been popular, with people thinking it looks too much like Hollywood's Braveheart a la Mel Gibson. The film title is even inscribed on the shield there. So, some have defaced the nose.

The space for the statue was leased, not purchased, so the lease is about to expire and we can expect that it will not be renewed. It was offered for sale but no-one bought. See ://www.scotlandvacations.com/williamwallace.htm/

Note the sword. It is a 5/ 4" bruiser, of the type "Claymore" - see them at://www.medievalware.com/Scottish-Great-Claymore-Sword-p/2011mk.htm/. Seeing one up close: cannot even imagine being able to lift it with both hands to waist height outstretched.

Links, posts, archives

2006-12-18T16:48:00.002-05:00

http://www.scotlandroadways.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
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

2006-12-12T09:12:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-01T14:05:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-01T06:34:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-30T14:07:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-17T14:25:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-16T10:39:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-15T14:40:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

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;

2006-11-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-10T08:11:00.000-05:00

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 Scots breakfast, times to eat

2006-11-07T10:47:00.004-05:00

Here: Haggis and Blood Pudding
Full Scots Breakfast
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I. Haggis Baggis.

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Haggis delicious. Robert Burns composed an Address, a celebratory poem to its presentation. Orate at http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/translations/address_to_a_haggis.htm.
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This dish is a sheep's stomach stuffed with offal, some spices and oats and etc. It was first referenced in an English text in 1615, see http://search.bbc.co.uk/search?uri=%2Ffood%2F&go=toolbar&q=haggis/; and, at this site, is said to have been around in England centuries before it appeared in Scotland. See http://search.bbc.co.uk/search?uri=%2Ffood%2F&go=toolbar&q=haggis+recipe /.
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Fair use thumbnail of a haggis from http://www.highlandflingproducts.com/products-list/0/c17/ While you are there, look up the white mealy pudding. We get no kickbacks for references, but britishfooddepot.com looks good for other British food products.
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Haggis: It is made this way:
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Get various sheep innards (stomach, liver, heart, tongue), some suet, onions, oatmeal, saltandpep, and start. For a modern version, see http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/haggis-recipe/index.html . From the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/haggis_66072.shtml/ -- you can use an ox secum, a lamb lung, and you will need spices for this one (coriander, mace, nutmeg).
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Compare the haggis to our more familiar hot dog idea: stuffing a casing. Haggis uses the stomach, and a real hot dog uses intestines. If you are unfamiliar with the haggis ingredients, think hotdog in new shape and with minced-chopped parts plus grains as in the texture of our sausage, not a puree goo. Feel better now? Hot dog ingredients? Try to find out. They won't tell you. See http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/hotdog.asp/ or http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Hot-Dog.html/ . Or http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question177.htm/ At least the Brits are honest about their ingredients.
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Earlier ethnic versions probably would have you catch and butcher your sheep. Go to your local Big Supermarket and ask for the ingredients, and follow instructions. Then report.
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Then try haggis lasagne, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/food/recipe230.shtml

II. Blood pudding, or black pudding.

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This is more difficult to eat if it is not freshly made, unless you are a chewer. It dries out once sliced and fried up, so eat fast and get it fresh. Arrive at the breakfast buffet early; or the pub tastybits. We like it, but get used to a gumminess. Fair use thumbnail from http://www.highlandflingproducts.com/products-list/0/c17

Get onions, oatmeal, pork fat, and pig blood. And seasonings. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_blackpudding.shtml and http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_blackpudding. In France, find boudin noir. The product is also found in Cajun and other Southern USA cooking.
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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 http://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 Road Ways, Black Pudding.

Full Scots Breakfast

Full Scots or Scottish breakfast: See the photo at the BBC blackpudding site. Look up a picture. Add to it: grilled tomatoes, baked beans, and a variety of breads. Excellent. See also http://www.flickr.com/photos/cocovan/365416/.
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Eating times in Scotland are limited in the rural areas. You may stop for an off-hours meal and only get cheese, if anything - such as at midday, when you may want much more. When that happens, go to a local grocery and buy what you need instead, if the cheese is not enough. In many countries, "restaurant" means full food; other places that entitle themselves a cafe, or some pubs, do not offer full meals.
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Eating at pubs is a good idea. They are less expensive than tablecloth restaurants, and usually offer a good selection of main dishes at a proper mealtime. Many offer a carvery - a pub where there is a whole roast out for slicing and sandwiches, platters.

Itinerary After The Fact

2006-11-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-03T19:35:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-02T08:44:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

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.