Tag: graveyard

The Gaelic Chapel – an ambiguous gesture

It is an impressive ruin, a reminder of Cromarty's past and the people that lived in it. There are others in Scotland, one in Glasgow and one in Aberdeen, all built for the Gaelic speaking community that had arrived in these places after being cleared out of their Highland homes. They were Gaelic speakers and found themselves in places where Gaelic wasn't spoken. The Gaelic Chapel was a kind gesture to the Gaelic speaking Highlanders who had come to Cromarty. It was financed by exploiting people and nature in the colonies. However, it did not last long and is now a ruin.

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earth from a graveyard

The Gaelic otherworld is populated by many strange and fascinating creatures: fairies, banshees, witches and animals that are not, what they seem to be. Peculiar to the Isle of Skye is the crodh sith, the fairy cattle, allegedly speckled and red (crodh breac ruadh), and able to cross the sea. These "magic cows" could only... Continue Reading →

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Danish Prince or Irish Saint?

Most sources cite each other and eventually the New Statistical account of Scotland that “the origin of the name is uncertain. Tradition makes the burying-ground, which gives its name to the parish, to have been the burying-ground of Irenan, a Danish prince who fell in battle on the northern confines of the parish, where cairn Irenan still exists.”

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ghost of a spinster

Lady Louisa of Traquair was the 15th and last of the Lairds of Traquair. She had remained unmarried for all her long life and when she died at the age of 99 the estate went to the female line of the family, the Maxwell Stuarts. Her predecessor, the 14th Laird of Traquair had no head... Continue Reading →

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seven slain brothers

gravestones out of focus

The Douglas clan was a powerful one in ancient Scotland, respected and sometimes feared. Mothers would use the name to pressure their children: Be good or the black Douglas will get you. They were called Black Douglas, for their inclination as well as their complexion; they were a rather dark-skinned family. One of the many... Continue Reading →

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Dalserf hogback stone

Dalserf kirk and kirkyard

Upper Clydesdale is geographically determined by the River Clyde, the longest river in the United Kingdom. It has contributed much to the industrialization of the region; the model city of New Lanark personifies that like no other. But away from the industrial centres, Lanarkshire is quiet and pretty. There is something to discover everywhere. Dalserf... Continue Reading →

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eight funeral services

Carluke graves and bell tower

Carluke cemetery Carluke can boast of having been useful in World War II like no other town in Lanarkshire. Since the entire town at that time was on one side of the railroad, it was easy to identify it from the air and used as a turning point for pilots on their training flights before... Continue Reading →

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trysts and leylines

graveyards of Scotland Crieff leylines trysts freemasons

History Albeit feeling rather small, Crieff is one of the largest towns in Perthshire. The dominating force behind the settlement were the Earls of Perth. The Earl being traditionally the chief of clan Drummond, therefore Crieff was known as Drummond in the 17th century.  After having been destroyed in 1716 by Jacobites fighting at Sheriffmuir... Continue Reading →

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