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the path to dunnottar

Scotland Day 3

By Tineke Ziemer

March 1^st, 2019

where the english held william wallace

Being a lover of history and proud of the fact that Braveheart is my favourite movie of all time, you can imagine how excited I was to visit Dunnottar Castle. This is the place where the English held William Wallace captive, but he managed to escape. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to see the tower where he was held, but it was a cool experience none-the-less.

It was raining that morning and the wind blew in off the sea during our walk from the parking area, sending the rain into our face and eyes. We followed the trail that opened to amazing views of the castle from afar, set against a stunning ocean backdrop. From there, we descended a long set of steps that wound its way down the cliff edge to sea level. It probably took us at least half an hour with photo stops to make it to our destination. By the time we entered the castle, I was anxious to ask the reception attendant for the bathroom. He responded by saying, "It's only for visitors to the castle."

Well, it took a lot to hold in the sarcastic response that was on the tip of my tongue. Buddy, do you really think I walked all the way from the parking lot, then descended hundreds of steps on the side of a cliff in the rain and wind just to use your bathroom?! What do you think I'm here for?! Instead I politely paid my fare without saying a word, like the stereotypical Canadian that I am, and went in search of the facilities.

Dunnottar Castle doesn't hold a candle to Slains Castle, in my humble opinion. I vastly prefer to explore non-commercialized abandoned ruins. However, there were a few places within that really wet my appetite for a story. If you enjoy my obsession with history, I'll indulge you below.

The round pool of water pictured below, known as the cistern, was the water supply for the inhabitants of the castle (The Keiths.) The murky water was brewed into ale in the brewery to make it safe to drink. When the cistern was excavated last century, inside were discovered four brass pans, a French sword, five cannon balls, part of a Dutch pot and one and a half silver teaspoons. My overactive imagination conjures up images of a young maiden fetching water and losing her grip on her pot, watching in dismay as it sinks out of sight. I suppose retrieving lost items would have been quite difficult considering the cistern was about 7.6 meters deep even at the time of excavation.

The castle kitchen caught my breath as well. The large room is dark and mostly empty, but off to the right are the remains of the stone sink beneath a window opening. Again, the stories of those who stood at that sink centuries ago flooded my mind. I also found myself crouching down and peering through worn holes at the base of the castle walls and wondering how long they had been there, were secret messages passed through them and who had knelt down in these exact places before me to see the ocean beyond?

By far the most disturbing and haunting place in the castle is the vault. Near the entrance of the long, dank room, a plaque reads "In 1685, 167 covenanters (122 men and 45 women) were imprisoned here, suffering deprivation, hardship and torture, for Christ's crown and covenant."

Their voices called out to me. Their hands reached for my hands. My ears still ring with their cries. I must share their story. Here it is, as quoted directly from the signage in the vault.

"In 1685 there was a short-lived rebellion, supported primarily by those Presbyterians who refused to accept the king's insistence that he be acknowledged as the Supreme Head of the Church. Presbyterians already in the Edinburgh prisons were moved out of the capital to make way for other offenders. Two hundred people were marched to Dunnottar, of which 122 men and 45 women survived the journey. They were thrown into the infamous vault, 'ankle deep in mire' and held for nine weeks with no sanitation. Both food and water had to be bought from the guards. Twenty five men escaped, two of whom fell to their deaths; fifteen were captured and tortured. The remaining prisoners were put on a ship to the West Indies and eventually hit land in New England, about seventy of them dying on the voyage."

St. Andrews

If there ever was a place that would call me back to Scotland, it would undoubtedly be St. Andrews. I could spend days wandering the streets and never run out of things to admire. As it was though, we only had an hour and a half!

During that time, we managed to meet lovely locals, accidentally wander into someone's back yard happily clicking away before we realized it wasn't a park, get our first and only taste of 'Thyme & Rosemary Chips,' and see the place where Kate met William. All the while, Sherrylynn and I were in street photography heaven, absolutely giddy with the beauty around us on every side. Here are some of the images I captured during our very short visit - I can only imagine what there is still left to discover in one of Scotland's most picturesque towns.

Meet the locals.

Some fun candids of us girls exploring the streets of St. Andrews. The signs in Scotland are perfect for eliciting silly, immature giggles from exhausted tourists like us!

Anstruther

Along our journey on day three, we took a pit stop in the charming fishing village called Anstruther. I managed to snap a few shots while we were there. A little further down the line, we had an amazing buffet dinner with some wonderful friends of our hosts, and ended our evening by arriving in Edinburgh after dark. Somewhere on that road, right about the time that the sun was glowing over the horizon, is a little church that will stay burned in my memory forever.

I'll leave you for now with these quintessential Scottish images.

And don't forget to enter our Scot-Free Contest, by commenting with the title of your favourite image by midnight tonight (March 1, 2019) for a chance to win an 8x12 print of it! Winner announced tomorrow!