Stonehaven 18/8/07

Saturday 18th August saw us going up to Stonehaven for The North East Wallace Day. We arrived in good time to find our wee room had been double booked so we were offered a room up in the loft instead, it wasn't as fancy as Big David's from Crann Tara but it was more than adequate, however I wish I hadn't seen his room as it was lovely, bugger!!! We gathered at  the Stonehaven Leisure centre where some well kent faces welcomed us, many thanks to Nevin & his good lady who welcomed us with a wee dram, just what I needed on a cold wet day, Slainte Nevin! The march set off led by Skirlie & the excellent Brechin Pipe Band.

     
The march wasn't too hard on my old legs & the views overlooking Stonehaven harbour were stunning, the cows in the surrounding fields followed us as they wondered what the hell was going on. On reaching the car park, everyone assembled & waited for the stragglers then it was down to the Dunnottar castle itself for speeches & to lay a wreath. I was informed that the wreath from last years service was thrown into the sea by the lad who worked there. I went back the next day & the wreath that we left had also gone!!!  Anyway, Brendan from Crann Tara, opened today's event with a very enjoyable & rousing speech, he later invited David R. Ross to say a few words. David is a great speaker & always gets the Scottish hearts pumping that bit faster. After laying the wreath big  Kenny Borthwick fired a round from his musket which echoed through the empty castle walls, superb stuff.

   
When the ceremony was over & the crowd started to disperse, Davie Ross told me about a cliff walk back to town which  would get us to the pub faster. Let's go says me. It really was a lovely walk, the views were superb, every time we went round a corner there was something else to see. Joining us on our wee walk was Rab & Grant (Bobthebudgie &Highlandladdie) & Norrie. We stopped off at the Marine Hotel for a few refreshments, Susan & myself had a great wee afternoon sorting out the world & all it's problems with these guys, Slainte boys. We had to jump into a taxi just to make the evenings entertainment!!!

  
After a quick a shower & a change of clothes we made our way to the local town hall where tonight's entertainment was Gaberlunzie & Albannach. We were greeted by the sight of Aya & Kyle outside the hall so we knew we were in the right place. Gaberlunzie began the evening with a great set which seemed to be cut early for some reason during their second set. Albannach on the other hand looked as if they wanted to play all night long. The fact they played earlier on in the day makes their energy levels all the more astounding. Davie Ross introduced the guys in his own unique style & the Scottish hearts were pumping once again. Albannach showed no mercy & played one great song after another pausing only briefly to tell the audience some secrets about what goes on when they're touring, what a laugh, the banter was top notch. The band never fail to impress me but Jacquie's singing deserves special praise tonight. After the gig it was time to relax & take some pictures with the band. Guys thanks for putting up with all my nonsense & cheers for another great night & a big hello to all the people we met, old and new, special mention to Thomas & Debs (HeilanWoman) See you all next week at Elderslie

Our Thanks To Our Friends @ Crann Tara For Their Hospitality

For More High Resolution Photo's  Click Here

Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle projects out to sea in the most dramatic fashion. A natural place for a fortified sanctuary, its history has been no less dramatic than its surroundings. Although it surely must have been used as a place of defensive fortifications from time immemorial, the first mentions of Dunnottar come from the early Dark Ages, when, in the 5th Century, St Ninian is recorded as founding a church here. The next mention comes from the Dark Age Irish Annals, where a siege is recorded at Dunfoithir in 681, the first of many.

Perhaps the most successful of the early besiegers was Sir William Wallace, who managed to defeat the garrison of 4,000 English troops in his first successful action in the Grampian area. In a particularly bloodthirsty postscript to this action, Wallace is reputed to have burned the church to the ground, together with the English soldiers who had fled there seeking sanctuary.

The buildings which can be seen today were begun in the late 14th Century, when Dunnottar became the home of the Keiths, the Earls Marischal, who would exert such an influence of the region from that point on.

Dunnottar's most remarkable days were still ahead of it however, and it is most famous for two events of the 17th Century. After being sacked by Montrose's Royalists in 1645, the rebuilt castle was to play a dramatic part in the events of Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in 1651.

As the roundheads crashed through Scottish defences in the Lowlands, the decision was taken to move the Scottish Crown Jewels, the Honours of Scotland, to the safest place in the country - this being determined as Dunnottar, and so they were smuggled into the castle from Stirling in bags of wool carried by a minister's wife dressed as a peasant.

It was as obvious to Cromwell as it had been to the Scots where to hide the Honours, and an English force was soon despatched to Stonehaven. The Scots soon suffered another setback, when the Earl Marischal was captured at Alyth and sent to the Tower of London. However, he managed to slip the key to the room containing the Honours out of his cell and back to his deputy at the castle, George Ogilvy of Barras.

Ogilvy held out for eight months, until, with his troops starving, he was forced to surrender. However, he did manage whisk away the Honours to a local church, whilst fooling the English into believing they had been taken to France. There are three stories about this escape: one claims the jewels were passed to an old fishwife on the cliffs, wile another has the wife of a minister carrying them out, and even being helped to her horse by the English commander, unaware of what she had hidden on her. Both these tales seem far-fetched however, and the most likely scenario is that the Honours were removed under cover of darkness by boat.

The other event of the 17th Century displays the intolerance and brutality of the times. During the oppression of the Covenanters in 1685, the castle served as a prison for those convicted of attending illegal religious services, with over 160 prisoners, at least forty five of them women, moved to Dunnottar that May.

The dungeon in which they were imprisoned, ever since known as the Whigs' Vault, was a dank, damp, dark place, measuring only 54ft long and 15ft wide. At least eleven fatalities are known to have occurred here, with two of those coming from men falling from the cliffs during an escape attempt.

These poor people were kept in this way for a period of around two months, before the survivors were taken to Leith, where they were presented with the stark choice of renouncing the Covenant or being transported to America to serve as indentured labourers, really as slaves.

Dunnottar fell into disuse after the Jacobite period, when the Earl had supported the uprising. Its dramatic situ has seen it become a tourist attraction in the modern era, with Franco Zeffirelli choosing it as his Elsinore when filming Hamlet in 1990.