Here lies Andrew MacPherson, Who was a peculiar person; He stood six foot two Without his shoe And he was slew, At Waterloo. Raymond Lamont-Brown: Scottish Epitaphs. Chambers; Edinburgh, 1990
greyfriar’s grandiose grave garden
Colourful is not the first word that comes to mind where graveyards are concerned. But it should. At least in Dundee. The Howff is probably the most colourful graveyard in Scotland - lush, vibrant and opulent. And yes, it is a graveyard, right in the middle of Dundee City Centre. It started with one rather dull... Continue Reading →
black dog at night
Alastair mor a' Bhochdain – Big Sandy of the Ghost Sandy was an enormous man, powerful and commanding and he was a gifted man – he could foretell the future, or rather: he knew somebody who could... Big Sandy lived in Munerigie, just a short walk away from Invergarry House where he used to come... Continue Reading →
Macdonald’s in his grave!
The following lines were read in 1746 in Kilmore churchyard: If Heaven be pleased when sinners cease to sin, If Hell be pleased when sinners enter in, If Earth be pleased to quit a truckling knave, Then all be pleased; Macdonald’s in his grave. Otta F. Swire: Skye - The Island & its Legends, Birlinn;... Continue Reading →
straight to the grave
Kildrummy old churchyard bathed in summer sunlight, a beautiful place to be and to rest. Final resting place graves are often called. coffin carrying rite Kildrummy is more than more than a final resting place for the dead. It was also very much a resting place for the living, especially the men carrying the coffins,... Continue Reading →
grave warren
The bass of Inverurie and Inverurie cemetery face a furry and rather cute danger – rabbits. They seem to be everywhere in this large ground between the wild banks of the river Ury and Reithhall Road. The Norman Motte and Bailey castle that once stood here must have commanded the glen with power... Continue Reading →
Hill of blood, Dunfallandy
Most people will travel to Dunfallandy to see the Pictish stone. But a far more bloody tale tells the burial enclosure right next to the ancient marker of the Picts. The graveyard is not signposted for it is the private burial enclosure of the Fergussons of Dunfallandy. There has been an early chapel on this... Continue Reading →
lost fortune, lost land, lost graves
To lose ones fortune is bitter, it happened to many. The more you have, the more you have to lose and to lose your land as well as your fortune has consequences for generations to come. Among the many things landed gentry could lose in Scotland apart from stately homes, forests, arable fields and rich... Continue Reading →
Glencalvie people the wicked generation
It is the year 1845. Leipzig celebrates the première of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Violin Concerto in E minor, the Glasgow School of Art opens its elaborate doors, “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is published and anaesthesia is used in childbirth for the first time. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visit Wartburg Castle in Germany.... Continue Reading →
The secret vault of the Sutherlands
Dornoch Cathedral and graveyard Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, is certainly one of the most notorious and controversial figures of Scottish history. She was incredibly rich, owned most of the county of Sutherland although she was rarely present. She was born in Edinburgh in 1765 and was buried in Dornoch Cathedral in 1839. So was... Continue Reading →
Graveyards of Scotland 
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