SEE THE BEAUTY · FEEL THE HISTORY
EXPLORE SCOTLAND’S HISTORY
LOCH LOMOND
Loch Lomond is the largest fresh water lake in the British Isles. It is 24 miles long, up to five miles wide and 600 feet deep, with a shoreline measuring over 95 miles. There are 38 islands on the Loch, some of which have been inhabited since Neolithic times. This varied terrain is the territory of ash, rowan, oak, beech and sycamore trees along with an impressive 25% of Britain's wild plants. The area is a haven for wildlife, eagles, hawks and peregrine falcons are but three of over 200 species of birds that fly around Loch Lomond. On the islands and on the shores there are wild deer, pine martins and wild cats. There is even a small colony of wallabies on Inchconnachan Island, brought here from their native Australia by a private landowner in the 1970's. The Loch itself is home to more species of fish than any other, including pike, brown trout, salmon, fresh water herring and Powan. On the eastern shore, the majestic Ben Lomond (3195ft) keeps an eternal vigil over nature in all its finery.
People have been living on Loch Lomond's islands and shores for at least 7000 years. On Inchlonaig scraps from early inhabitants have been unearthed, which have been dated to around 5000 BC. Another of Loch Lomond's islands, Inchgalbraith, is believed to have been constructed around 3000 BC as a Crannog, artificial islands which were used as a home for extended families all over Scotland and Ireland from around 5000 BC. On the eastern shore of Loch Lomond iron age settlements are clearly visible at Strathcashel Point and there are a number of other first millennium hilltop forts scattered around the Loch.
It was a loose collection of tribes that the Romans were to encounter in Scotland when they advanced north in 79 AD. It seems that the presence of the Romans may have acted as a catalyst for the development of the native societies, if only because the natives were forced to gang together against a common enemy. In any case, shortly after the Romans abandoned Britain in the 3rd century AD the Loch Lomond area had become the junction between three significant kingdoms, Pictland, to the east, Strathclyde, to the south and Dalriata, to the north west. Clach Nam Breatann, "the stone of the Britons", marked this junction and still stands today in Glen Falloch.
Christianity arrived in the area with St. Kessog in c.510 AD. St. Kessog, son of the King of Munster, established a church on Inchtavannach, "the monk's island", which he used as a base for missionary expeditions around Loch Lomond, until he was martyred at Bandry, just south of Luss, in c.530 AD. When, in the 18th century, the cairn marking the place of the saint's murder was destroyed to make way for a new road, a stone effigy depicting Kessog was discovered inside. This is now on display in Luss Parish Church. A little after Kessog's death, Saint Mirren founded a church on Inchmurrin, "island of Mirren". On this island, Loch Lomond's largest, the ruins of a 7th century monastery can still be seen.
So Loch Lomond's shores and islands developed as a tranquil setting for the growth of Scottish Christianity. However, its tranquillity would be disturbed in 1263 when a band of Vikings led by Magnus, King of Man and son-in-law of Hakkon, the Norse King, arrived in Tarbet on the Loch's western shore. They had sailed into Arrochar at the head of Loch Long, before carrying their longships one and a half miles onto an almost completely undefended Loch Lomond. Here, the Viking war party set about a devastating series of lighting raids before fleeing down River Leven to the sea.
Loch Lomond is connected with a number of important characters from Scottish history apart from Saints Kessog and Mirren and the brutal King Magnus of Man. Inchlonaig, 'the island of yew trees', gets its name from the trees which King Robert I had planted in about 1300 AD to provide timber for his archers' bows, which were used at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The trees can still be seen scattered about the island. Lady Isabella, wife of Duke Murdoch of Albany, lived out her final years on Inchmurrin after witnessing the execution of her father, husband and two of her sons at the hands of King James I in 1425. The castle on the island, now in ruins, was visited by James IV, in 1506, Mary Queen of Scots, in 1563, and James VI, in 1617. On Inchcailleach, "The Island of Nuns", there is a graveyard which was used by the clan MacGregor, where some of Rob Roy's ancestors are buried.
ROYAL SCOTTISH CASTLES
The Highlands are often portrayed as a romantic part of Scotland. This is not at all strange given the stunning unspoilt nature with rugged mountains, deep blue Lochs and empty glens where majestic
Red Deer rule the hills and Eagles rule the skies. Due to the ever and fast changing weather the
Highlands have a mystical touch. One moment you see the hills, the next they are gone. Sunny spells and dark shadows move over the hills and the white snow capped mountains in winter give the Highlands a sparkling touch. The Highlands, and its castles in particular, are often chosen as wedding venue due to their romantic nature.
There are also darker sides to the history of the Highlands and one of them is the “Highlands of the clans” with their chieftains, the battles, the massacre’s and the bloodsheds, portrayed in history books and later turned into movies we all know such as William Wallace and Rob Roy McGregor. A good example is the massacre of Glen Coe in 1692 when the English Captain Robert Campbell and his soldiers enjoyed the hospitality of the MacDonalds in Glen Coe. In the middle of the night the soldiers turned against their hosts killing 37 men and more than 40 women and children and destroyed their homes. The reason was that Alasdair MacIain, chieftain of the Glencoe MacDonalds, hadn’t swore allegiance to King William III.
Not long after the clan battles were over and the wars with the English were fought the Highlands became silent, and empty. Landowners found out they could make more money with sheep grazing on the hills and the population, mostly poor crofters with small patches of farmland, had to make way. These Highland Clearances as they were called, were sometimes performed with great force and resulted in mass evictions as well as mass emigrations. The people were sometimes literally driven towards the sea where they built small settlements and lived from fishing, the kelp industry and farming. Later big infrastructural works such as the Caledonian Canal provided some relief. These were hard times and many Highlanders tried their luck elsewhere and migrated to the US, Canada and Australia. Nowadays there are more descendants from the Highlanders living outside Scotland than there are inside. The results of the clearances are still visible today if you drive through the empty Glens in the Highlands and most people still live in villages and towns near the coast. The Highlands remain very scarcely populated.
ROYAL SCOTTISH CASTLES
Glamis House was built in 1800 -1802 for the accommodation of Patrick Proctor, the Factor to the 10th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne on the Glamis estate.
It was later occupied by Charlotte Grimstead, Lady Glamis, widow of Thomas, Lord Glamis. Two of Charlotte’s sons inherited the Strathmore title – Thomas, who became the 12th Earl in 1846 and Claude, 13th Earl. She was therefore the great grandmother of Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon (the future Queen Mother). A significant matriarch of the Strathmore family, Charlotte’s portrait hangs in the Dining Room at Glamis Castle. Thus, Glamis House effectively became the Dower House until 1881, when it reverted to its original purpose and became the Factor’s House once more. It was occupied by Andrew Ralston, Glamis Estate Factor until 1912, when his son, Gavin Ralston succeeded him as Factor, and carried on living in Glamis House until 1949.
In the late 20th century, Glamis House became the residence of Mary, Dowager Countess of Strathmore & Kinghorne, widow of the 17th Earl, who lived there for several years, during which times H.M. The Queen, H.M. The Queen Mother and H.R.H The Princess Margaret were regular visitors. Michael, 18th Earl, then made Glamis House his home with his third wife, Karen Baxter. The 19th Earl decided to renovate Glamis House in 2017 and now this notable historic residence can continue to be enjoyed and appreciated by a wide range of people for years to come.
Balmoral has been one of the residences for members of the British Royal Family since 1852 when the estate and its original castle were purchased privately by Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria.
They remain as the private property of the royal family and are not the property of the Crown.
Soon after the estate was purchased by the royal family, the existing house was found to be too small and the current Balmoral Castle was commissioned. The architect was William Smith of Aberdeen, although his designs were amended by Prince Albert. The castle is an example of Scottish baronial architecture and is classified by Historic Scotland as a category A listed building. The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle demolished shortly thereafter. The Balmoral Estate has been added to by successive members of the royal family, and now covers an area of approximately 50,000 acres (20,000 ha). It is a working estate, including grouse moors, forestry, and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle, and ponies.
King Robert II of Scotland (1316–1390) had a hunting lodge in the area. Historical records also indicate that a house at Balmoral was built by Sir William Drummond in 1390. The estate is recorded in 1451 as “Bouchmorale“, and later was tenanted by Alexander Gordon, second son of the 1st Earl of Huntly. A tower house was built on the estate by the Gordons.
In 1662 the estate passed to Charles Farquharson of Inverey, brother of John Farquharson, the “Black Colonel“. The Farquharsons were Jacobite sympathizers, and James Farquharson of Balmoral was involved in both the 1715 and 1745 rebellions. He was wounded at the Battle of Falkirk in 1746. The Farquharson estates were forfeit and passed to the Farquharsons of Auchendryne. In 1798, James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife, acquired Balmoral and leased the castle. Sir Robert Gordon, a younger brother of the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, acquired the lease in 1830. He made major alterations to the original castle at Balmoral, including baronial-style extensions that were designed by John Smith of Aberdeen.
EDINBURGH
The earliest human sites recorded in the Edinburgh area date back to 8500 BC and the first signs of habitation on the Castle Rock, Arthur’s Seat and its surroundings date to 900 BC approximately.
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, a small fort called Dun Eiden was built by the Gododdins probably on the Castle Rock, although the exact location is unknown. In the seventh century, the Angles (the tribe which gave its name to England) attacked the Gododdins and invaded the fort. The Angles took the name “Eiden” and joined it to “Burh”, an old English word meaning fort, thus creating the name of Edinburgh. The fort and the region were not re-captured by the Scots until 1018.
It is uncertain when the royal castle was built on the Castle Rock, but it is believed that it was constructed little before or during the twelfth century, probably during the reign of David I. A settlement began to grow on the east side of the Rock at this time and Edinburgh and Canongate, considered royal burghs, were allowed to conduct foreign trade.
During the Medieval period, the concept of a friar was founded. Friars, unlike monks, worked for a community and could leave the monastery. In Edinburgh there were Dominican friars, dressed in black, and the Augustinian friars, dressed in grey. Both lived in the southern part of Edinburgh.
During the fourteenth century, commerce began to grow and Edinburgh became known for its wool, exported from Port Leith along with leather goods. The cattle were sold in Cowgate and the cereal and hay were both sold at the Grassmarket.
Despite constant battles against the English (the Castle was captured between 1296 and 1322 and in 1385 the Cathedral and the Town Hall were burnt down), Edinburgh developed as a prosperous city. During the fifteenth century, Edinburgh was made the royal capital of Scotland and the Palace of Holyrood was built between 1671 and 1678 for Charles II.
Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries - gloomy and overpopulated Edinburgh
Around the year 1500 approximately 12.000 people lived in Edinburgh. The population grew rapidly and reached 15.000 less than half a century later.
After the Battle of Flodden in 1513, the inhabitants of the city built the Flodden Wall around Edinburgh to protect it from the English. However, the wall was not very effective and the English would breach it to attack the city on several occasions.
Since Edinburgh was surrounded by the wall, its continually growing population steadily built multi-story houses. The first stone high rise buildings were constructed in the Royal Mile and were sometimes up to 12 stories high. When these “lands” (residential houses in Scots) were not enough, the citizens built wooden houses on top of the stone houses.
Edinburgh became a filthy city continually hit by plagues, illnesses and fires. By the end of the seventeenth century, the city had a population of 50.000 people.
The Eighteenth century – The New Town
In the seventeenth century, Daniel Defoe, English author of the novel Robinson Crusoe remarked about Edinburgh “that in no city in the world [do] so many people live in so little room as Edinburgh”.
The bubonic plague, typhus and cholera were present in the everyday lives of Edinburgh’s population. These would shout “Gardyloo” when they would throw wastewater from their windows into the street to warn passersby. The citizens would fling their household waste into the Nor Loch (today Princes Street Gardens), and many historians believe that it was also used for drinking water. Edinburgh was one of the most unsanitary towns in Europe.
In 1752 the expansion of Edinburgh was proposed but it is not until 1767 that the plans of the New Town were designed by James Craig, a young unknown architect who won the competition to design the new part of the city. The architect presented a plan of large parallel streets, squares and gardens. By this period, Edinburgh no longer needed to be circled by its defensive wall since Scotland was united with England in 1707, having been presided over by the same monarch for over a century - however the long years of antagonism and separate history explain the existence of separate institutions such as the Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood (as well as the current Scottish independence movement). By the mid-eighteenth century Edinburgh became a popular place for intellectuals, especially with regards to philosophy, history, medicine, science and economics. Between 1768 and 1771 for example, the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in Edinburgh.
ST. ANDREWS
St Andrews’ great Cathedral – constructed in 1160 was for seven centuries the largest building in Scotland. Its majesty helped to establish St Andrews as the centre of the country’s religious life, which in turn helped St Andrews to become hugely influential in Scottish political circles. Pilgrims flocked here from all over Europe, and St Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland.
The 16th Century was the most turbulent period in the history of St. Andrews. The (Catholic) Archbishop of St. Andrews, Cardinal David Beaton, was the leader of the anti-Protestant movement within the Scottish church and orchestrated the trials and executions of several ‘heretics’. Before long, Beaton too was dead – victim of an assassination in this volatile atmosphere. In 1559, the Calvinist John Knox preached a fiery sermon in Holy Trinity Church which reputedly sparked off a riot amongst the congregation. St. Andrews Cathedral was sacked by Knox’s followers, and this effectively signalled the start of the Scottish Reformation and the end of the town’s religious influence.
St Andrews is scattered with reminders of these bloody times. Martyrs’ Monument, on The Scores, commemorates the Protestant reformers who died, and markings on street cobblestones indicate where executions took place. Look out for those of Patrick Hamilton outside St. Salvator’s Quad, and George Wishart just outside St. Andrews Castle.
St. Andrews fell into a long period of decline, only reviving in the 19th Century, when new streets were built, the railway arrived, and the town became known as a holiday destination, renowned for its golf and bracing sea air. Since then, it has never looked back, with considerable population growth and University expansion taking place during the late 20th Century. However, the original medieval street layout has been retained to this day, contributing immensely to the character of St. Andrews. Over the last few centuries, residential developments have stretched St Andrews’ boundaries to the south and west but the historic core remains much as it would have looked four hundred years ago. Today’s residents guard the St Andrews’ past jealously, and they are proud to call themselves St. Andreans.
Six Centuries of Golf
Golf has been played on the Links at St. Andrews since around 1400 AD, and the Old Course is renowned throughout the world as the Home of Golf. What was one simple track hacked through the bushes and heather has developed into six links golf courses and four other courses in the immediate area including our own Duke’s Course, attracting hundreds of thousands of golfing pilgrims from around the globe.
Golf Banned
Golf became popular in the middle ages, so much so that the game was banned in 1457 by King James II of Scotland, who felt it was distracting young men from archery practice. Succeeding monarchs repeated this ban until James IV became a golfer himself.
18 holes
By 1764, the Old Course consisted of 22 holes, 11 out and 11 back, with golfers playing to the same hole going out and in, except for the 11th and 22nd holes. The golfers decided the first four holes, therefore also the last four holes, were too short and that they should be made into two holes instead of four. Thus the number of holes per round dropped from 22 to 18, and that is how today’s standard round of golf was created.
Rabbit Wars
In 1797, the bankrupt St. Andrews Town Council sold the links to local merchants who promptly turned them into a rabbit farm. There followed more than 20 years of “war,” both legal and physical, between the rabbit farmers and the golfers. Success went to the golfers when, in 1821, James Cheape of Strathtyrum, a local landowner and keen golfer, bought the links and saved them for golf.
Double Greens
Golf started to become more popular at St. Andrews in the middle of the 19th century, and the course became more crowded. The result was that golfers playing out began to meet golfers playing in, at the same hole. Not surprisingly, this led to difficulties and disputes. To solve the problem, the decision was made to cut two holes on each green, with white flags for the outward holes and red flags for the inward holes. This was the origin of the famous double greens.
Royal and Ancient Club
In 1754, the Royal and Ancient Club was founded under its original name of the Society of St. Andrews Golfers. This club, originally composed of 22 noblemen, professors and landowners, has become the foremost golf club in the world and now governs the rules of golf everywhere except in the USA. The Club also runs the Open Championship and the important amateur championships.
BORDERS ABBEY
The name Melrose derives from the ancient Celto-British 'mail-rhos', the cropped moor or meadow. These Celts were working bronze in North Britain by 1500 BC. By about 900 BC the area was sufficiently populated and prosperous to build a ritual city of more than 400 large round-houses, within a great rampart and ditch some 1500 metres long encircling the summit of Hill North of the three magic Eildon Hills. This city in the sky served their religious and social ceremonial needs, but they hunted and fished in the forest and wetlands of the valley bottom of the River Tweed, and grew corn, ran sheep and bred horses on the uplands around the mail-rhos. Mystery surrounds the end of the city, for it was abandoned for many centuries during the Iron Age before the Romans came.
For four hundred years, from it's foundation in 1136 to it's 'desolation' in about 1556, the Cistercian Abbey of St Mary at Melrose served the Christian Church, the monarchs, the state and the people of Scotland. The town of Melrose, clustered at the great southern gate of the Abbey precinct, existed only to serve the Abbey. While in early centuries the lay brothers of the Abbey provided the produce and manufactured needs of the monastery, in later years the market place of Melrose would assume greater importance in supplying the convent. Throughout the four hundred years pilgrims to the Abbey would lodge and refresh themselves in the town, establishing its skills in catering for the visitor.
In 1526, on the 25th July, Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch attempted to rescue the young King James V (1513 - 1542) from the clutches of the over-powerful Douglas, Earl of Angus while on a journey from Jedburgh to Edinburgh. Battle was joined at Skirmis Hill, the site of the present Waverley Castle Hotel, Melrose. Buccleuch was defeated, losing some 80 of his 600 spear men. The Douglas lost some 100 men killed including the Laird of Cessford. This death triggered a murderous feud between the Kers of Cessford and the Scotts of Buccleuch.