LILINTHGOW, DUNKELD AND THE HERMITAGE

 

The morning of October 21st began with planning the drive to the Hermitage through Dunkeld with awe-inspiring vistas of the Scottish countryside. But I had to visit Linlithgow Palace before departing the Edinburgh area. Linlithgow was, after all, the residence of Scottish royalty from the 15th to the 17th century when the Scottish crowns left for England. After falling into neglect in the 18th century, the palace has since been revived as one of the most popular destinations in Scotland.

It’s construction was a group effort started by the English occupation as a post between Edinburgh and Sterling Castle in 1301. Throughout 1302, the King’s soldiers as well as 200 civilians were hired to build the ditches. This palace was largely finished a year before the arrival of Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of Edward I (founder and visionary of the castle) to give birth. Nine years later Scotland would regain the castle in a battle tactic that can only be called Homerian. A familiar hay vendor by the name of William Bynnie dropped by the palace peel with his wagon to sell his supply. As a recognized vendor the peel was opened for him, as was customary. Once within the palace walls, Bynnie and his seven sons jumped out of the hay wagon and reclaimed the palace for their leader Robert the Bruce who, with the palace in his position, wasted little time in dismantling the peel to keep out the English army.



The peel would be repaired some fifty years later in preparation for the visit of King David II.

By the mid-15th century, King James I, while restoring the castle after a fire that broke out in 1424, began shifting its image as a royal house rather than a fort.



This transformation continued into the reign of King James IV and his wife Margaret Tudor who delighted in decorating and beautifying the palace for festivities and royal performances.

The palace continued to play a part in the lives of many royal figures including King James V and James VI, all of which added their own stamps the walls. Most notably, Linlithgow was the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots who, while not as active in maintaining the palace grounds, evidently valued her childhood there, visiting often into adulthood.

                                                       The central courtyard of Linlithgow Palace
                                                   

Though Linlithgow was never fully forgotten, both its significance and use waned after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and by the end of the 17th century was in decay. It was not until the first half of the 20th century that a significant restoration of the palace began and Linlithgow returned to its former glory.

                                               Me exploring the ancient passages of Linlithgow

I took a walk through its interior, getting lost in the labyrinth of its rooms and corridors. After about an hour or so I began my way toward the Hermitage through Dunkeld. I often miss the counterpart of wherever I am, and leaving Edinburgh I was excited to see some of the fabled Scottish countryside. In Dunkeld I found a quaint little bakery I had researched before departing called Aran Bakery. It is a small but busy little shop that, consequently, fills up fast. Still, I managed to find a spot to eat there and then arrived at the Hermitage, easily one of the most beautiful natural spots in Scotland. Its atmosphere will be familiar to anyone who has visited the New England state forests, though it was established on the banks of the Craigvinean Forest by a true Scotsman, John Murray, the third Duke of Atholl, in the mid-18th century with the addition of the hermit’s cave by the Earl of Breadalbane in 1760.

                                                                         Ossian's Hall                                             

But its American influence is not a coincidence. The iconic Douglas-firs, an evergreen native to North America, were imported to the park a century later and to this day are the giants that give the park its distinction. Further up the park one can find the rotund Ossian’s Hall and a wooden totem pole that the park is allowing nature to reclaim.  For my money, however, the best place to end a visit at the Hermitage is at the lookout overlooking the roaring Black Linn Falls.

                                                                    Black Linn Falls

Hermitage Bridge
                                              The totem pole visitors can see while it still stands

At night I arrived at the Hydro Hotel in Pitlochry, a charming and lively town. On my way I had stopped to see the famous “Harry Potter Bridge” in Glenfinnan. Long before it would be the filming location for the Hogwarts Express, however, the Glenfinnan Viaduct began its life as a railroad viaduct in 1898, built above Loch Shiel as part of the West Highland Line.  In Pitlochry ate dinner at Victoria’s, an Italian restaurant, but found little time to do much else this late in the day. In any event, the day had been tiring while stimulating, and the Hydro Hotel was itself an elegant yet endlessly charming place in the truest Scottish tradition to end one’s travels.

Glenfinnan Viaduct
                                              And this is why I fell in love with Scotland



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