I Vahn to Drrrink your Blood…. June 20, 2011

Started off batting zero again but the day quickly turned around. First of all, the castle that I thought we never found last trip? We did find it last time, only I didn’t remember it until we got there THIS time. Oh well. Then as we are driving to Fyvie Catle at 9:00am, I recheck my notes to find that Fyvie doesn’t open until noon. So we crossed it off for today.

Our next stop was more successful. We toured Tolquhon Castle, a ruin now but started in 1420 when the Preston Tower was built for Sir John Forbes and his wife. William Forbes, the 7th laird, built a large quadrangular mansion in 1584-9. It was very impressive & we were able to climb to the top of the towers and even find the secret hiding place. This castle was built to impress through elegance not through strength, so it featured many more conveniences and seems like it would have been much more comfortable than older castles. The walls were decorated and were thinner than other castles we’ve seen and there were flagstone floors. In 1716-18, the estate was sold but William Forbes, the 11th Laird refused to leave and had to be dislodged by troops. From 1718-1850, the castle was used as a farmhouse. There were elaborate gunloops but these were only for display. There were beehives built into the outer wall and a bakehouse and brewhouse and a pit prison for lawbreakers.

And now for my favorite place of the day…maybe week…maybe month: I was finally able to get out to Slains Castle!!! No rain today, no super muddy path, just overcast skies to greet us as we arrived in Cruden Bay. We tried to see if there was a way to get to the castle from the village, but it turned out to be easier to go to the car park off the A975 and walk from there down the path that can get very mucky at times. But before we did, we drove through the village and found Kilmarnock Arms Hotel where, in 1895, Bram Stoker stayed and was inspired by Slains Castle to write his novel, Dracula. And I can see why. This is one spooooky castle. The imposing ruins of Slains Castle sit right on the edge of the high ocean cliff looking out to sea. Bram wrote that this was where Dracula landed when he sailed from Transylvania, and this is what was in early drafts, but it was changed to Whitby in Yorkshire for the final published work. But THIS is where Bram had in mind. His “The Mystery of the Sea” and some short stories also have Cruden Bay as their setting.

There are no signposts anywhere and someone wrote that they think this is because no one wants to be held responsible if anyone falls over the cliffs that lie IMMEDIATELY in front of the castle. Or if something falls in on someone. The history of this place is fascinating. There was another Slains Castle down the road a bit in the 1200s, but in 1594, the owner, the Earl of Erroll, backed a plot by the Earl of Huntly against King James VI, who responding by blowing yup the Old Slains Castle. When the Earl of Erroll returned from exile in 1597, he instead used the tower house at Bowness as the basis for a new Slains Castle on this site. The tower was extended and buildings were added around a courtyard. More additions and renovations were made in 1664 and in 1836 (when it was refaced with granite). In 1916, the 20th Earl of Erroll was forced to sell the castle because of finances. The new owner allowed it to fall into disrepair and in 1925, the roof was removed (this meant he didn’t have to pay taxes on it anymore).

Bram Stoker stayed here in 1895 as did Boswell and Johnson in 1773.

The front of the castle is literally right on the edge of the cliff but in the rear there would have been gardens and to protect against unwanted guests, there was a deep cleft that cuts into the cliffs as far as the main access road, a sudden cliff drop from the garden. This area had grassed tennis courts and a croquet lawn before erosion by the sea.. Inside is now a jumble of brick walls and overgrown nettles. There was a Great Hall, courtyard, billiard room, kitchens, larders, staff accommodation and a library at one time. Outer buildings included the stables, the outhouses, and the towers. One room, which I didn’t go in because it just felt too creepy, had large stone storage bins all around the walls. Maybe it was for storage of kitchen items, but it looked too much like a crypt and had been obviously used by some people who had recently been staying here overnight—maybe a homeless person. I don’t know how desperate I would have to be to stay here overnight though. This isn’t being taken care of by Historic Scotland or anyone else. No history written on boards for you to read. Just the seagulls calling and the waves crashing and your imagination allowed to run free. Nature has taken over this place and it makes me wonder if something else takes it over at night.

In 2007, it was announced that the ruins of Slains Castle would be closed to the public as they are to be converted into holiday homes by Slains Partnership. Their insurance company advised that it would be unsafe to allow general access to the area.

On the way home, we stopped by the village of Crovie (pronounced Crivie) on the north coast. This is a picturesque village set below cliffs looking out onto the North Sea. It has the narrowest space between the shore and the cliff of any Scottish village. It was established by families removed from the Highlands in the years following the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745. There is only a footpath to get to the houses as there is no room for a road between the houses and the sea. There is a small car park at the west end of the village. The original buildings sit with their gables to the sea so they are the least resistant to gales that pop up in the winter months.

This was a fishing village for a long time, but after World War II, the fishing families here began to dwindle. On the night of January 30-31, 1953, a gale was blowing and by noon on the 31st, it was a full-blown hurricane. The footpath linking Crovie to the city to the west, Gardenstown, washed away as were sheds, garages, and the sea wall at the west end of the village. Several houses were destroyed and many were badly damaged. Many of the residents ceased to be permanent residents after that. Now it is a holiday village. I would LOVE to stay here one night, but Ray says he would definitely not be staying here with me. It was beautiful.

We also passed through MacDuff and Banff. Interesting story from the past, In Dufftown (south of Elgin) there was a tower built in 1839 with a clock from Banff. At this time, there was a man named James MacPherson who was robbing from the rich to give to the poor. He was arrested but the locals loved him so much, they got a petition for a pardon. The pardon was on its way, but the local sheriff put the clock on the tower forward one hour so he could do away with James before the pardon arrived. The people felt this was a horrible miscarriage of justice. In MacDuff, the Doune Church built a clock tower that has only 3 faces. The blank side faces the town of Banff because they wanted to be sure that the people of Banff never knew the correct time (because they had built the original clock). Well, I think this is a bit off. The person they should’ve really gone after was the local sheriff. Maybe they did and we just haven’t heard about it.

New interesting notes:
--we say “med-eh-sin” here they say “med-sin”
--I finally got to see a bale of hay being wrapped in those black wrappings. It is done by a cool machine that spins the hay in a circle while it wraps it.
--McDonald’s has a sign here that says: “Please dispose of your packaging thoughtfully.” Isn’t that nice?
--Another nice thing—when you sit in traffic because of road works (construction), it is very nice to have a sign at the side of the road that says: “Sorry for your delay.”
--Interesting place names for today: Moss of Barmuckity, Fogwatt, and Meikle Wartle

Pictures from top: Slains Castle from a distance on walk up to it; Slains sits right on the edge of the ocean cliff; Slains Castle; Crovie.

Accosted by Nature June 19, 2011

In a land where the sun comes up at 4:30, it is difficult to get sleep, but I tell you last night we must’ve been exhausted for we went to bed at 8:30 and didn’t wake up until 6:30 this morning! Ten hours sleep! That’s incredible for us. It must be related to just how restful the Cormack Lodge is. We are out here all by ourselves. It’s only like ¼ mile off the main road, but it is down a country road all by itself, just us and the ducks on the large pond next door. Brodie Castle has this system of woodland walks through this amazing collection of trees on the estate, and we are tucked off into a little corner of that estate. We have a private drive, off course, being out here alone, but it’s behind a gate you lock and we also have a little garden in back. Such a pretty place.

The first of our assaults today happened as we were driving through Nairn. All of a sudden, what seemed like tons of bird poop was dumped on our windshield! Was there a huge flock of birds going over just at that moment? Did someone fling a bucket of bird poop at us? We don’t know, but it was a mess. We drove north to Dornoch to see the beautiful stained glass in the cathedral, but unfortunately, the 11am service already had people arriving at 10, so we didn’t get to go inside. The old jail here has been turned into shopping and the castle is now a hotel.

Then we tried to find the stones on a hill near Evanton, but none were to be found. Then we drove through Strathpeffer—where a child accidentally threw a huge ball that hit our windshield and gave us both a start--and further north to try to find a sign for Castle Leod, home of the MacKenzies, but no signs, so it was back to Inverness and the Tesco where Ray bought a new backpack and we purchased a few grocery items.
After a quick stop at home, we visited Clava Cairns once more. I think this is my 4th or 5th time? Love this place. Found the two close-together stones used by Diana Gabaldon in her story. Looked for the crystal in the large stone near the NE cairn but didn’t find it. While looking, we met up with a mother and her 3 daughters from Minnesota. They recognized our common accents and asked where we were from. They started asking about tips on places to visit and good pubs and she asked why I am to this place, the cairns. I asked her if she knew about Diana Gabaldon’s stories and she nearly went crazy. That started a conversation that lasted over half an hour, talking about the books and sights related to them in Inverness and Edinburgh. So much fun. When I told her that the stones were right over there, I thought one of the daughters would have a heart attack. We took picture after picture for them of them standing in the stones.

I am happy to report that we have finally seen a pig farm. Ray was wondering why, if in a country that serves so much bacon, we never see the pigs. Now we have—near Inverness. They were the brightest pink color and very large.
Interesting that here they call passing lanes overtaking lanes and the slow lane is the crawler lane. Cool.

We next visited the new visitor’s center at Culloden Moor, the site of the horrible battle on Drummossie Moor between the Jacobites and the government forces under Cumberland. I always feel so sad here. They had a really good display and collection of artifacts. Many swords and guns and sporrans found at the battle site. The Scotts Clan fought here with the Glen Garry Forces, the John Roy Stewart’s, and Lord Ogilvy’s Reserves. Bonnie Prince Charlie’s hopes of restoring the Stuart monarchy were dashed at this battle after the slaughter of ¼ of his 5000 man Highland army. The Duke of Cumberland outnumbered him 2 to 1. Sadly, 1200 Scotsmen and 210 Englishmen died. One of the Jacobites, a John Fraser, was held prisoner at Culloden House then shot before a firing squad but was rescued by a government soldier who helped him escape. Sounds very much like the character in the Outlander story. There was a Roderick Mackenzie who was captured because he looked strikingly similar to Bonnie Prince Charlie. He went along with it and pretended to be the Prince so that the real Prince could escape. Unfortunately, Roderick was later beheaded. The MacLeod’s also helped the Prince in his escape. Sadly, all this was for nothing and the Prince died adisiilusioned alcoholic in Rome years later.

Ray went running and I am blogging, then dinner and the rain has just begun, so should be another cozy night in our little cabin.

Pictures from top: strange picture hanging in our dining room; view towards Inverness; two pictures of my stones at Clava Cairns.

Off to the Land of the Time-Traveling Stones June 18, 2011

We woke early and got the paperwork at Hertz sorted out and had breakfast at Morrison’s so that I could have my scrambled eggs on toast. Then it was off to Brodie Castle in the rain. The drive was nice, though, as there wasn’t a lot of traffic and I love driving in the cozy rain.

Our cottage is the Cormack Lodge on the Brodie Castle Estate. One bedroom and bath with an old-timey tub. Large dining room and much larger kitchen than at the last place. And a comfy sitting room. Real fireplace and the logs are provided. So interesting to be sitting here and hear a clock ticking like it did at the Pend Cottage. That’s something that until I got over here, I hadn’t heard in decades. Looking forward to seeing the sites in Inverness and maybe popping over to Slains Castle, the scene of a book I read recently.

Interesting facts I had learned recently:
---there is a town with the name Ae
---the cows near Whithorn were black at their heads and backs but white in the middle, making them look like they were wearing pants with crop tops
---getting around the triple parked cars only to met with an elderly couple pushing a pram (baby carriage) is like playing the video game Frogger
---I love the way the green, green land buckles in places
---lorries (tractor-trailer trucks) and their drivers seem much more polite and courteous on the roads over here
---never will get over the sign that says “Oncoming Vehicles in the Middle of the Road”
---the sign that says “Adverse Camber” is not intuitive to an American, and I had to remember that this is the one that Colin explained meant (in US-speak) low shoulder
---if a group of people does something astonishing in the US, we might say, “They sure as hell did.” Here they say, “Did they hell as like.” I have no idea about this one.
---I learned several news things from the book I just finished by Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame:
---there was a man named Joe Kittinger who, in 1960, went up 20 miles into space and jumped from a helium balloon and parachuted to earth in a test for NASA
---there is an artist named Cattelan who did an exhibition where he had a representation of the Pope being hit by a meteorite that crashed through the roof of the museum.
---The Scottish Courage brewery has a new drink—a bottle of Kronenbourg sold with a shot of absinthe (a bright green hallucinogen at 50% proof). It is banned in all places except the Czech Republic and Great Britain. Absinthe is what Van Gogh ws drinking when he cut off his ear. Oscar Wilde once said, “After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not.”
---to saw you are using a strawberry filter on the movie camera means that you set the camera up but you don’t turn it on.
---and finally—Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Graham Chapman all went to Cambridge together. Wow—that must’ve been some party.