Dunnottar & Independence (Oct. 22)

Following the 'Castle Chronicles' after having taken 4 castles the day before, I decided I had not had enough. Emily, Amanda, and I travelled to Abroath and Stonehaven to see Arbroath Abbey, the site where Scotland's Independence was signed, and Dunnottar Castle. I just can't get enough of castles or ruins. There is so much to see. Most people I think would presume when you see one you have seen them all. Well let me say that each castle and abbey is different. Each has a different story to tell.

We began our day early meeting at the bus station in St. Andrew's at 8:20. We got a bus to Dundee where we waited to get a bus to Arbroath. We discovered a X7 Coastal Rider bus pass that went to Arbroath, Stonehaven and Aberdeen. The bus was really nice. It was a large coach bus. The seats were blue and leather. It was nicer than most planes that I have been on. Probably the nicest form of pub. transportation that I have ever experienced. It was nice. We took naps. We got to Arbroath and walked to the Abbey. Amanda had been there before. It was going to cost Amanda and Emily to get in (5 pounds). I am free since I bought a Historic Scotland Membership that gets me in to free into all of those sites. The lady at the counter was fantastic. She said "don't tell anyone" and got us all in for free, basically using my free pass for each of us. When I asked if we could do that, I was completely joking, but she did it. So sweet. It really helped to have had art history where I know terms to define parts of the cathedral. Enjoy the pics.

 You can tell that in the half circle in the ruins is where a Rose window would have gone. 

 Looking down the nave towards the choir and alter

Amanda (left) Emily (right) looking at me funny because I took a picture of them 

 More dead people

 Awesome 

 This room was acoustic 

 I don't know what this is, but I don't think its a light house.

This pic was an attempt to capture the epic water crashing over the harbor wall, but failed.

After getting some lunch in Abroath, fish and chips (what else would I get. It's so good), we got on the bus and made our way to Stonehaven. Emily was kind enough, on her birthday, to plan out our whole day and timing for everything. She determined that we could walk from Stonehaven about an hour and thirty minutes to Dunnottar castle via the coast. There was a path. Indeed there was a path. I will describe the journey through the pictures. 

 First view of Dunnottar

 I tried to get the angle, but it did not work out

 Castle Chronicling

 The cows frame this picture almost perfectly

 Epic setting

 Me and Dunnottar

 To reach Dunnottar, I had to climb down a bunch of stair and cross a narrow stretch of land, then climb more stairs to reach the main gate 

 Imposing. Naturally defended on all sides

 I like the effect of entrances into castles. I could tell by the wholes in the walls that they were for cannons, thus placing the dating of the castle in the 16th-17th century. I was right.

 Amanda and Emily

The castle itself was not as interesting as the walk. I enjoyed the walk more. There were a lot of ruins, and the castle is from a later century. I like the older ones. But I still really enjoyed it. You could hear and see water crashing on the rocks below the castle, and almost every window in every building had a view of the ocean. The location was something else. Another castle chronicled. 

I wanted to give my readers two lists. One of the castles I have conquered and the other of my favorites so far.

List of Conquered

1. Edinburgh Castle
2. Craigsmillar Castle
3. Sterling Castle
4. Dunnottar
5. Ravenscraig
6. Aberdour
7. Linlithgow
8. Doune
9. St. Andrews (from outside so far)
10. Urquhart Castle

List of Favorites (top-bottom)

1. Craigsmillar
2. Doune
3. Urquhart
4. Dunnottar (site alone)
5. Aberdour
6. Linlithgow 
7. Ravenscraig
8. St. Andrew's
9. Edinburgh
10. Sterling

The Castle Chronicles (Oct. 21)

Imagine yourself in a class about Medieval Castles, and part of that class is to go on a field trip. Remind you, St. Andrew's has its own really cool castle (I have not been yet, but will be going soon), but we did not go there. The field trip started at 9 and went to 5 pm. So a whole day. We besieged and charged 4 castles that day. The first to fall was Ravenscraig in Kirkcaldy. 

 On the left is Dr. Michael Brown. Brilliant man! Knows his castles.

The castle sits on the coast looking into the ocean and was quite beautiful. There was not much to explore. You walk across a ditch via bridge and walk through the gatehouse and enter into the yard where the later two pictures were taken. We were here for a short time. Dr. Brown said that the castle was owned soon after its construction by the St. Clair family. The same family who owned and built Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh. I was the only one who had been to the church to see the similarities. I then had a short conversation with Brown about that connection with the two buildings.

The next castle to fall was Aberdour. The castle is really hard to date. There are buildings from the 14th - 17th century. The progression works from one side to the other. I did not like the new stuff (the purist part of me) so there are not many pictures of it. 

 The newer buildings are on the left

 The great tower donjon

 A large piece from the donjon tower fell off (I don't know when) but it landed right next to the tower where it sits today. The tower was huge without this huge chunk missing from it. The chinch is the piece at the bottom of the above picture.

 Aberdour had some splendid symmetrical garden walking areas with terraces. The round thing in the back was where the lords of the castle kept doves. Why not if your wealthy. The picture below is of the inside of that building.

Following the fall of Aberdour, the next to fall was that of the mighty royal palace of Linlithgow. The palace was huge. Probably 15th to 17th century. I can't remember. I was just excited to be seeing so many castles in one day. This was the home and court of King James V. The rooms showed a clear progression from the courtyard, to the great hall and kitchen. Behind the great hall was the chapel and beyond that the private residences of the the lord. Castles were designed to have different waiting areas according to your status and relation to the lord/king. The flow of the castle supports this idea.

 Above the main gate (new gate) are the crests and heraldic symbols of the progression of kings inhabiting Linlithgow Palace.

 The connecting chruch. It was pretty, but there was a wedding inside so I could not get in. It had a weird silver spiky top that is very modern and not old.

 Here was the original door into the palace (not a castle). There is a difference. Ask me when I get home and I can tell you sometime. Anyway, as you can see the door is pretty high up the wall. In its use, the door would have connected to a bridge that would be touching the ground. It allowed for a grand approach into the castle. Gave visitors a chance to marvel at the massive size of the palace.

 I just like this pic

 Do you see the trusses on the right side of the palace? Those are not for holding up the wall. They are original to the castle. On top and around them would have been a facade of a large gatehouse that looked impressive, but really served no purpose. It had not defensive value. It was all for show. I just finished and essay about 13th century castles and how they were used as a symbol of status in the hierarchy of power.

Ahhhhhh

 The great hall. It had a roof. It was made of wood, so it obviously does not last. 

 View from an upper window into the main courtyard area. Lots of rooms!

The last castle to be taken, I was the most excited for. I did my research and found out stuff about the castle. After my research had been taken, I knew that taking the castle would be difficult. The French taunting would be daunting.  I will just say that the castle was from a famous, fabulous movie. I will post some pictures and see if you can guess what movie. I will post pictures from the movie, then my own. They are not exactly the same, but you can see that it is indeed the same place.

"Are you suggesting Coconuts migrate"

 Different angle, but the same

 "Run Away"

You can see the squared tower on the right had side of each pic. This is where the french taunted Arthur and his knights and threw livestock at them.

 Herberts window in Swamp Castle

It's a little dark, but I am sure its the same window

 "Were knights of the Round Table"

"Camelot is a silly place"

 Lancelot and the wedding slaughter

You can tell by the stairs and the well. Where the brave Lancelot began his rampage to save...Herbert

The door where the wedding guards where standing watching Lancelot from from a distance off

 I don't have this picture, cause I did not think about getting this angle. But where the trojan rabbit is, is where the path is that gets to and from the castle 

"Come Patsy" (after discussion of coconuts migrating)

Doune Castle 

You just saw the undeniable truth that I have been to the site of a major portion of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's a great movie. It was filmed at Castle Doune near Stirling. My professor found out that I knew where all of the scenes were filmed, for when we walked into rooms, I could say what scene was filmed. Seeing the similarities only supported my claim. I was very happy to say the least.

In the year two thousand and eleven, the castles Ravenscraig, Aberdour, Linlithgow, and Doune met their fate in the Castle Chronicles