Well the summer holidays have started and I recently got a new camera. So on a dull Friday afternoon I took at trip down to Preston Mill in East Linton to try out my new camera.
Took a detour on our way home from Pitlochry. This is the church where the witch trail was filmed. As it had been a spur of a moment decision we couldn’t see inside. It was worth the trip to see around the grounds.
Over the years the Jacobites have been romanticised and the stories of the times told and retold leading to some interesting legends that seem to be part fact, part fiction. So, we thought it only fair to share a couple legends and let you decide how much to truly believe.
Firstly ‘The Princes Flower’.
Before he reached Glenfinnan to raise the Jacobite standard in 1745 the ‘young pretender’, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, first arrived at the island of Eriskay. He had travelled on the French Frigate the Du Teillay. The weather was typical for the area and time of year and the small frigate was buffeted by harsh weather. Charles made the decision to land on the island and a small party rowed ashore.
The tiny boat made landfall at a small inlet which has come to be known as ‘Coilleag d’Phrionnso’ (The Prince’s Strand). As the Prince stepped ashore he reached into…
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The second trip of the day was to Blackness Castle. It is called the ship that never sailed as it is built in the shape of a ship. The castle is situated on the shore of the river Forth.
It was even more windy here but we still manage to venture for a walk around the walls.
When visiting locations I like to think how they were used for filming. The courtyard in the castle is very rocky so it would have made for interesting transformation into the crowd scenes of the flogging.
Only Jamie and Claire made an appearance here. Again like Doune castle there were several visitors at Blackness Castle on a very windy day.
As I am still on holiday I decided it would be nice to revisit some of the Outlander locations. So on a wild windy January day I set forth with my husband to visit Doune Castle otherwise known as Castle Leoch in the series.
I took with me my POP figures of Jamie, Claire and Dougal.
This was my third visit to Doune Castle and my second Outlander inspired trip. We are Historic Scotland members. There is guide book, which I must have somewhere, and a free audio guide – worth using especially if it’s your first visit.
It was fun just to wander round and discover parts of the castle I had missed in pervious visits. On my previous visit I had ventured for a walk by the river but with all the rain there has been recently and the windy weather we opted to go back to the car.
My husband was surprised by the number of visitors there were. While we were there several small bus tours arrived. Don’t know if they were all Outlander fans! Doune Castle has been used for filming Game of Thrones and was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (Not sure if the gift shop still sells coconut shells – they may have been replaced by the Outlander merchandise).
I am catching up on my blog posts and had released I hadn’t posted about The Edinburgh Outlander Experience by Mercat Tours. At the end of October Jan and I went on the tour.
It started at the Mercat Cross next to St Giles Cathedral. The guide showed us where the old Tolbooth use to be – marked in the cobbles outside St Giles near the Heart of Midlothian. While the guide was telling us about the Tolbooth a passer by was seen spitting on the Heart of Midlothian. It is thought that is where the old Tolbooth door was people use to spit on the door.
From St Giles we headed up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle stopping at a close which showed roughly what it may have been like in the 1700s. At the Castle the guide showed us the monument to the witches who had been burned.
We then walked down the Royal Mile stopping at places of interest. The tour ended at Holyrood Palace.
At the end of November with my friend Jan and our lovely husbands we went to Stirling Castle to listen to and meet Diana Gabaldon. This was an event as part of Scottish Book Week. Diana was with the historian and new novelist Neil Oliver.
After discussion and questions both authors signed their books. Diana had time for everyone who spoke to her.
Last Friday I had a jaunt out with my husband to see Hopetoun House. This is located outside of South Queensferry, which is west of Edinburgh. We had visited part of the estate earlier in the summer to see Midhope Castle (Lallybroch).
The house was used as were the Duke of Sandringham was staying. They used the back of the house which shows off the original building very well. The red drawing room was used as well as the grounds for filming.
Hopetoun House is a country house near Queensferry, West Lothian, owned by the Hopetoun House Preservvation Trust. The south wing of the house is occupied by the Marquis of Linlithgow and his family as their family home.
The house was built 1699-1701 and designed by Sir William Bruce. The house was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert Adam. Ref – Hopetoun House
I am slightly behind on my blog posts. A few weeks ago I revisited the Battle of Prestonpans viewpoint with my husband one sunny evening. The reason for the revisit was I had heard that the new interpretation boards had been installed. What a difference they make – very clear and great description of the battle.
The Brodie Sword
This week we thought we’d take the chance to highlight one of the artifacts on display in our Culloden Exhibition and have chosen the Brodie Sword.
Reportedly commissioned and gifted by the Duke of Perth it is one of two swords and targes made for Prince Charles and his brother Henry. The sword would have been a symbol of power and used for display only, not as a weapon. The sword came to the Brodie family through the marriage of Elizabeth Brodie to George, 5th Duke of Gordon in 1813 with the tradition that it had been taken from the Princes baggage train after Culloden.
The sword is a basket-hilted broad sword from the 18th Century. The hilt is unmarked silver most likely of north European origin whilst the blade is German. The basket is a conventional shape outlined with rococo scrolls and is made…
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My Outlander Adventure 