Historic Scotland Spring 2016

Photo competition winners unveiled

25

EXCITING EVENTS

INSIDE

THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERS SPRING 2016

INE AGAZ ME M B E R M

OF T H E

6

SCOTTISH WORLD HERITAGE SITES

JA MES V I

The game changer

Discover the revolutionary king born in Edinburgh Castle 450 years ago

VIKINGS

HOW THE FEARSOME NORSEMEN WERE TAMED

YEAR

What can you expect from Historical Trips?

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This was a perfect trip. The educational experience of standing in places where Tudor history occurred was an experience we are still talking about every day and will never forget.”

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I loved the fact that Historical Trips has enabled me to travel & see the places that I have long since read about and dreamed of.”

HISTORICAL

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TRIPS THE HISTORY THAT SHAPED US

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Welcome to

A FRIEND

Spring is a great time of year to get out and about at Historic Scotland sites, as their natural surroundings bounce back into colour.

This issue we delve deep into the nation’s past – from fearsome Norsemen to a revolutionary king – and take a jaunt around Holyrood Park. We also look at events lined up for the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, consider some of the exotic architectural styles that feature in our properties, and invite you to join us at a special event for World Heritage Day at the National Museum of Scotland.

Experience some of our properties in a different light this issue, with a gallery of winning entries to our annual Historic Scotland photography competition. We have included 20 of your striking images, from the mesmerising Ring of Brodgar to Stirling and Tantallon castles. It was a close fight with a lot of difficult decisions for our judges to make.

Elsewhere, Indira Mann unravels the story of James VI, whose game-changing reign left its mark at sites including Edinburgh and Huntingtower castles. Historian Chris Tabraham tells the story of the notorious Vikings – and the Treaty of Perth, agreed 750 years ago, that ended this bloody chapter in history.

Brian Donaldson joins a Holyrood Park ranger for an unforgettable day, and Melanie Reid goes in search of the actor Gregor Fisher’s childhood home.

All that, plus 25 action-packed events to ensure this spring is one to remember at Historic Scotland sites.

INTRODUCE

HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Contributors CHRIS TABRAHAM Taming the Viking raiders (p22) The author and medieval archaeologist is a former principal historian for Historic Scotland.

SEE PAGE 49

CLAIRE BOWIE Membership and CRM Manager

MALCOLM COCHRANE

5 big things to see and do this issue 1

Discover St Peter’s seminary P8

2

Follow in the steps of the Vikings P22

3

Visit the birthplace of James VI P38

4

Marvel at The Rock of Ages P51

5

Have a grand day out at Duff House P53

Join the japes at The Rock of Ages

MELANIE REID The house under the hills (p34) Melanie writes the Spinal Column for The Times magazine, and co-wrote The Boy from Nowhere with actor Gregor Fisher.

INDIRA MANN A thoroughly modern king (p38) A former archaeologist and interpretive planner, Indira is a journalist with a lifelong love of Scotland’s castles and wild places.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 1

HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Photo competition winners unveiled

25

EXCITING EVENTS

INSIDE

SPRING 2016

THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERS SPRING 2016

ME M B E R M

INE AGAZ

OF T H E

LOOK INSIDE HISTORIC SCOTLAND SPRING 2016

YEAR

6

SCOTTISH WORLD HERITAGE SITES

44 | My day as a … park ranger

JA MES V I

HISTORIC%SCOTLAND.GOV.UK/MEMBER

The game changer

Discover the revolutionary king born in Edinburgh Castle 450 years ago

THE FEARSOME VIKINGS HOW NORSEMEN WERE TAMED 00_HS_cover_spring final_v2.indd 1

22/02/2016 16:20

Historic Environment Scotland Longmore House, Salisbury Place Edinburgh EH9 1SH 0131 668 8600 historic-scotland.gov.uk Membership enquiries 0131 668 8999 members@HES.scot Editorial enquiries members@HES.scot Membership and CRM Manager Claire Bowie Assistant Membership Manager Morag Paterson Membership Co-ordinator Pauline Brews Editor Kathleen Morgan kathleen.morgan@thinkpublishing.co.uk Deputy Editor Fiona McKinlay fiona.mckinlay@thinkpublishing.co.uk Design Matthew Ball, John Pender Sub-editors Sian Campbell, Sam Bartlett, Kirsty Fortune, Craig Gibson Editorial Assistant Jonathan McIntosh Advertising Sales Jamie Dawson jamie.dawson@thinkpublishing.co.uk 020 3771 7221 Publisher John Innes john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk Think Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA 0141 375 0504 Photography All images provided by Historic Environment Scotland unless otherwise stated. For access to images of Scotland and our properties, call 0131 668 8647/8785 or email images@HES.scot Historic Scotland is published quarterly and printed on paper made from pulp sourced from sustainable materials.

The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Historic Environment Scotland. All information is correct at the time of going to press.

JEREMY SUTTON!HIBBERT, JAMES JOHNSON, SAM GRANT

© Historic Environment Scotland. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without prior agreement of the Membership and CRM Manager of Historic Environment Scotland.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is a Non Departmental Public Body established by the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014. HES has assumed the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of Historic Scotland and RCAHMS. Visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/ historicenvironmentscotland Scottish Charity No. SC045925.

Cover: James VI John de Critz, circa 1605

38 | In search of the revolutionary ruler King James VI 2 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

08 | The rebirth of the modernist masterpiece St Peter’s seminary

50

28 | Historic Scotland photo competition

EVENTS

Step out in style as the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design gets under way with themed activities

50 | Fashion through the ages

12 | Dig in at Bothwell Castle REGULARS

PLACES TO VISIT

4 THE SCRIPT News and updates from Historic Scotland sites around the country 49 MEMBERSHIP 50 EVENTS 56 GUESS THE YEAR

Bishop’s Palace P26

THIS SPRING

FEATURES

Kilchurn Castle P28

22 | Norsin’ around

Huntingtower Castle P41

Rothesay Castle P25

Holyrood Park P44 Bothwell Castle P12

Whithorn Priory P18

Smailholm Tower P30

22 TAMING THE VIKING RAIDERS Chris Tabraham tells of how fearsome Norse warriors conquered parts of Scotland – then retreated 28 TIME TO REFLECT Marvel at the winning images from the Historic Scotland photography competition, including Stirling Castle and Fort George

34 THE HOUSE UNDER THE HILLS Gregor Fisher’s past is unravelled following an investigation by Melanie Reid 38 A THOROUGHLY MODERN KING Indira Mann goes out and about to learn how James VI flaunted his power 44 MY DAY AS …

Experiencing life as a Holyrood Park ranger

FIND US ON HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 3

SCRIPT THE

PEOPLE, PLACES, RESEARCH AND MORE …

SIX OF THE BEST

Your chance to marvel at Scotland’s globally recognised sites on World Heritage Day 4 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

F

INCLUDING

Bob Tevendale celebrates the king of fish The nation’s rich architectural heritage is mapped out The lights go out at Edinburgh Castle for Earth Hour Glimpses of the past unearthed at Bothwell Castle

rom masterful feats of engineering to incredible Neolithic architecture, Scotland is home to remarkable heritage sites whose value transcends national boundaries.

Six of the UK’s 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Scotland: St Kilda, the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, the Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Antonine Wall and, inscribed in July 2015, the Forth Bridge.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and its World Heritage Partners have

joined forces with the National Museum of Scotland for a free event on 18 April, World Heritage Day 2016, to celebrate and raise awareness of these sites.

Lesley Macinnes, head of the World Heritage Team at HES, said: “Scotland’s World Heritage Sites span thousands of years. and you’re never far from a place of worldwide significance.”

The World Heritage Site trail, featuring exhibits from all six sites, will snake through the museum. Visitors can get hands-on with replica Neolithic and Roman artefacts, and craft activities include making a St Kilda mailboat.

SCOTLAND’S UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

ST KILDA INSCRIBED 1986

Consisting of five islands, the archipelago is one of the few World Heritage Sites to hold mixed status for its natural and cultural value. This year it celebrates the 30th anniversary of its inscription as a World Heritage Site. St Kilda is managed by the National Trust for Scotland.

Together Skara Brae village, Stones of Stenness, Maeshowe chambered cairn and the Ring of Brodgar offer one of the richest surviving Neolithic landscapes in western Europe. They provide extraordinary glimpses into the skills and beliefs of the societies which constructed them.

NEW LANARK

THE OLD AND NEW TOWNS OF EDINBURGH INSCRIBED 1995

INSCRIBED 2001

The Forth Bridge is among six Scottish sites being celebrated on World Heritage Day, 18 April

SHUTTERSTOCK

The work of the Scottish Ten project, launched in 2009 to digitally document Scotland’s World Heritage Sites and international heritage sites, will also be on show. The team – from HES and the Digital Design Studio at the Glasgow School of Art – will demonstrate how 3-D technology has been used to create digital models for each of the sites. They are now documenting the Forth Bridge.

Join in the fun at the National Museum of Scotland on 18 April. See historicscotland.gov.uk/worldheritageday or call 0131 668 8763 for further information

THE HEART OF NEOLITHIC ORKNEY INSCRIBED 1999

Created as a cotton-spinning village in the 18th century, the site was transformed under the management of Robert Owen, underpinned by his social philosophy. By 1799, it was one of the largest factory sites in the world and continued manufacturing cotton for 200 years.

The medieval Old Town retains its distinctive pattern of closes and wynds while the New Town – begun in 1767 – remains the largest and best-preserved example of Georgian town planning in the UK. The contrast between these areas gives the city its singular character.

THE ANTONINE WALL

FORTH BRIDGE

INSCRIBED 2008

INSCRIBED 2015

Nearly 2,000 years old, the wall was a physical barrier and symbol of the Roman Empire’s power and control. It ran for 40 Roman miles (60km) from modern Bo’ness to Old Kilpatrick. The Antonine Wall is part of an international World Heritage Site, the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.

At 2.53km long and 110m high, the cantilever trussed railway bridge connecting Edinburgh and Fife held the record as the longest bridge in the world for 27 years.

Opened in 1890, it was the world’s first major mild steel structure, and remains a mighty symbol of Britain’s engineering heritage.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 5

THE SCRIPT

NEWS IN BRIEF

DELIGHTFUL DISCOVERIES

Illustrated guide to Edinburgh Castle unveiled A captivating and colourful guide to the castle overlooking Scotland’s capital will fire the imagination of young readers.

Discover Edinburgh Castle unearths the secrets of kings

MEDIEVAL STONES COME HOME Striking carved medieval stones have been returned home to Elgin Cathedral after being painstakingly worked on by conservators.

Visitors will be able to see the 126 carvings – most of which have never been on public display – at the cathedral this Easter.

The stones depict flowers, animals and human faces.

Fiona Fleming, interpretation manager, said: “For many years, the carved stones lay buried amidst the ruins, until the 1800s, when Elgin shoemaker John Shanks became the first keeper and watchman of the cathedral.

“He began to clear away some of the rubble uncovering

and queens, bloody battles, relentless sieges and more.

The guide book is available at Edinburgh Castle gift shops and online at shop.historicscotland.gov.uk priced £4.99.

Stonemason Graeme Horne helps return the carvings to Elgin Cathedral

SCOTLAND’S FUTURE l Historic Environment Scotland (HES) would like to thank everyone involved in its consultation with members, stakeholders and the public. Philip Graham, public engagement manager, said: “Your feedback and suggestions for improvement have been invaluable.“ DUNBLANE TOURS l The Society of Friends of Dunblane Cathedral is offering guided tours over Easter. The cathedral tours are 25–28 March, 2–4pm, and on Sunday afternoons in July and August. No booking is needed.

STONEMASONS’ SUCCESS l Five of our stonemasonry apprentices reached the final round of the UK-wide SkillBuild Finals in Birmingham. Elgin Training Centre was also named best UK masonry college, and presented with the Peter Ellis Trophy from the Stone Federation.

wonderful, crisp carvings. By studying the stones we have been able to understand more about the cathedral’s construction and development, its builders and benefactors, and what it might have meant to those who walked through its doors.”

An exhibition at the cathedral will tell the dramatic story of the building, as well as the builders, Visit historic-scotland.gov.uk/Elgin

patrons and symbolism of the stones. Academic experts have helped decode the messages within the carvings.

The cathedral endured a fire in 1270, and attacks by the Earl of Buchan in 1390 and Alexander Macdonald in 1402.

After the Reformation the building, sometimes known as the Lantern of the North, lost its roof and fell into disrepair.

CORRECTION l On page 4 of the winter issue of Historic Scotland, a picture caption wrongly identified Dorie Wilkie, head stitcher of the Great Tapestry of Scotland.

The image in fact featured Tricia Marwick, presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 7

FAITH, HOPE AND BRUTALISM

A historic modernist seminary is being resurrected, writes Jonathan McIntosh NESTLED in the woodland of a country estate overlooking the Firth of Clyde stands a former seminary renowned as a masterpiece of modernist architecture.

Half a century after it was built – and following years of neglect – St Peter’s seminary is rising from the ashes as it becomes one of Scotland’s cultural hubs.

Thanks to an ambitious £7.5m refurbishment driven by public art charity NVA, St Peter’s is in the midst of an exciting transition. The site is to host Hinterland, a light and music show which is the official launch of Scotland’s Festival of Architecture on 18 March.

Angus Farquhar, creative director of NVA, says: “Hinterland is the first moment that the remarkable,

8 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

dynamic and poetic design of St Peter’s will be fully articulated. It’s going to be a subtle but moving activation of the building that will allow visitors to experience the building in a heightened state.”

As darkness falls, visitors can walk through the atmospheric woodland of Kilmahew Estate, near Cardross.

They will see the ruined seminary buildings subtly reanimated with light installations, while St Salvator’s Chapel Choir from the University of St Andrews performs a commissioned choral work by Rory Boyle.

Designed in the 1960s by Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan of the renowned architectural practice Gillespie, Kidd and Coia, the seminary was built as a

training college for Roman Catholic priests.

Inspired by the work of the architect Le Corbusier, it is a rare brutalist interpretation of a monastery.

Following a decline in candidates entering the priesthood, the seminary closed in February 1980.

After a brief stint as a drug rehabilitation centre the building slipped into almost 30 years of neglect.

Angus adds:“St Peter’s is an amazing palimpsest that contains so much interesting 20th-century history.

By caring about the Lightwork by past, you’re caring NVA, and an architectural about the future and model of St our place within it.”

Peter’s seminary Angus sees created by NORD Hinterland as a taste of Architecture the innovative creative work that will be programmed at the A-listed building from

2018 onwards. The aim is that the site becomes a permanent cultural resource for progressive public art, and a world-class heritage destination.

The reinvention of historic buildings is a way for society to connect with the past, believes Dawn McDowell, deputy head of designations (listings) at Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

“The meaning of what a historic building is has evolved and preserving our modern heritage has become all the more intense as the 20th century gradually moves out of our living memory.

“At age 50, St Peter’s is not looking to retirement – it is deciding which direction it will take on its journey so far.”

Hinterland is at St Peter’s seminary from 18-27 March.

Visit hinterland.org

THE SCRIPT

ST PETER’S SEMINARY TIMELINE

SCOTLAND’S YEAR OF INNOVATION, ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

1966 The seminary – designed by Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan of Gillespie, Kidd and Coia – is completed.

1967 St Peter’s seminary wins the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) gold medal for architecture.

NVA creative director Angus Farquhar is overseeing the seminary’s redevelopment

ROBERT PERRY; ALAMY

BOOK LAUNCH In September architectural historian Diane Watters will unveil her book updating the story of St Peter’s seminary.

Featuring images from HES collections, the book examines the site’s development over 20 years.

St Peter’s closed as a seminary in 1980

1980 The building closes as a seminary.

1992 It becomes one of only 40 post-war buildings in Scotland to be designated as category A listed.

1995 Kilmahew House is damaged by fire and demolished.

ENGINE SHED OPENS This initiative will see a derelict engine shed being brought back to life as an £8.9 million world-leading centre for building conservation. The facility, in Forthside, Stirling, will deliver educational training on traditional building skills and materials, while ‘augmented reality tablets’ will enable visitors to explore Scotland’s historic buildings and geology, and much more.

A WHOLE YEAR OF EVENTS A range of events throughout 2016 celebrate the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design. Our major events are In Vogue, focusing on fashion, at Stirling Castle in May and The Rock of Ages at Dumbarton Castle in June. Try stone carving and learn about castle building at the Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival at Craigmillar Castle in August.

JEWELLERY COMPETITION We have partnered with Ortak to offer a competition to design students nationwide to create a piece of jewellery inspired

by Maeshowe. The winning design will then be produced

by Ortak and will be available in the shop at Maeshowe and at Edinburgh Castle.

QUIZ IT UP Calling all intrepid castle conquerors and young history buffs: test your knowledge and learn amazing facts with our exciting new quizzes, available from Easter across our fantastic properties including Tantallon Castle, Dunfermline Abbey and Palace, and Duff House.

Perfect for your little explorers.

2009 NVA is awarded a grant by the Scottish Arts Council to develop temporary and permanent artworks as part of the site’s redevelopment.

2010 After presentations at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, a 20-year masterplan for regeneration is produced.

2016 Hinterland launches Scotland’s Festival of Architecture 2016

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 9

10 DAYS OF MAGNIFICENT MUSIC IN THE HISTORIC AND BEAUTIFUL EAST NEUK OF FIFE Christian Zacharias Scottish Chamber Orchestra Pavel Haas Quartet Joseph Moog Theatre of Voices Richard Wigmore Calidore Quartet Julian Steckel

The Scotsman

WIDE OPEN TO THE WORLD, ROOTED IN FIFE Full programme and information at

www.eastneukfestival.com

ENF: 0131 669 1750 ian@eastneukfestival.com www.eastneukfestival.com

Tickets: 0131 473 2000 boxoffice@hubtickets.co.uk www.hubtickets.co.uk

THE SCRIPT

TAKE TWO

FAMILIES

Often ranked among Scotland’s most powerful, these mighty lines have a history of bloody battles and betrayal Robert the Bruce statue at Stirling Castle

John Comyn dies at the hand of Bruce

Reconstruction work at the Kitchener Memorial

SHIP SHAPE

MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Memorial readied for Jutland anniversary

THROUGHOUT the 100th anniversary of World War One, the £1 million Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund – funded

by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the Scottish Government, and managed by War Memorials Trust – is helping groups to fund repair and conservation work.

Among the grants awarded so far is £30,000 for repair work on the Kitchener Memorial at Marwick Head on Orkney.

The memorial pays tribute to Lord Kitchener, who died aboard HMS Hampshire when it was sunk by mines, days after returning from the Battle of Jutland in June 1916. The Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial Project, run by the Orkney Heritage Society, is also constructing a low wall next to the existing memorial, to be engraved with the names of all 737 men lost with the cruiser.

Funding is still available.

See warmemorials.org/ grants-scotland/

CUMMING

VS

MOTTO: COURAGE

The Cummings are believed to be descended from Robert of Comyn, an aide of William the Conqueror.

Richard Comyn, Robert’s grandson, was chancellor to King David I of Scotland and the Comyns supported him against a rebellion in 1124.

Inverlochy Castle was begun in around 1280 by the ‘Red’ Comyns, lords of Badenoch and Lochaber. The family dominated northern Scotland, with estates reaching from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea.

In 1296, Edward I of England captured John Balliol, king of Scotland, making John ‘the Red’ Comyn among the most powerful men in Scotland and a contender for the throne.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Cummings fought bloody feuds with the MacPhersons, Shaws and Brodies over lands in Nairnshire. They aided the Earl of Huntly in the battle of Glenlivet in 1594.

BRUCE

MOTTO: FUIMUS !MEANING ‘WE ENDURE’"

FAMILY ORIGINS

FORTIFIED FAMILY SEATS

Robert de Brus, a Norman knight, is thought to have come to Britain at around the time of the Battle of Hastings.

His son was vassal when David I claimed his crown and was made Lord of Annandale.

Sir Robert Bruce built Clackmannan Tower after he was granted the barony of Clackmannan in 1359. The tower stands on the prominent King’s Seat Hill.

A GAME OF THRONES

Seeking to secure the throne as his own, Robert the Bruce murdered John Comyn at a meeting in Greyfriars Church in Dumfries and was excommunicated by Pope Clement V. Bruce was crowned as King of Scots at Scone, Perthshire, in 1306.

WARS AND PEACE

Charles Bruce (1732–71), the 5th Earl of Elgin, was a founding member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 11

THE SCRIPT

Adrian Cox leads a tour of the castle

Visitors are shown finds from the dig

MEDIEVAL CASTLE YIELDS ITS SECRETS

Archaeologists are unravelling the secrets of Bothwell Castle, writes Adrian Cox, cultural resources adviser It is among Scotland’s most impressive medieval castles, but our knowledge of how Bothwell Castle developed through the centuries is incomplete. Now, following a two-week dig at the site in 2015, archaeologists are trying to unravel its mysteries.

Towering above the River Clyde, the stronghold began life in the 13th century, although the original Murrayfamily design seems never to have been completed.

Bothwell’s location gave it a key role in the Wars of Independence, after which it became a residence of the mighty earls of Douglas, until their downfall in 1455. Amid the amazing architecture still standing are glimpses of some of the castle’s other important 13th and 14th-century

structures, such as the south range, a two-storey lodging with fine windows overlooking the river.

Archaeologists from Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Kirkdale Archaeology, assisted by local volunteers, set out last year to answer a range of questions about the castle. After a geophysical survey of the entire site, we excavated a series of trenches, to examine the missing south range, the 13th-century defensive circuit, the post-abandonment history of the castle, and much more.

Public engagement was an important aspect of the project. Visitors to the castle, including school groups, were given close access to the archaeological work in progress through regular

SIEGE MENTALITY

Edward I, Hammer of the Scots, besieged Bothwell Castle in 1301.

The garrison surrendered within a month

guided tours and were able to examine and handle the finds, and discuss these clues. The excavation team were pleased by the local interest in the archaeological work.

In the castle’s courtyard, evidence of elaborate gardens created in the 18th and 19th centuries was found, and that the foundations of the south range had been cleared away, perhaps in the late 17th century.

On the open ground north of the castle, where the enigmatic remains of

An evaluation trench at Bothwell Castle

the Murrays’ 13th-century tower foundations have long been known, the archaeologists found evidence that these foundations may have been adapted and landscaped later in the castle’s history. There was significant evidence of how the castle was treated as part of an informal landscape after its abandonment and the building nearby of Bothwell House, since demolished. By the mid19th century a series of vistas and exotic tree planting had been introduced around the magnificent old castle.

EXCAVATION HIGHLIGHTS

FINDS REVEAL TANTALISING GLIMPSES OF THE PAST POTTERY FRAGMENTS Most of the pieces we 1 found are from medieval tableware such as jugs and bowls. They are of a high quality and were probably used by the castle’s noble occupants.

12 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

ANIMAL BONES The bones we found at 2 Bothwell Castle include remains from cattle, sheep and pigs. These can tell archaeologists about people’s diets through the ages.

CERAMIC FLOOR TILE A fragment of a decorated 3 ceramic floor tile was excavated in the courtyard. This might have originated in one of the missing medieval lodges or the castle’s fine chapel.

Medieval pottery fragments

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THE SCRIPT Volunteers get hands on at Historic Scotland sites

ROCK STEADY

Apprentice stonemasons help safeguard against castle rock falls

EDINBURGH Castle may seem like an impenetrable fortress, but the infamous Scottish weather can cause pieces of the wall to fracture and fall.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is collaborating with the city’s council to replace the current structure with a new wall around the Johnston Terrace end of the castle. This will upgrade existing measures to contain rock falls.

The structure will have a 1m-high stone boundary wall topped with 1.5m metal railings, as well as a rock trap and gravel blanket.

As a result, most rocks will land in the trap, with the remainder stopped by the wall.

Andrew Harvey, a secondyear stonemasonry apprentice training at Forth Valley College, has been testing his skills by helping build the new rock wall.

Working alongside

VOLUNTEERS MAKE IMPACT

Andrew Harvey hones his stonemasonry skills

stonemasons while a labourer at Dirleton Castle, Andrew was inspired. “I really wanted to learn a creative, specialised and sought-after skill, and HES is teaching me traditional methods that will help me in my working life,” he says.

The four-year course will help Andrew tackle the challenges facing Scotland’s built heritage. “Working on site learning different methods and witnessing an end product has been really rewarding. Helping to conserve the country’s historical heritage is a joy to do,” he adds.

VOLUNTEERS are making a difference at Historic Scotland sites across the country. In a pilot project, they have helped at events including the Duff House Stories tour, Spectacular Jousting at Linlithgow Palace and the Traditional Skills event at Craigmillar Castle. Roles are now being developed for volunteers to help with guided tours, gardening, visitor activities and piano playing.

Susan Loch, head of visitor operations and community engagement, said: “We welcome community members who want to enjoy the benefits of volunteering, share their passion for what we do and enhance the visitor experience.”

THINGS TO DO

THREE MUST!SEE EVENTS THIS SPRING FESTIVAL OF FOOLERY STIRLING CASTLE Sat 26 and Sun 27 Mar; 12–4pm Learn how to play the jester at a royal court on this family day out.

A GRAND DAY OUT DUFF HOUSE Sun 1 May; 12–4pm Enjoy family fun as Duff House explores life at the turn of the 20th century.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER FORTHCOMING EVENTS, SEE PAGE 50

IN VOGUE STIRLING CASTLE Sat 14 and Sun 15 May; 12–4pm A showcase of style through the centuries, including Renaissance textiles and jewellery.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 15

THE SCRIPT N AV I G A T I O N

ALL MAPPED OUT

NATIONAL TREASURES

From remarkable abbeys and castles, to stately homes, royal palaces and neolithic wonders, Scotland boasts some breathtaking sites

DUFF HOUSE

CARNASSERIE CASTLE

CAIRNPAPPLE HILL

In the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, this quartet of properties reveal 5,000 years of history and highlight architectural styles through the ages.

CAIRNPAPPLE HILL One of the most important prehistoric sites in mainland Scotland, Cairnpapple Hill was used from about 3,000 BC to 1400 BC – firstly as a ceremonial site then several centuries later as a burial site. Visitors to the hill, 5km north of Bathgate, can discover a rare henge monument from neolithic times, a Bronze Age burials display, and stunning views reaching as far as Goatfell on Arran.

DUNDRENNAN ABBEY Established in 1142 by Fergus, Lord of Galloway, and King David I, the abbey is arguably one of the best preserved of Scotland’s 13 Cistercian monasteries. The eastern chapter house offers an exceptional example of early Gothic architecture. The cloister, although largely gone, is easily traceable on the ground. Mary Queen of Scots spent her last hours in Scotland here following the Battle of Langside in 1568.

DUNDRENNAN ABBEY

CARNASSERIE CASTLE Overlooking the picturesque Kilmartin Glen, this Renaissancestyled residence was home to the first Protestant Bishop of the Isles, John Carswell. The castle has a five-storey tower house and striking masonry including ornate rainwater spouts and an intricate armorial panel above the entrance. It was blown up in 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion and was bought by the Malcolms of Poltalloch in the 19th century.

DUFF HOUSE This impressive Georgian house, designed by Scottish architect William Adam in the 18th century, was intended as the chief seat of William Duff. The house was gifted to the towns of Banff and MacDuff in 1906 and adapted as a hotel (1911-13), a sanatorium (1913-23), a POW camp and headquarters for Allied regiments during WWII. Today it houses items from and on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland.

DANCING IN THE DARK

Edinburgh Castle, where lights were turned off for Earth Hour 2015

16 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

EDINBURGH Castle, Linlithgow Palace, Urquhart Castle and Glasgow Cathedral are among the iconic Historic Scotland properties that will be plunged into darkness on Saturday 19 March at 8.30pm to mark WWF’s Earth Hour.

The annual event strives to inspire citizens around the globe to live more sustainably and focuses on

climate issues affecting the planet – and everyone is invited to participate.

In 2015, people in more than 172 countries took part in Earth Hour, with architectural icons including the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Bridge and 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites used to support the initiative.

Learn more at earthhour.org

DOUGLAS SPROTT; SHUTTERSTOCK; CATE GILLON

Properties switch off for Earth Hour

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Northumbria Travel offer a selection of fully escorted cruises and have successfully been organising group travel for many years. Ask about our great group offers.

To book call Northumbria Travel on 01670 829922 Visit www.northumbriatravel.com or email info@northumbriatravel.com 82 Front Street East, Bedlington, Northumberland, NE22 5AB Prices and offers are correct at the time of going to print but are subject to change and availability. From prices are per person and based on two sharing the lowest grade stateroom available on selected dates. Prices include booking discounts and are valid until 30 April 2016. Some itineraries are available in the reverse direction. We reserve the right to amend itineraries for operational reasons. Single supplements apply. IMPORTANT: VISA REQUIRED A Russian visa must be arranged in advance at an approximate cost of £215 per person. Please note that current Russian visa regulations require a personal visit to the Russian Embassy in either London or Edinburgh to complete the application process, which is at your own cost. Please note that the cost and process to obtain a Russian visa can change at any time. Details shown above are correct at the time of going to print. *Restrictions apply. The £100pp on board spend offer applies to new 2017 river cruise bookings only and can be withdrawn at any time, further terms apply. Please call us for more information or visit vikingcruises.co.uk/terms-conditions.

THE SCRIPT

Spotlight on

WHITHORN PRIORY Uncover centuries of spirituality and devotion at Scotland’s cradle of Christianity

One of Scotland’s oldest Christian sites, Candida Casa (shining white house) was said to have been established by a bishop, Ninian, in 397 AD. St Ninian is reputed to have been buried in the church in around 431 AD, and Whithorn became an important shrine due to the widespread belief his relics had healing powers.

Northumbrian monks founded a new church at Whithorn by the 730s, with Norse settlers using the site as a burial ground in the 800s.

The bishop’s seat of Whithorn was reinstated in around 1128 and a cathedral church built on the site.

In 1177 a cathedral was built to replace the original church.

It was completed by the time Whithorn became a priory of

the Premonstratensian Order of White Canons and the church extended to the east.

Robert the Bruce and King James III, IV and V were among a steady stream of pilgrims to St Ninian’s shrine in the 14th and 15th centuries.

By the Reformation, Whithorn was in decline. In 1560 the shrine was destroyed and the priory disbanded.

A new parish kirk was built in 1822; the older structure becoming a ruin. Restoration work led to the first site excavations in 1889 and the discovery of the Latinus Stone, which inspired further archaeological investigations.

As the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, Whithorn Priory history continues to inspire pilgrims and visitors.

EXPLORE

DUMFRIES WHITHORN PRIORY

Whithorn Priory The site is a 1.5-hour car journey from Dumfries.

Open summer only (from 25 March), 10.30am-5pm. Visit whithornpriorymuseum. gov.uk

An artist’s impression of Whithorn Priory’s structures in the early 1500s and, left, the priory today

TIMELINE c397 St Ninian is traditionally believed to have established the church

18 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

431

450

731

950(1050

1329

St Ninian’s remains are said to have been buried at Whithorn

The Latinus Stone is erected on site.

It remains Scotland’s oldest Christian artefact

Pecthelm is appointed first bishop of Whithorn

Norsemen conquer Galloway and craftsmen carve many fine stone crosses

King Robert Bruce prays at St Ninian’s tomb in the hope his unknown illness will be cured

2. CLOISTER A walkway around a garden for reading and contemplation

1. NAVE A place of public worship. Pilgrims passed through it to access St Ninian’s shrine

3. WHITHORN PARISH CHURCH Dedicated to St Ninian, the church was built in 1822 on the site of the medieval priory

4. EAST END Canons conducted daily services by the high altar

5. ST NINIAN’S SHRINE The shrine held St Ninian’s relics and would have been richly decorated. Originally separate from the church, it was absorbed when the cathedral expanded in around 1200

1357

1497(1513

1560

1563

1890

1950s(1990s

David II visits St Ninian’s shrine and is said to have been healed of an arrow wound

King James IV visits St Ninian’s shrine many times as a pilgrim

The cathedral is stripped. An arm bone said to have been St Ninian’s is taken to France; the priory disbanded

Mary Queen of Scots spends the night at Whithorn Cathedral and visits St Ninian’s shrine

Excavations and restoration work begin at Whithorn Priory and the Latinus Stone is discovered

Large-scale excavations in and around the priory reveal more than 1,500 years of history

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 19

NEW BOOK

C A S T L E S OF SCOTLAND

THE

AVAILABLE NOW

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO MORE THAN 4,100 CASTLES, TOWERS, HISTORIC HOUSES, STATELY HOMES AND FAMILY LANDS Martin Coventry • Deluxe fifth edition hardback (with 64 pages of colour photos) £30.00 • • Fifth edition paperback £19.95 • 752 text pages 260x190 mm 425 b&w drawings and 290 photos 12 pp of maps This new, acclaimed and popular book is the definitive and most comprehensive work available, the ‘Bible of Scottish Castles’.

With more than 4,100 entries, 1,000 more than the last edition, it covers all the castles, towers and fortified houses of Scotland, plus hundreds of mansions, historic houses, stately homes, and many properties and lands.

Arranged alphabetically, each entry has location, description, architecture, both inside and out, depictions on old maps, clan, family and notable owners, history, and gruesome or amusing tales. Plus opening, websites and telephone numbers. Maps locate all the sites.

Comprehensive indexes include by site name and x-refs (10,000 entries) plus by 800+ clan/family names, as well as open to the public, accommodation providers, wedding venues, gardens, and ghosts and bogles. Plus much, much more.

Both hardback (£30) and paperback (£19.95) are in stock.

Postage and packing is FREE in the UK.

Simply send a cheque or Postal Order, made out to Goblinshead, with your name, delivery address and contact details to:

GOBLINSHEAD The Tower, West Wing, Prestongrange House, Prestonpans EH32 9RP www.thecastlesofscotland.co.uk orders@thecastlesofscotland.co.uk 01875 812003

THE THESCRIPT SCRIPT

WIN

BEAR NECESSITY

Salmon: king of fish Natural history adviser, Bob Tevendale explores the history of salmon fishing

At this time of year the fishing season is well under way.

Adult salmon will be making their way back to Scottish rivers from feeding grounds as far away as Greenland and the Bay of Fundy in north-eastern Canada.

This is also when young salmon, called smolts, undergo a complex transformation. Their internal organs adapt so they can survive in salt water, and their skin develops a silvery sheen. After this, they start making their way to sea.

During the early medieval period the right to catch salmon – sometimes called the king of fish – rested with the monarch. He would endow those he favoured with salmon-fishing rights.

In medieval Scotland, salmon was a valuable commodity. Records show that tithes – church taxes – and rents could be paid in salmon.

Increasingly, the well-stocked Scottish rivers were used to supply markets as far away as London, Flanders and the ports of Normandy.

There were often disputes over the boundaries of bordering fisheries. This might involve

VIEW FROM OUTDOORS

malicious destruction of cruives – arrangements of upright stakes across a river, designed to funnel fish into a trap. In the summer of 1365, some of the cruives belonging to Cambuskenneth Abbey were destroyed by a gang of men from Stirling. King David II intervened, ordering the men to reinstate the structures and reimburse the abbey.

The Scottish Parliament repeatedly passed legislation for the protection of salmon. In 1318, Robert I (the Bruce) enacted a law dictating the minimum size of fish that could be trapped.

In 1425, the parliament of James I introduced the idea of a closed season to protect breeding. It was ‘forbidden through the king that any salmon be slain from the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady [15 August] until the feast of St Andrew in winter [30 November], neither with nets nor cruives, nor in other ways’.

As a result of recent European legislation many Scottish rivers are designated as special areas of conversation (SACs) to protect salmon – among many other species.

Nonetheless, in designated spots salmon fishing is still popular – and perfectly legal.

MALCOLM COCHRANE

FACT

WHALE OF THE TIME

For three months during the spring of 1815, a beluga whale was seen regularly in the River Forth. It was eventually killed by locals after it beached itself on a ford next to Cambuskenneth Abbey.

Inspired by Mary Queen of Scots, this cute bear is adorned in full royal regalia, including a sumptuous purple gown, pearlescent headband and a typical 16th-century neck ruff. Its beautiful attire is in keeping with the styles of Stuart-era high-society fashion.

The plush bear is among the exclusive range of merchandise, only available in Historic Scotland gift shops and through our online store.

We have five Mary Queen of Scots bears to give away.

For your chance to win, answer the following: PRIZE QUESTION Where was Mary Queen of Scots born?

Post your answer and details to HS Bear Competition, Think Scotland, Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA, or email hs.comps@thinkpublishing. co.uk (including “HS Bear Competition” in the subject line). The closing date for entries is 22 April.

BUY ME The Mary Queen of Scots bear, priced at £13.99, is available from the Edinburgh Castle Crown shop or online at historic-scotland.gov.uk/shop For a 20% discount use the code MEMBER1015

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 21

Dumbarton Rock from where, in 870, captive Britons were taken as slaves

VIKING RAIDERS

Norse warriors terrorised then controlled large swathes of Scotland, until the death of a king in Orkney. By Chris Tabraham

D

“Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky and fan our people cold” !MACBETH"

umbarton Rock offers one of the finest views to be had at any Historic Scotland property. To the north Ben Lomond rises up beyond the Vale of Leven, while to the south the River Clyde sweeps majestically past on its journey westward to the open sea; beyond loom the mountains of Cowal.

All is peaceful today, but if you had been standing here more than 750 years ago, you would have been feeling

22 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

distinctly edgy, for Dumbarton lay close to a fragile frontier – the border between the kingdoms of Scotland and Norway.

It all began in the year 795. Viking raiders suddenly emerged from their longships anchored off the holy island of Iona and proceeded to pillage the treasures of the monastery founded by Columba in 563. They returned time and again. In one raid, Blathmac, the unfortunate priest officiating at mass, was torn limb from limb by ‘the violent and cursed host’ for refusing to divulge

where he’d hidden St Columba’s gilded shrine container. Such was the slaughter – 68 monks were killed in one raid – that their abbot had little option but to relocate some of the monastery's most valuable relics to Kells, in Ireland.

Iona was far from alone. Throughout the 9th century the Norsemen terrorised communities from the northern tip of Shetland to the southern coast of Ireland. In 870, they appeared off Dumbarton Rock and laid siege to it until the Brittonic people then

WILLIAM BRASSEY HOLE. THE DEFEAT OF HAKO KING OF NORWAY BY ALEXANDER III AT LARGS A.D. 1263. SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

TAMING THE

Edinburgh Castle's royal apartments have been sensitively restored to reveal James's legacy

BATTLE OF LARGS This detail from a mural by William Hole captures the desperation of an inconclusive conflict

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 23

OUT AND ABOUT

Viking raiders pillaged Iona Abbey, killing 68 monks in one raid. St Oran's Chapel, probably built by Somerled or his son, still stands next to the abbey

living at Dumbarton were forced to surrender. They were bundled into 200 longships and shipped to Dublin, to be sold into slavery.

At Dublin and elsewhere, a new trend began, as the Norse raiders began to establish settlements, integrating and intermarrying with local populations.

The summer raiders were soon putting down roots all across their newly conquered lands, particularly in Orkney and Shetland, which they named Nordreyjar, ‘the Northern Isles’. The Hebrides became Suðreyjar, ‘the Southern Isles’. Shortly after the fall of

VIKING DAYS The Norsemen left a bloody trail in Scotland but ultimately failed to conquer it

24 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

c795 Vikings plunder Iona for the first time.

Dumbarton Castle – resembling a Viking longship?

870 Norsemen capture Dumbarton Rock.

Soon after, Norway’s kings effectively control the Hebrides, ruling through sub-kings

Dumbarton, the king of Norway himself, Harald ‘Fair-hair’, sailed ‘west over sea’ to inspect his new dominions, appointing men he could trust as under-kings to maintain law and order.

They included a Viking rejoicing in the name of Ketil ‘Flat-nose’, who was made king of Suðreyjar.

Such was the distance from Norway, however, that Ketil and his fellow sea kings soon turned their collective backs on their overlord in Bergen and began ruling as independent chieftains, while fighting one another.

For Scots, the most famous sea king

1164 Somerled, King of the Isles and Argyll, leads an armada into the Clyde but is killed near Renfrew

1222 Alexander II harries Kintyre, and establishes new castles at Tarbert and Dumbarton

HISTORY

SHUTTERSTOCK; MARY EVANS

Rothesay Castle was built as a bulwark against Norwegian invaders

was Somerled, or ‘summer voyager’.

A man of mixed Norse-Gaelic stock, he emerges from the swirling mist of the mid-1100s as Rí Innse Gall and Rí Airer Goidel, ‘king of the Isles’ and ‘king of Argyll’, claiming kingship through his mother, Ragnhild, sister of Gofraith Crobhain, mighty king of Dublin.

In due time, Somerled’s own sons would rule over Argyll and the Isles.

Their names still resonate today – MacDougall, MacDonald and MacRuari.

While the Godfreysons continued to rule in Lewis, Skye and Man, Somerled’s heirs held sway over the Uists, Mull,

1230 Hákon IV sends a great fleet to the Hebrides.

It captures Rothesay Castle but then withdraws

Somerled died as he had lived – fighting. In 1164 he sailed a mighty armada into the Clyde Islay, Jura, Arran, Bute and the Cumbraes, as well as the coastlands of Argyll, from the Mull of Kintyre to the Sound of Sleat.

Somerled died as he had lived – fighting. In 1164 he sailed a mighty armada into the Clyde intent on further

1249 Alexander II dies on the island of Kerrera, preparing to attack Dunstaffnage Castle, stronghold of the mac Dubhghaill lords of Argyll

1263 Hákon sails to the Isles and retakes Rothesay Castle, but following an indecisive battle at Largs, withdraws.

He dies in Kirkwall on his journey home

conquest. He got no further than Renfrew, where he died within sight of the castle of Walter FitzAlan, the Scottish king’s steward. Somerled's severed head was taken to the Bishop of Glasgow as a trophy.

By 1200 FitzAlan’s son, Alan, had retaken Arran and Bute and built a great stone castle at Rothesay. In 1222 Alexander II himself harried Kintyre and built more castles, at Dunoon and Tarbert, and a third at Dumbarton, to protect the naval base there. More importantly, he succeeded in securing the allegiance of two of Somerled’s grandsons, including Donnchadh mac Dubhghaill, lord of Argyll.

The king of Norway, though, would have none of it. Hákon IV, in far-off Bergen, struck back. In early 1230 he dispatched a huge fleet to the Hebrides.

By May it had entered the Clyde. The sight of hundreds of axe-wielding Norsemen racing ashore from their longships and capturing Rothesay Castle after a bloody fight must have been reminiscent of the Viking hosts that had attacked Iona centuries earlier. Only when a Scottish fleet hoved into view did they withdraw, but they remained in the Hebrides for the rest of that year, killing or imprisoning those who’d been ‘unfaithful’ to Hákon.

It did the trick. By 1248 Donnchadh’s son, Eógan, had regained Hákon’s favour and been rewarded with the kingship of the Isles. Alexander responded.

Gathering a huge fleet at Tarbert, he sailed up the Firth of Lorn to attack Eógan’s brand-new stronghold at Dunstaffnage. However, he fell ill on board ship and died on the island of Kerrera before an arrow had been fired.

For a time all went quiet on the western front. The new king, Alexander

1266 +2 JULY, Alexander III and Magnús VI ratify the Treaty of Perth, assigning sovereignty of the Isles to Scotland

1281 Alexander’s daughter, Margaret, weds Eric II, Hákon’s grandson. In 1286, their daughter, Margaret, ‘Maid of Norway’, succeeds to the Scottish throne

The Battle of Largs is a confused affair, with both sides claiming victory

King Hákon arriving at the Bishop's Palace, in Kirkwall, shortly before his death in 1263

III, was just seven years old and Hákon otherwise occupied. But as soon as Alexander took personal control of his realm, the gloves came off again.

In 1261 the Stewarts seized Knapdale from the MacSweens. In 1262 the Earl of Ross invaded Skye. When Hákon heard the news he was furious and gathered yet another great armada. But this time he would lead it in person.

Not since the great Magnus ‘Barelegs’

in 1102 had a king of Norway been seen in the Hebrides.

By the time Hákon’s gilded dragonhead longship rounded Kintyre and anchored off the Cumbraes, though, autumn was fast approaching.

Alexander knew time was on his side and duly dragged out the negotiations. The impasse was finally broken in early October 1263 when a great storm drove some of

Hákon’s longships ashore. The resulting Battle of Largs is a confused affair, with both sides claiming victory.

The outcome, however, is not in doubt. Hákon sailed away with what remained of his fleet and headed for home. He got no further than Kirkwall, where he died on 16 December.

The saga writer tells of him lying in the taper-lit great hall of the Bishop’s Palace being read stories of the lives of the saints by his priests. Suddenly he ordered them to start reading the sagas of his ancestors instead, and he died when they got to his own father, Hákon Sverresson.

It was the end not just of Hákon, but also of Norway’s dominion over the Western Isles. The Hundred Years War was over. Three years later, Hákon’s son, Magnús ‘the Law-mender’, and Alexander III put their seals to the Treaty of Perth assigning the Suðreyjar to Scotland, in return for a cash payment and a sum of 100 merks to be paid annually in perpetuity.

HÁKON IV HÁKONARSON - PIRATE OR PEACEMAKER? Born into a society ravaged by bloody civil war, Hákon IV left it 59 years later as ruler of one of the most respected kingdoms in Europe.

The omens weren’t good for the baby born in 1204. He was illegitimate, and his father, Hákon III Sverresson, had died without seeing his son, victim of the strife between the Birkebeiner and Bagler factions.

Somehow, though, Hákon survived. Smuggled out of Bagler territory during a snowstorm, he acceded to the throne in 1217. By the age of 40 he had overcome

26 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

his rivals and unified a state. He treated foreign potentates on equal terms. He sent falcons to the Sultan of Tunis, he was offered command of Louis IX of France’s crusading fleet and, in 1247, he was accorded the full rite of coronation by the pope in The infant Prince Hákon is smuggled to safety

Rome, an honour then still denied the kings of Scots.

But the king who brought Iceland and Greenland into his realm was powerless to keep the Hebrides in his grip. Even with a great fleet of longships, he could do little about the ocean

separating Bergen from Bute.

Hákon IV is remembered in Norway today as the king who united his country, preferring diplomacy to war to resolve disputes. Indeed, the nation still holds an annual Birkebeiner ski race to commemorate his escape from the rival Bagler faction.

In the Hebrides, his memory has all but faded, but when you next drive over the Skye Bridge, look down on the waters of Kyle Akin below and picture Hákon IV in his gilded dragon-prowed longship sailing through the strait that still bears his name.

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P Return scheduled flights from the UK P Fly from selected regional airports at no extra charge P Private veranda stateroom or suite P 24-hour room service P All delicious on board meals in a choice of multiple dining venues P Wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner on board P Teas and coffees any time on board P Included excursion in almost every port of call P Free Wi-Fi on board ship* P Free use of spa facilities P Pre-paid on board gratuities

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Northumbria Travel offer a selection of fully escorted cruises and have successfully been organising group travel for many years.

To book call Northumbria Travel on 01670 829922 Visit www.northumbriatravel.com or email info@northumbriatravel.com 82 Front Street East, Bedlington, Northumberland, NE22 5AB Prices and availability are correct at the time of going to print but are subject to change. From prices are per person and based on two sharing the lowest grade stateroom available on selected dates. Prices include booking discounts and are valid until 30 April 2016. Some itineraries are available in the reverse direction. We reserve the right to amend itineraries for operational reasons. Single supplements apply. *Restrictions apply. For more information please visit vikingcruises.co.uk/terms-conditions or call us.

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

OVERALL WINNER

Time to reflect Enjoy a gallery of winning images from the Historic Scotland photography competition

A

number of new categories were introduced in the Historic Scotland photography competition this year.

For the first time, the event included images shared on social media. The judges met in January to deliberate over the entries, and some of your stunning shots left them in awe, making decisions trickier than ever. The judges asked, ‘which would you hang on your wall?’, ‘which would be technically harder to take?’, ‘which shot is least like anything we’ve seen before?’ Finally, this stellar line-up was chosen.

28 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

KILCHURN CASTLE Grant Glendinning The classic beauty of this mesmerising site is captured in this image, winning Grant an iPad mini and – as with all category winners – a year’s membership renewal

PROPERTIES STRIKING SHOTS OF SOME TOP HISTORIC SCOTLAND SITES COMMENDED

STIRLING CASTLE Francis McCafferty A refreshing nocturnal view of a familiar and much-loved site

RING OF BRODGAR Paul Cooper A peaceful moment at sunset gives this image a magical feel

DUNDONALD CASTLE Jonathan Cruickshank Contrasting stone textures captured here drew in the judges

TANTALLON CASTLE Paul Cooper Judges were in danger of being swept away by this atmospheric image HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 29

COMMENDED

NATURE

ANIMALS, BIRDS, INSECTS, PLANTS AND MORE AROUND OUR PROPERTIES RING OF BRODGAR Charles Kent Brooks A curlew is captured at this site of great natural beauty. The monument itself is surrounded by an RSPB Scotland nature reserve

WINNER

SMAILHOLM TOWER Alan Nimmo The bright greens and excellent composition of this image, showing the lochan beside Smailholm Tower, will make you want to wade right into it FORT GEORGE Stuart McQueen It takes a great combination of patience, quick reflexes and luck to capture a moment like this. A skilfully taken glimpse of a dolphin near Fort George that impressed the panel

TOP TIP

COMMENDED

30 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

When photographing wildlife be sure to observe the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Visit outdooraccess-scotland.com

HAVING FUN

A REFRESHING TAKE ON LIFE AT THE NATION’S HISTORIC SITES

WINNER DUMBARTON CASTLE Gordon Prentice The judges found this image of a thirstquenching moment particularly irresistible

COMMENDED EDINBURGH CASTLE Gordon Robertson A sunny day helps create this people-watching shot

FORT GEORGE Douglas Sewell Capturing the fun of participating in re-enactment events, this photo has real character

JUNIOR

THE UNDER!16 CATEGORY PRODUCED THESE MEMORABLE IMAGES EDINBURGH CASTLE Emma Raley An atmospheric shot of the stronghold’s prison that really draws in the viewer

WINNER

LINLITHGOW PALACE Rhys McQueen This well-composed shot frames a slice of history

COMMENDED

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 31

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

WINNER

WINNER

32 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

EDINBURGH CASTLE Valerie Paterson Hands up ... the winning entry in this new category simply demands attention

SOCIAL MEDIA

IMAGES SO GOOD YOU SHARED THEM WINNER

A DIFFERENT VIEW

SOME WELL!LOVED HISTORIC SCOTLAND PROPERTIES ARE CAPTURED WITH A TWIST

EDINBURGH CASTLE Stephanie Rew A moment of solitude was chosen as the winning entry in this new category COMMENDED

COMMENDED CLAVA CAIRNS Phil Hindell The eye is led through an enchanting image TANTALLON CASTLE Caroline Chatwin Height and light combine in this alluring shot FORT GEORGE S Todd Shively A close-up reveals texture you can almost feel

EDINBURGH CASTLE Allan MacFadyen The castle’s renowned August fireworks display is beautifully framed here

MACHRIE MOOR Sam Grant The canine star of this lovely image provoked a few smiles among the judges

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 33

THE

HOUSE HILLS UNDER THE

The mystery of actor Gregor Fisher’s early childhood unravelled after the journalist Melanie Reid discovered a photograph in a national archive

W

WORDS: MELANIE REID MAIN PHOTOGRAPHS: CANMORE

hen the actor Gregor Fisher asked me to help him write the story of his life, I soon realised it would take more than names and dates. Gregor’s tale was complicated. Once I had identified his birth parents, it became obvious his childhood history lacked a sense of place.

Where did they come from, these mysterious people, now long gone?

What did their homes look like, what views did they see from the windows, what smells assailed them? I needed to know. But it was more than that. A life is more than the sum of its environment: there are clues to deeper things in stone.

Some say a sense of place is defined by human attachment to a particular 34 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

landscape; that a place only comes into existence when humans give it meaning.

I think it’s a two-way process: that the land, and its buildings, return meaning to the people who inhabit them. Person and place, they shape each other.

Birth and death certificates told me Gregor’s mother, Kit McKenzie, grew up in Menstrie, one of the rural, industrial villages at the foot of the Ochil Hills in Clackmannanshire. Her father, Gregor’s grandfather, worked at the nearby Glenochil Distillery, a foundation of the giant Distillers Company Limited (DCL), and from the 1920s the family lived at 6 Glenochil Terrace. Later, she moved along the row to No 20 to bring up three children.

Easy, I thought. Find Glenochil Terrace. But I couldn’t. The street didn’t exist in the village. I scoured maps.

Nothing. Then one day, when an unfamiliar district nurse came to treat my poisoned toe, she told me her usual beat was Clackmannanshire.

District nurses know everything – so I asked her where Glenochil Terrace, Menstrie, was. Although she’d worked in the area for 25 years she couldn’t place the street. The next day she phoned: she had remembered. It was a couple of miles out of the village, at Glenochil Prison.

Thus began a spectacular wild goose chase. I found Glenochil Terrace, but the houses dated from the 1960s when the prison was built, or later. There was no No 20. Gregor vaguely remembered an old building

I N V E S T I G AT I O N

This Canmore image was a vital clue in the search for Gregor Fisher’s childhood home

with an outside stone staircase so maybe, I reasoned, these newer houses had replaced those ones. I started to research the history of the site, and found that, predating the prison, there had been in the late 1950s a short-lived Glenochil Colliery, swiftly shut when it proved unproductive.

It was at this point I did what I should have done at the beginning, and went to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).

At first I browsed for pictures of the colliery in the hope I might spot something.

Which is how the eureka moment

happened. Up popped a link for 2-12 Glenochil Terrace, Menstrie, on the Canmore photographic database. The picture that opened on my screen simply took my breath away.

Eyes wide, I blew it up to full size. It was a haunting, atmospheric, black and white shot, superbly framed, of a twostorey stone terrace, in open countryside, in front of the looming Ochils. There was a breath of smoke from a chimney. The grass on the drying green had been cut.

Finally, I had found my sense of place.

The houses under the hills.

This was where Gregor’s mother had grown up. The building lay 100m north of the historic distillery; plainly, it had been later demolished, the address dusted down and reused across the valley at the prison. The Canmore picture had been taken by John R Hume in 1974, HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 35

FINESTRIPE PRODUCTIONS/BBC

Melanie Reid, who collaborated on the book with actor Gregor Fisher

I N V E S T I G AT I O N

No 20 Glenochil Terrace, Gregor Fisher’s former home (in the top right of the picture), with the distillery in the foreground

William Kerr, the young Customs and Excise officer who was Gregor Fisher’s biological father

presumably to record it for posterity before the bulldozers came. The building was, I discovered later, of impeccable industrial heritage: built by DCL in the 1880s, tenanted by the board of works and occupied by Customs and Excise officers. Later it reverted to distillery workers’ housing. All this, as we found, was of key significance to Gregor Fisher’s birth – his father, William Kerr, was an excise man who not only lodged in the houses, but later had an illicit affair there.

The man with the camera and the eye for a dramatic picture was to become Scotland’s greatest expert on the built environment.

Professor John Hume was at the time lecturing in economic and industrial history at the University of Strathclyde. In 1978 he founded the Scottish Industrial Archaeological Survey, which transferred to RCAHMS in 1985, and by 1993 he had become chief inspector of historic buildings. From 2005 to 2015 he was chairman of RCAHMS and oversaw its union with Historic Scotland.

Excited, I took Gregor the picture. He was transfixed. “I remember standing in that back garden,” he said. “I remember that V in the hills.” But there were still

Gregor’s father was an excise man who lodged in the houses and later had an affair there 36 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

pieces of the jigsaw missing. Where were the outside stone steps? And, more worryingly, where was 20 Glenochil Terrace, the number he lived at? The picture showed only Nos 2-12.

I now understand why detectives do what they do. I was haunted by the houses under the hills. I had to find No 20. My next breakthrough came from the Air Photos of Scotland 1944-1950, at the National Library of Scotland. When I magnified the aerial picture of the area to its maximum, I could just make out the fuzzy silhouette of a smaller, second terrace to the right. The image, in winter sun, cast the shadows of its chimneys on the ground. There also appeared to be a washhouse. This had to be Nos 14-20 … demolished long before Nos 2-12.

We took the evidence to the Diageo archive, happily based at the old Menstrie distillery, and the archivist, Jo McKerchar, produced a picture of the distillery, taken from the top of the Ochils in 1964, looking south.

There, under magnification, we found 2-12 Glenochil Terrace and could just make out a hint of external stone steps round the back. Gregor’s memory had served him right – even though he had left when he was a toddler. Of the buildings themselves, when we went to the site, there was no trace – just trees and the molasses tanks for the stillextant yeast factory.

The definitive proof of the second block of flats came, appropriately, from Canmore. I found a picture of the

Glenochil Distillery, dated 1928. In the middle top of frame, clear and cold in the winter sunshine, were the two parts of the terrace, Nos 2-20 complete, and the washhouse.

Later, Gregor’s older sister described to us the single-room flat at No 20, without electricity or running water, but with a warm fire and love, where Kit McKenzie’s three little children began their lives. The house under the hills.

We had found the sense of place and, thanks to RCAHMS, solved the mystery of the lost address.

The Boy from Nowhere, by Gregor Fisher with Melanie Reid, is published by HarperCollins. To search the Canmore database visit canmore.org.uk

BIOGRAPHY

Gregor Fisher as Rab C Nesbitt

GREGOR FISHER: A LIFE UNTANGLED

Jim and Ellen Fisher, Gregor’s adoptive parents, on their wedding day

Bafta-winning actor Gregor Fisher, 62, has had a successful career in film, theatre and TV, most notably as the comic character Rab C Nesbitt. Behind the scenes, though, the actor’s true identity evaded him.

Before he was four, unbeknown to him, he was on his third set of parents.

He grew up in Neilston, a small town south-west of Glasgow, thinking his mother was Cis Leckie, but when he was 14 he learned he was adopted.

He was then approached by a stranger who said she was his sister. Their first adoptive mother, Ellen Fisher, had apparently died when her nightdress caught fire, and the infants had been split up. But even that wasn’t the full story.

Decades later Gregor tracked down the mystery of his real parents. His mother, Kit McKenzie, was a clerk in rural Clackmannanshire, who had a secret family with William Kerr, a married Customs and Excise officer old enough to be her father. When she died, aged 38, the children were sent to a home to be adopted, and their scandalous existence covered up. Only recently Cis Leckie has Gregor finally discovered the haunting details of his early life, his parents’ true relationship, and the fate of his mother.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 37

A THOROUGHLY

MODERN KING In search of James VI, Indira Mann discovers a revolutionary ruler born in Edinburgh Castle 450 years ago long line of kings and queens has marched across the stage of Scotland’s history. Through periods of conflict and peace many have left their mark, although arguably none more so than the monarch who brought traditional enemies Scotland and England together to form what is now the United Kingdom. That king was James VI and I and, 450 years since his birth, I search for the echoes of his influence in two contrasting castles – Edinburgh and Huntingtower.

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38 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Edinburgh Castle's royal apartments have been restored to reveal James's legacy

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 39

OUT AND ABOUT

The fireplace in the Laich Hall at Edinburgh Castle

EDINBURGH CASTLE nwittingly, I have chosen the busiest of days to visit Edinburgh Castle but am fortunate to find a moment of quiet in the small room off Queen Mary’s Chamber, where James was born to Mary Queen of Scots on 19 June 1566. The date is recorded within a decorative frame on one wall, painted in 1616 along with the royal coat of arms and other insignia to mark the king’s golden jubilee.

Although born into a nation that had become formally Protestant, James was christened at a Catholic ceremony in Stirling. He was the third infant in a row to gain the Scottish crown, his mother having been forced to abdicate by a group of her own nobles, known as the Confederate Lords – perhaps with the support of her cousin, Elizabeth 1.

But Elizabeth had no heir, so the English succession was conspicuously uncertain. Both Mary and her second husband Lord Darnley had royal Tudor blood, so their son James was the clear contender. Still, it is not without irony that, on Elizabeth's death in 1603, he would effortlessly assume the throne vacated by his mother's cousin.

U

40 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Edinburgh Castle’s James VI birthing room, where Mary Queen of Scots, left, delivered her son

James appears to have been a young man of contrasts, on one hand open to influence by companions deemed unsuitable by some of the Scottish nobility and, on the other, displaying an impressive will and determination.

The royal apartments at Edinburgh Castle, built to provide private and public spaces for successive kings and their courts, have been restored in recent times. When Oliver Cromwell captured the castle in 1650 and created a military barracks, many features from James’s era were lost. In 1997, the plaster mouldings and decorative paintwork were recreated, in line with the scheme originally executed by Johnne Anderson to celebrate James's golden jubilee in 1617. Masters of works accounts from

the time record: “To Johnne Anderson, painter for painting the rowme quhair [room where] his majestie wes borne and furneisching gold cullouris and workmanship … 100 Lib [£100].”

As senior guide at the castle, Duncan MacCallum explains how James sought to influence the Reformation. He favoured an Episcopalian church – its crownappointed bishops offering a means of control, and a balance against the nobility in parliament – over the more egalitarian Presbyterian faith. In an effort to keep the Presbyterian lords and ministers in line,

It is not without irony that James assumed the throne vacated by his mother’s cousin

A KING’S MANUAL One of James VI and I’s most tangible legacies, and a symbol of his kingship, is the Basilikon Doron, an instruction manual in two volumes on how to be king.

James wrote this for his son Henry, who was expected to succeed him.

Despite all this attention and advice from his worldly-wise father, Henry died as a teenager, leaving the unschooled Charles to succeed to the joint thrones.

Some suggest this lack of training and preparation contributed to the trials and tribulations of kingship that Charles I later faced.

INDIRA MANN; NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

Huntingtower Castle (top) and some of the stronghold's renowned painted woodwork, including an image of a sphinx

he also insisted on setting the calendar of their general assemblies. This ruffled more than a few feathers.

In the Laich, or Low, Hall, where the king would receive important guests, an ornate plaster ceiling placed James in the exalted company of heroes, including Hector and Alexander the Great. This has been carefully restored with reference to ceilings of the same period at Kellie Castle in Fife and Muchalls Castle in Aberdeenshire. Today, in a perfect thread of continuity, the hall is still used to host government functions.

From the castle ramparts, on 5 April 1603, the guns fired a salute as James left his native land to take up the English throne. He promised to visit his Scottish subjects every three years but in reality returned just once, in 1617. His boast to the English parliament that he ruled Scotland “with a pen” – peacefully –

may have been true, but some historians believe his rule before the Union of the Crowns was his most successful. One thing is certain: under his reign the old order slowly gave way to a new but not necessarily more democratic one.

A modern king, James fundamentally changed the face of UK politics. He was extremely well educated – schooled by the influential, but by all accounts tyrannical, scholar George Buchanan – he brought a love of literature and poetry to the royal court. Yet he was also a consummate spendthrift with perhaps too much regard for gold and jewels.

A wonderful portrait of James in Queen Mary’s chamber from the year after his succession to the English throne shows him wearing a hat jewel of diamonds from Elizabeth’s treasury.

He appears to have wasted little time in familiarising himself with his newly

acquired kingdom’s wealth. The ruler of a country still tied into traditional forms of lordship, James made several attempts to improve access to the justice system for all classes and extended royal authority to the outer regions of his realm. Yet he wrote a book, Daemonologie, decrying witchcraft, and the North Berwick witch trials of 1590-1 had been prompted by the suggestion that severe weather experienced by James and his queen, Anna, on returning to Scotland from Denmark was an effort to kill him using black magic.

However, Duncan MacCallum shares one piece of writing by James that does show a man ahead of his time, referring to a habit fashionable among his contemporaries: “Smoking is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”

HUNTINGTOWER CASTLE t is on a windswept day that I arrive at Huntingtower, which proves the perfect backdrop to the tale of the Ruthven raid, a royal intrigue precipitated in part by the king’s religious policies. A fascinating riddle of

I

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 41

OUT AND ABOUT

JAMES VI HIGHLIGHTS

HUNTINGTOWER CASTLE It is hard to miss the disquieting ‘eyes' that follow you around the east tower hall of Huntingtower, but be sure to check out other painted decoration here, including the particularly intriguing traces of an Escheresque geometric pattern Indira Mann explores the interior of Huntingtower Castle, where James was held captive for ten months

a building, its guide, Ros Anderson, reveals some salient facts.

Huntingtower was home to the Ruthven family, or earls of Gowrie.

William Ruthven and a group of Protestant nobles had grown concerned about the influence of the king’s two closest advisers, the Duke of Lennox and Earl of Arran. Ruthven was also the royal treasurer and was exasperated by the men’s lavish ways.

In August 1582, in an attempt to sway his mind, the Earl of Gowrie invited James to stay at the Place of Ruthven, as it was then called, but refused to let him leave while Gowrie and his comrades remonstrated with him. The 16-year-old king was driven to tears and the Master of Glamis, one of Ruthven’s nobleman supporters, famously exclaimed: “Better bairns greet [weep] than bearded men.”

However, James kept his own counsel – carefully filing away the taunt for future reference – and managed to evade the nobles ten months later.

Huntingtower has two main towers connected by a section built, in its

James filed away the taunt for future reference, evading the nobles ten months later 42 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

current form, after the Ruthvens’ time.

The castle has many intriguing features, none more so than the painted ceiling and walls of the Lord’s Hall. There are naturalistic patterns of stems and leaves, woodland animals, even a Celtic green man, who looks down benignly.

Less benign are the rather sinister “eyes” that follow you around the room.

If James had spent a great deal of time here, and much is conjecture, then I can imagine how they might have spooked the young man and stoked his hatred of witchcraft. The Ruthvens were rumoured to dabble in the black arts.

The family featured in James’s reign once more before the castle was granted to the Murray family in 1600. Hard facts about the ‘Gowrie conspiracy’ are thin on the ground – James was apparently lured to Perth

by John Ruthven over a pot of gold and a suspected Catholic conspiracy.

James was locked in a room, a scuffle broke out and John was killed.

So did James defend himself from an assault by the Ruthvens or was the conspiracy cooked up by the king in retribution for previous wrongs and to clear a debt owed to the Ruthven family? We may never know.

What we can say for certain, however, is that James was a revolutionary ruler whose reign ushered in a pivotal period in the UK’s history.

EDINBURGH CASTLE Admire the plaster ceilings in the Laich Hall of the Royal Apartments, where modern artisans have faithfully restored the medallions of James’s era featuring ancient heroes.

How many can you name?

DUNFERMLINE PALACE The woman in James’s life was Anna of Denmark; her favourite residence Dunfermline Palace.

Jewel-bright illustrations help you imagine the splendour of Anna’s renovations, carried out in 1600, the year Charles I was born here.

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MY DAY AS A

RANGER On a journey of discovery, Brian Donaldson goes on patrol, feeds the swans and battles with gorse at Holyrood Park

A

group of European tourists spot the highvis yellow jackets of the Holyrood Park rangers and ask for some quick advice on reaching the summit during a blustery day.

“Stick to the paths and stay low or you might get blown over,” suggests Robert May, a ranger who has seen it all during his 18 months among the grass, gorse and geese at the park, a site of special

As a site of special scientific interest, Holyrood Park is a treasure trove of nature 44 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

PHOTOGRAPHS: JEREMY SUTTON!HIBBERT

scientific interest. The tourists have opted for normal shoes rather than the sturdy footwear best suited for the occasionally rocky terrain they will encounter as they head towards the summit of Arthur’s Seat, 251m above sea level.

Robert has encountered much worse here. “You get all sorts,” he says. “I once had to help bring someone down from the hillside who was wearing stilettos.”

An estimated one million people walk around the 600 acres of this city and

royal park each year, so there are a few sticky situations for the ranger service to deal with.

“We’re not out every week for emergencies, although in the summer it gets a bit more frequent,” says Robert.

“We usually deal with people who have either got lost because of the weather or they’ve fallen down and hurt themselves. There are also traffic issues with people skidding off the roads and into the rocks; we’ve had a few head-on

BEHIND THE SCENES

PROTÉGÉ BRIAN DONALDSON gets tooled up to tackle some troublesome gorse

MENTOR ROBERT MAY relishes the outdoor life of a park ranger

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 45

BEHIND THE SCENES

THE JEWELS OF HOLYROOD PARK

Edinburgh’s official flower.

Its geological features include Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, while among its 111 archaeological sites are four prehistoric hill forts, eight listed buildings and St Anthony’s Chapel.

Clockwise from top left: maiden pink, sticky catchfly, Salisbury Crags and St Anthony’s Chapel

collisions in the past few months and while the ultimate responsibility is with the emergency services, we can advise on routes if they need to reach somewhere difficult to access.”

On a breezy Friday, Robert is giving me a taster of a typical day on a park ranger’s beat by allowing me to shadow him. After being fitted for one of those natty jackets, we head out at 8am to patrol a significant span of the park in an equally visible 4x4.

We drive round the Radical Road in one of the Land Rovers used by the ranger service. Robert explains the distinctive British vehicle known for handling rough terrain still holds an allure. The road was built in the 1820s by unemployed weavers whose politics gave the byway its name. The weavers were said to have been enlisted at the suggestion of Sir Walter Scott.

“One of the first questions I get asked when I tell people I’m a park ranger is: ‘Do you get to drive that Land Rover?’

46 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Brian and Robert don their gloves to take on Holyrood Park’s unforgiving gorse bushes

You’ll find in the morning the road is absolutely littered with toads Well, yes I do.”

Every now and again we hop out to check on the park’s lodges, built as living quarters for staff. “The boat house is a listed building,” says Robert.

“There are a lot of lodges around the park and we have to check they’re fine.

They’re old buildings which were built

by Prince Albert.”

We make tracks to count some Shetland cows way down below in the wet, boggy and gruesomely titled Murder Acre, so named after the killing of trade apprentices by heavily armed King’s Troops during a riot in 1677.

All seven animals are deemed present and correct while Robert explains the plans for this field.

“The idea is to turn Murder Acre into a wildflower meadow, so they have cows on it now to break up the grass,” he says.

“Eventually they’ll put sheep in there and the wildflowers will come through.”

The acre is located close to Duddingston Loch, which Robert says is one of two natural freshwater lochs in the Lothians as well as being the spot where the rules of curling were formalised.

One of Robert’s favourite tasks is circled on the calendar for March or April when a semi-biblical tableau dominates the hillside and road below.

Thousands of toads awake to their own post-hibernation alarm and head down the crag, with Dunsapie Loch the scheduled destination.

“This happens at dawn and dusk so you’ll find in the morning that the road is absolutely littered with toads,” says Robert. “We keep the gate

MALCOLM COCHRANE, SHUTTERSTOCK

Holyrood Park is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) because of its flora and fauna, archaeology and geology. Here you can find Dianthus deltoides (maiden pink), a nationally scarce flower, and Silene viscaria (sticky catchfly),

closed at night and first thing we head there with buckets and fill them with toads before transporting them to the loch. It’s the sort of thing I never imagined myself doing, but it’s brilliant.”

Over a spring weekend, the public is invited to help out with this dramatic toad migration. One of the rangers’ most popular events, it always books up well in advance. As well as being highly amusing, it is also valuable work for the ranger service, enabling an accurate tally of toad numbers. This allows rangers to calculate whether the population is up or down on the previous year.

Spring is a busy time for the park rangers, with March heralding the beginning of their monthly bumblebee and weekly butterfly surveys, while the public hungrily takes advantage of the free guided walks, including Arthur’s Secrets every Tuesday between April and July. An abundance of school parties will also arrive for tours, workshops and the chance to be a druid.

The duo load a bag with litter for removal

Robert explains some of the park’s geological features

Despite its proximity to the city, terrain can be rugged

Feeding time for the swans at St Margaret’s Loch

“My sawing technique is not the most advanced,” says Brian of his meeting with a stubborn bush HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 47

BEHIND THE SCENES

JUNIOR RANGERS LEARN THE ROPES

Fancy joining the young team helping out at Holyrood Park?

The Junior Rangers programme at Holyrood Park is part of the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association national scheme and is open to 11 to 18-year-olds.

Juniors learn about the history of the park, look after the site, develop first aid skills and help run events. Clad in blue uniforms, they also learn navigational skills and identify rocks at the main geology spots.

At the age of 18, junior rangers can

48 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

step up to become volunteer rangers.

In March and April, volunteer and junior rangers help out with the annual toad migration, and design leaflets to highlight the risk to wildlife from fire-raising. This activity enables them to achieve the Junior Ranger Award and contributes to wider schemes they might be involved in, such as the Duke of Edinburgh or John Muir awards.

Get involved at scra-online.co.uk

The patrol of the park complete, it’s time to take a late-morning snack to the swans of St Margaret’s Loch. A fair number of bold sparrows come to take their chances, but the majestic yet friendly water creatures are happy to share the basic bird feed I’m sprinkling way too liberally at their webbed feet.

I won’t go as far as to say I’m a swan whisperer, but the birds’ attention is fixed on my hand as they surround me, waiting patiently – for now – to discover if more protein nibbles are on the way.

We return to park ranger HQ – an education centre close to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament – for a quick cuppa. Then we grab some bow saws, litter pickers and bin bags to do battle with the tangled gorse near St Anthony’s Chapel, a ruin dating back to the 13th century and arguably the most prominent of the 111 archaeological sites in the park.

My sawing technique is not the most advanced and it takes longer than expected to fill the bags with gorse.

Robert chooses not to laugh. Pricklier than it looks, my gloves provide little protection against the stingy furze.

Robert ends our tour by showing me sites such as Hutton’s Section, a globally recognised landmark of geological importance, and Samson’s Ribs, a miniversion of the Giant’s Causeway.

As we prepare to say goodbye, Robert

The medieval ruin of St Anthony’s Chapel

We do battle with the tangled gorse at St Anthony’s Chapel tells me that, having spent his formative years in and around Edinburgh, he harboured dreams that he might one day end up earning a living within the grounds of Holyrood Park. “I always figured it would be amazing to be a ranger out there. At the risk of sounding like a total hippie, I firmly believe in positive manifestation: I wanted a job like this and it came up. I live about five minutes away from my desk and this incredible landscape is my office.

I absolutely love it.”

For more information visit historic-scotland.gov.uk/holyroodpark

FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERSHIP OFFER

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f you enjoy your Historic Scotland membership, now is the time to tell your friends and family. They can enjoy great days out all year round, and our Member Get Member scheme means they will save 20% on their membership fee when they join.

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too, and with 20% off the annual cost a concession membership is only £2.50 a month.

MEMBER GET MEMBER SCHEME There are two ways to take advantage of the Member Get Member scheme: l Ask your friend or family

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member to call 0131 668 8999.

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FIVE REASONS TO BECOME A MEMBER

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MARCH!JUNE

STEP OUT IN STYLE As the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design hits its stride, we showcase the fashion of years gone by at Stirling Castle.

Join us there and at a selection of fabulous events across Scotland KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL OUR ACTIVITIES AT HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK/EVENTS

50 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Toilets

Restaurant/café Picnic area Dogs not permitted Parking

Gift shop Reasonable wheelchair access Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design

Historical hardware is on show at The Rock of Ages event at Dumbarton Castle

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

IN VOGUE STIRLING CASTLE

Sat 14–Sun 15 May; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885 stirlingcastle.gov.uk/events Join us at Stirling Castle for the fashion show of the centuries.

Gain an insight into magnificent Renaissance style and discover innovative costumes and hats, textiles, jewellery and perfume – and the international connections that shaped fashion in 16th-century Scotland.

Explore the Renaissance palace of James V and find out how he expressed his power and majesty through dazzling displays of interior design, architecture and imagery. Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design (YIAD)-funded event.

THE ROCK OF AGES DUMBARTON CASTLE

Sat 4–Sun 5 Jun; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885 historic-scotland.gov.uk/rock

Get In Vogue at Stirling Castle

For more than 1,000 years Dumbarton Castle has witnessed many changes; technological, social and lots more. Join us to relive the centuries, from Romans and Vikings to WWI and II and

discover the changes each era brought to Scotland.

Watch more than 100 performers bring history to life.

Visit the blacksmith’s forge and discover how blades and bows were made. See how fashions evolved and learn how this magnificent castle has been maintained over the years.

YIAD-funded event.

SPECTACULAR JOUSTING LINLITHGOW PALACE

Sat 2–Sun 3 July; 12.30–4.30pm 0131 668 8885 historic-scotland.gov.uk/ jousting His grace, the King of Scotland, invites you to join him and the queen for two days of action and excitement at his royal tournament.

Over the weekend you can meet the retinue and cheer on your favourite knight as they fight for victory – battling it out on foot, at archery and in a dazzling display of horsemanship.

Who’ll be declared champion by the king?

Discover the camps on the Peel and learn more about the weapons and armour in medieval times.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 51

Step back in time with a family trip to New Lanark World Heritage Site!

Visitor Centre • Café • Shops • Hotel • Hostel • Falls of Clyde Upcoming events: 27 & 28 March - Easter Egg-Stravaganza 23 April - Scottish Family History Fair 2 May - Spring Food & Gift Fair (FREE ENTRY) 13/14 May - Robert Owen’s Institute Bicentenary Celebration 17 July - Back in Time Experience (FREE ENTRY) Throughout 2016 - Double Row Restoration Project FREE public activities www.newlanark.org | 01555 661345 | trust@newlanark.org New Lanark Mills, Lanark, ML11 9DB (Around 1 hour from Glasgow & Edinburgh)

FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES EDINBURGH

JOIN US!

Your membership will help the Cockburn Association continue its work in promoting:

• The conservation and enhancement of Edinburgh’s • • • •

landscape and historic and architectural heritage High quality urban design The protection of Edinburgh’s Green Belt Sustainable transport Public interest in planning, conservation and design

You will receive a membership welcome pack, be eligible to join one of our committees and be joining one of the oldest amenity groups in protecting and enhancing the beauty of Edinburgh… as important now as it was in Lord Cockburn’s day! (1779 -1854)

JOIN TODAY www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/become-a-member

Toilets

Restaurant/café

Picnic area

Gift shop

Reasonable wheelchair access

Dogs not permitted

Parking

MARCH

DAVID ROBERTS DUFF HOUSE

Fri 25 Mar–Sun 10 Jul; 11am–5pm 01261 818181 duffhouse.org.uk/whats-on In this Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, explore the work of David Roberts, one of the most adventurous British artists of the first half of the 19th century. As an architectural painter he captured intricate detail with great verve and accuracy.

APRIL

ARTHUR’S SECRETS HOLYROOD PARK

Every Tue, Apr–Jul; 1–3pm 0131 652 8150 rangers@HES.scot Booking essential Join us on a guided walk to learn more about the turbulent past of Arthur’s Seat.

STANDING STONES OF STENNESS AND BARNHOUSE VILLAGE WALK STANDING STONES OF STENNESS

Every Wed, Apr–May, Mon, Wed and Fri, Jun; 10am 01856 841732 orkney.rangers@HES.scot Join the ranger service for a guided tour of our oldest stone circle and explore the fascinating links with the nearby Neolithic village of Barnhouse.

RING OF BRODGAR WALK RING OF BRODGAR

Every Thur, Apr–May, daily Jun; 1pm 01856 841732 orkney.rangers@HES.scot

Stirling Castle’s Festival of Foolery is jest the job

EGGSCELLENT EASTER FUN FESTIVAL OF FOOLERY STIRLING CASTLE

Sat 26– Sun 27 Mar; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885 stirlingcastle.gov.uk/events Join us this Easter for Festival of Foolery, an entire weekend dedicated to fun –filled frivolity.

Learn the tricks of the trade

THE ART OF DESIGN STIRLING CASTLE

Various dates; 11am–3pm 0131 652 8155 stirlingcastle.gov.uk/events Join us for Easter art and craft activities suitable for all the family.

Explore the site and discover magnificent carved and painted Renaissance designs, then create a masterpiece inspired by the past.

NATURE’S LARDER HOLYROOD PARK

Explore the area around the Ring of Brodgar during a guided walk with a ranger and find out the special significance of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

Sun 10 Apr; 1–3.30pm 0131 652 8150 rangers@HES.scot Booking essential Join a ranger and Anna Canning of

from the court jester and entertain the royal court. Try your hand at Renaissance games and take part in our art activities.

MEET THE CAST EDINBURGH CASTLE

Sat 26–Sun 27 Mar; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885

Floramedica on a fascinating guided walk to discover foods and medicines the natural world has to offer.

MORAY’S UPRISING URQUHART CASTLE

Sat 23–Sun 24 Apr; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885 historic-scotland.gov.uk/events Experience life as it was during the wars of independence and hear the tale of how Andrew de Moray, later victor at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, ambushed Sir William FitzWarin, the castle’s constable.

MEET THE EXCISE MAN DALLAS DHU

edinburghcastle.gov.uk/events This Easter weekend, discover Scotland’s most iconic castle.

Relive the tales and events by listening to historical figures as they bring the castle’s rich history to life. Join in the fun with the wizard and take part in our Easter quiz.

Fri 29-Sat 30 April, 12-4pm 0131 668 8885 historic-scotland.gov.uk/events Illegal whisky stills are popping up all over the Highlands and it’s up to the excise men to track down the smugglers and dish out royal justice. Learn about the smuggling techniques used in the company of our Victorian excise man.

MAY

A GRAND DAY OUT DUFF HOUSE

Sun 1 May; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885 duffhouse.org.uk/whats-on Experience the magnificent HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 53

SCOTLAND

13th Annual Outlander Tour®

Based on the series by Diana Gabaldon.

Time travel, history, intrigue, passion, loyalty, pride of country – the 18th-century Highlands.

3 Departures: April 24, Sept. 18, Oct. 9 7 Nights • $3,495 Special extended Outlander Tour® includes the Standing Stones of Calanais!

June 18-28 • 10 Nights • $4,595

Viking Treasure*

2016 ESCORTED TOURS Lords of the Isles*

The island kingdom of Viking/Gaelic rulers of Western Scotland in the Middle Ages.

Isles of Lewis, Harris, Skye, Mull, Iona.

British Isles

July 25-August 6 • 12 Nights • $5,195

May 13-25 • 12 Nights • $5,195

*Includes the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland

Orkney and Shetland - history, archaeological wonders, and natural beauty of the remote, mystical Northern Isles.

August 18-28 • 10 Nights • $4,695 Haunted Scotland Highland Ghost Hunting

Oct. 29-Nov. 6 • 8 Nights • $3,595 Hogmanay Celebration

Traditional Highland New Year’s Eve celebration at elegant Culloden House.

Dec. 29-Jan. 4 • 6 Nights • $3,095

Deluxe escorted tours• 18-guest maximum• E-mail Judy@celticjourneys.us for more information

Call us at 703.941.6455 • www.CelticJourneys.us

Glamis Castle_HS_Spr_16.indd 1

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Toilets

Restaurant/café

Picnic area

Gift shop

Reasonable wheelchair access

Duff House at the turn of the 20th century as the Duke of Fife welcomes you for a fun family day out. Play lawn games, picnic on the grass and discover more about the house on a guided tour.

BIOBLITZ

HOLYROOD PARK

Sun 1 May and Sat 4 Jun; 10am–12pm 0131 652 8150 rangers@HES.scot Booking essential

HOLYROOD PARK

Sat 25 Jun Contact rangers for up-to-date start times 0131 652 8150 rangers@HES.scot

Come along to help a ranger remove the invasive non-native species Himalayan balsam, which has taken a foothold in the park.

Discover what crawls, hops, wriggles and grows around our capital while you help the experts record the wildlife in our magnificent capital.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE DE VAUXS

TWO HOUSES AND A CASTLE

DIRLETON CASTLE

Join the medieval de Vauxs as they defend their castle from the English army. Experience life under siege and follow the steps taken by the defenders to keep their stronghold.

WATER SAFARI

BLACKNESS CASTLE

Leith links revealed as we celebrate 200 years of Trinity House

0131 652 8150 rangers@HES.scot Booking essential Join us on a gentle guided walk around Hunter’s Bog and St Margaret’s Loch. Learn about the turbulent past of Arthur’s Seat.

LINLITHGOW PALACE

Sat 14 May and Sat 11 Jun; TRINITY 200 TRINITY HOUSE 1–5pm Sat 11 Jun; 10am–4pm Members, £10 adult, £6 0131 652 8155 concession, £5 child, historic-scotland. non-members £12 gov.uk/events adult, £8 concession, £6 Join us to celebrate child 200 years of Trinity Booking essential Linlithgow Palace House. Enjoy fun Tickets available at water safari family craft activities, historic-scotland.gov. take a tour of Leith’s uk/member and log in to maritime history using the latest book technologies, and meet our Discover Linlithgow Loch by painting conservators. Watch a Canadian canoe with the film about Trinity House and assistance of qualified instructors. explore a temporary exhibition about old Leith.

JUNE

ARTHUR’S AMBLE HOLYROOD PARK

Mon 6 and Mon 20 Jun; 1–2.30pm

Parking

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra presents a carnival of music expertly led by Spanish conductor Pablo González.

Expect a spellbinding musical adventure.

CONSERVATION DAY

Sat 7–Sun 8 May; 12–4pm 0131 668 8885 historic-scotland.gov.uk/events

Dogs not permitted

0131 668 8885 historic-scotland.gov.uk/events Step back to 1298 and discover how Robert the Bruce laid waste to Dundonald Castle during the Scottish Wars of Independence.

Learn how soldiers might have lived while on campaign and watch medieval military tactics with combat demonstrations.

ARTHUR’S ADVENTURE HOLYROOD PARK

Mon 13 and Mon 27 Jun; 1–4pm 0131 652 8150 rangers@HES.scot Booking essential Join us for a challenging guided walk to learn about the turbulent past of Arthur’s Seat across 7,000 years.

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA STIRLING CASTLE

DUNDONALD AND THE BRUCE DUNDONALD CASTLE

Sun 12 Jun; 12–4pm

Thur 23 June, 8pm Members’ discount available Tickets from the Albert Halls ticket office on 01786 473544

Sun 26 Jun; 10am–3pm 0131 319 3956 ranger@hopetoun.co.uk Booking essential Explore the links between three of West Lothian’s historic properties on a guided walk between Hopetoun House, Blackness Castle and House of the Binns.

DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD DUFF HOUSE

Thur 30 Jun; doors open 5.45pm for 6.30pm start £12 adults, £10 concessions, £8 children and £35 family, 10% member discount Tickets available at Duff House or historic-scotland.gov.uk/ member and log in to book Join Danny and his father William – the most exciting dad a boy has ever had – as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Cheer on the pair as they take on a greedy businessman and thwart his plans to buy their land by poaching his pheasants.

A magnificent adventure for all the family.

HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 55

GUESS THE YEAR WORK OUT THE MYSTERY YEAR AND WIN

WINNING PRIZE The winning entry will receive a hamper from Scottish Hampers (scottishhampers.co.uk) containing a bottle of Bordeaux, Scottish cheese, crackers and flameroasted coffee, among other treats.

The competition is only open to members aged 18 or over.

THE BATTLE OF DUNBAR Cromwell at Dunbar, an oil painting

by Andrew Carrick Gow, depicts the

Battle of Dunbar, one of the shortest and most brutal battles of the 17th-century civil wars. The English Parliamentarian army, commanded by Oliver Cromwell, defeated Scottish forces loyal to King Charles II.

ANSWER THIS QUESTION In which year did the Battle of Dunbar take place? a) 1651 b) 1649 c) 1650

THE BATTLE OF DUNBAR WAS CONSIDERED CROMWELL’S GREATEST VICTORY AND ALL RANKS WHO FOUGHT IN IT WERE ISSUED THE DUNBAR MEDAL, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND FOR AN ENGLISH ARMY

LAST ISSUE’S GUESS THE YEAR The 1822 visit of King George IV to Edinburgh marked the first visit to Scotland by a reigning monarch since Charles II in 1651. The winner is Mr Allan Armstrong from Galashiels. The winner for the autumn 2015 Guess the Year is Mrs Elisabeth Burns from Gourock 56 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

WIN

HOW TO ENTER If you can identify the correct year from the options on the right, visit historic-scotland.gov.uk/ guesstheyear or post your answer, with your name, membership number and address, to Guess the Year, Historic Scotland magazine Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH by Friday 8 April.

See historic-scotland.gov.uk/ member for terms and conditions.

INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND INDEPENDENTLY MINDED.

AWARD WINNING SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY FROM THE ISLE OF ARRAN. www.arranwhisky.com

Mozolowski & Murray Conservatories Orangeries

To find out more call us on

0345 050 5440 Visit our design centre or request a brochure.

Sun Lounges Garden Rooms

Mozolowski & Murray Conservatory Design Centre 57 Comiston Road Edinburgh EH10 6AG Open 7 days 10am to 5pm

www.mozmurray.co.uk