Castles and Beaches

As our remaining weeks in Scotland start to thin out, we find ourselves more interested in castles again. We joke about having renewed our Historic Scotland membership, and visiting more ancient sites so we can get the most out of it, but at the time we renewed we already viewed our payment as a donation to a cause that we support. We think preserving and sharing this country's historical heritage is a worthwhile occupation. However, since we renewed our membership just a few weeks ago we have visited abbeys in the borders, a palace in Lothian, and a couple of castles in the Kingdom of Fife, and enjoyed it all. We even managed to find and admire another beach or two while we were exploring.

Linlithgow Palace is famous for being a place that James V liked to show off - and he did like to show off. He was one of those super-wealthy people who is only happy when people realize and are amazed at how wealthy and powerful he is. He was responsible for the building of the ornate fountain in the courtyard, although the current version is a replica. His daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, was born here and also liked the place.

This palace, more than most, does impress one with its deliberate grandeur. It has been damaged by fire and centuries, but if you let your imagination add a broad wooden staircase sweeping up to that arched entranceway and impressive towers at the foot of each of those buttresses; and then add roofs, flags, pennants, guards, and gaily dressed people it is not hard to see this as a luxurious residence where royalty came to play 

Inner courtyard

Looking at the inner courtyard you also need a little imagination to remove the stain of centuries from the walls, and to see people flowing through the arched entryway and then up the (missing) stairs to the upper ornate entrance on the left, and on into a huge dining hall. It would not be hard to imagine some wealthy rock star having wildly excessive parties in a mansion like this, and by all accounts these would be only dim echoes of the activities of the original inhabitants of these luxurious premises.

 Some of the ornateness hidden by the grime and damage of ages is hinted at in the decorations on the fountain in the courtyard which, legend has it, flowed with wine when Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through on his way south (another party-dude).

Linlithgow Loch

And just so the super-wealthy had somewhere to play in the daytime too, there is a loch just outside the castle, This picture shows one end of it. It is at least three times the size shown in this picture.

People still boat on the lake although we were wryly amused to watch a cub scout pack on the shoreline executing many complex maneuvers involving oars and life-jackets and carrying boats, but somehow never actually going on the water! Perhaps that's reserved for the advanced classes?

Far more modest in size were the castles we saw north of the Forth on another jaunt. The excuse for this trip was to take a smartphone to one of the last missionaries who did not have one yet and deliver it to him in Kirkcaldy.
Ravenscraig was right there so we stopped in to have a look. It too is a ruin but distinguished itself by being the only place that Louise looked at and where she thought she might like to live. That fantasy might be a little more understandable if you look at the artist's impression of the house in the drawing. 

Artist's sketch of Ravenscraig

It was, in fact the dwelling place of a wealthy family in a bygone era, and its charm is largely a function of its location. Firstly it is built on a crag jutting out into the Forth. This makes it extremely defensible, especially as the rock is carved away on the landward side to form a deep, steep moat or ditch. Secondly it has a couple of  lovely beaches either side of it and only a couple of hundred feet straight down.

We finished off our tour of the Kingdom of Fife that day with a visit to Aberdour Castle. Aberdour is famous for the painted ceiling in one of the rooms.

Aberdour painted ceiling from 1603

The pictures are mostly amazing in that they completely cover the ceiling and were painted in 1603. One of the things that continues to surprise us is how accessible these kinds or artifacts are. The ceilings are no more than seven feet high and there is nothing to stop you touching them, except that it isn't a good idea to touch four-hundred year old paintings.  There are no guards, no glass screens, no "don't touch" signs and no cameras, just an expectation of respect, which seems to work. There is even a sign that asks you politely to close the door of the room as you enter and leave to help preserve the paintings from weathering. 

Aberdour doocot

The other striking feature at Aberdour is the doocot (dovecote) a large dome-shaped building in the grounds, for housing pigeons or doves. This was another sign of wealth since dove-pies and dove eggs were prized at the time, and having your own doocot meant you had a ready supply of them. The view from the inside shows the ledges where the birds perched. The ledges were carved in so as to deter rats from climbing up and stealing the eggs (only people were allowed to do that).

Also at Aberdour is a Norman church dating back to 1123, and still in active use. The church has the feeling of ancient history, as well as some more recent tragedies. A prominent family lost their only two sons in WW I, a week apart in two different battles. A memorial stone commemorates their memory and salutes their patriotism.

Also moving was the engraving on the modern pulpit, "To the Glory of God", which was echoed in various carvings in the church. When I read it I could hear echoes in my head of "Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord" which appears on our own temples. It is warming to realize that other Christians feel strongly that their places of worship, built and maintained with dedication and sacrifice, represent important ideals of eternal significance to them, as indeed our own temples do to us.

It was a good Saturday, with lots of history, memorable visits and exposure to great traditions.