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Home > Travels > Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland
MY TRIP TO IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND
 Day 11: The Abbot, Castle Dangerous and Miscellaneous Prose
Day 11 saw us heading to Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott. He is the author of numerous works, including those listed in the title of this page.
Abbotsford House is located near Melrose, along the banks of the River Tweed.
Construction on the house in 1811 under the direction of architect George Bulloch. It started out as a small villa, but was added onto several times. The construction of the house incorporates many collected stones and artifacts from castle ruins, abbeys and even the doorway of the old Edinburgh Tollbooth. In addition, the house holds a large number of books and other items he collected over the years.
Scott only lived in Abbotsford House for one year before money troubles set in. However, in return for signing over copyrights to several written works, the bank cancelled the bond on the house and allowed he and his family to continue living there. After Scott's death, while a few family members continued to remain there, the house was opened to visitors in 1833. It has remained that way since, though no descendants continue to live there.
We were pleased to be told there were no restrictions on photography, which was not the case in some of the locations we would visit of the next few days. Since we could take all the pictures we wanted, we did:
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| In the upstairs section, there is an exhibit devoted to the author Nigel Tranter. This exibit opened in April of 2006 and is scheduled to only be open for one year. It is located in Sir Walter Scott's original bedroom he used before he moved downstairs.
The photo at right is a typewriter Nigel Tranter used in his writing. In addition to this item, there was other information and photos on display.
Our next stop was near Hawick to tour Hermitage Castle. This is an imposing structure that some say seems to sap the brightness and cheer out of the surrounding area. According to the link I provided, Radio Scotland once broadcast a feature in which Hermitage Castle was described as the embodiment of the phrase "sod off" in stone. I wouldn't know. I was having too much fun clamoring in and around the structure, seeking out every nook and cranny I could find.
The castle started out as a wooden castle built by Sir Nicholas de Soules in 1242. De Soules was a nasty person, though. It seems he often indulged in witchcraft, child abduction and murder. When the locals had enough of this, they captured him and boiled him in molten lead. There is even a little rhyme about it:
The Boiling of Bad Lord Soules
On a circle of stone they placed the pot,
On a circle of stones but barely nine,
They heated it up red and fiery hot,
Till the burnished brass did glimmer and shine.
They rolled him up in a sheet of lead,
A sheet of lead for a funeral pall,
They plunged him in the cauldron red.
and melted him lead bones and all.
Sir William captured the castle in 1338. He received the post of Sheriff of Teviotdale after imprisoning Alexander Ramsay (who had been appointed the position by King David II) in another castle and starving him to death. King David decided it was just as easy to give Sir William the job.
The wooden castle was eventually replaced by the structure that exists today. The process started in 1371 by the First Earl of Douglas, who inherited the castle from Sir William Douglas. He started the process with a single tower house. The process was completed after the Third Earl of Douglas added 4 stone towers to the corners.
Around the 1600's the castle fell into disrepair. It sat vacant and continued to deteriorate into the 1800's when Sir Walter Scott took an interest in it (see, it's all connected!). He even had is portrait painted in front of it. Dr John Leyden, a close friend of Scott, was intrigued in the castle, as well. He wrote about the castle many times over his lifetime.
Because of the renewed interest in the castle, repairs began on the castle and it now resides in state care. In addition to the castle, there are ruins of a chapel and cemetary. Here are some pictures:
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While I was touring the chapel and cemetary, it started to rain while the sun was shing more warmly and brightly than ever. While I've experienced this before, the contradiction still never fails to intrigue me.
The short shower was a welcome event as it allowed me the chance to snap the last two scenic photos in this section. Even with the droplets on my lense, I love the look of the frozen raindrops.
Following the castel, we headed in the direction of the town of Moffat to see the waterfall at the Grey Mare's Tail Nature Reserve. On the way, we drove through Lockerbie.
It was on Tundergarth Farm, outside of Lockerbie, where Pan Am flight 103 crashed following explosion of a terrorist bomb in 1988. Today, Tundergarth Farm is a working Bed & Breakfast, as is common for many farms in the UK. A church in Tundergarth (known as the Tundergath Kirk) near where the nose of the aircraft landed contains the ashes of several passengers buried there. The church recently received money left from relief donations from the crash to make extensive repairs. In addition, a memorial stands in Drysdale Cemetery in Lockerbie for both passengers and those killed on the ground when the wings of the plane fell on the town. At the time, we didn't know about those memorials, so we drove through without stopping. That wasn't the place to be wide-eyed tourists.
Once we got to the falls, it was quite climb to get up to view them, but if was worth it. As the sunlight began to fade, I took some long exposures with my 35mm camera since my digital refused to produce a decent picture in the dim light. I was definitely glad I had lugged my tripod up there. Sneaking past the barrier that said something to the effect of "Danger: Death lies beyond this point", I set up my tripod and camera and grabbed a few shots:
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As dusk settled over the area, we decided it would be best to stop and eat in Moffat rather than wait until we got back to Edinburgh. We arrived after dark and parked next to the Famous Moffat Ram, which is in the center of town. You've never heard of it? Neither had we. Moffat is famous for its wool trade and has a history of being a stopping point for sheep herders. In fact, the statue has a fountain that originally had iron cups attached for men to drink from. Small water bowls were at ground level for the dogs to drink from.
The ram itself was sculpted by William Brodie in 1875. Apparently, after the statue was put in place, someone pointed out to Brodie that it had no ears. There is a rumor that he committed suicide upon learning this, though he actually died several years later of ill health, not suicide as is often reported. I wasn't able to get a shot of the ram in the dark, so you'll have to check out the link to see it.
We ate at the bar of the Balmoral Hotel. The menu claims there is no better place to have roast lamb, so I had the roast lamb. It was quite good, though I haven't had a lot to compare it to.
Following dinner, we made our way back to Edinburgh.
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