Week 28: Mountbenger to Edinburgh
I hope everyone is having a good week! Here in the U.S., we have a new president. Hallelujah!
Our country is still in a full-blown pandemic, we continue to suffer from centuries of racial oppression and other kinds of inequality, and we are not doing nearly enough to stop the climate crisis. But we at least have in President Biden and Vice President Harris an administration that understands that these issues (among SO many others) need attention. That alone is enough to help ME sleep better.
Certified guide in Scotland, Kirsten Griew
So… on to our virtual trek of Great Britain!
As with last week’s post, we once again have certified Blue Badge guide Kirsten Griew helping us learn more about Scotland as we continue making our way north. Kirsten too is doing the virtual journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats, moving virtually over terrain she’s also seen in real life. So what follows today comes from mainly from Kirsten, with just a few notes thrown in from me. Thanks, Kirsten… and enjoy, friends!
As we make our way north as we leave Mountbenger, the route goes right past a very important building — Traquair House — which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited home in Scotland. It started as a royal hunting lodge for the kings and queens of Scotland from before 1107, which is when the earliest documentation about the house exists. Sadly, the animals they hunted then are almost all extinct in Scotland now: wolves, wild boar and bears are all gone, and wild cats verging on extinction. The only species still left — and with no other predators, now overly abundant — is the deer.
There are loads of amazing stories associated with the House - including Mary Queen of Scots' visit in 1566 with her baby son, James. The Lairds of Traquair (the Stuart family) were Catholics, so — like the Bingley Arms pub we talked about in West Yorkshire — the home was renovated to include a small chamber on the top floor where mass could be said in secret, and a secret escape route that could be used by a priest was built behind a cupboard, leading down a hidden staircase. It continued to be used until the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1828.
At Traquair House, behind the “bookshelf” (left photo) this staircase (right photo) would allow a priest to escape. Photos by Bethany Jane of the Adventure & Anxiety blog.
One amazing Traquair-related story relates to the sister-in-law of the 10th Laird, Lady Winifred Maxwell. Her husband was the Earl of Nithsdale (from the neighbouring estate). Both were Jacobites (supporters of the exiled king James). The Earl took part in the 1715 uprising attempting (and failing) to put the man they believed to be the rightful king on the throne - going against George I. This was, of course, treason and he was subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Portrait of Winifred Maxwell, Countess of Nithsdale, by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe.
Lady Maxwell hatched a brave (and successful) plot to free him. The day before he was due to be executed she went to visit with two friends. One was pregnant and wearing larger-than-normal-size clothes. She entered covering her face with a handkerchief, pretending it was for grief at the forthcoming death.
Once in the room, she gave her clothes to the imprisoned Earl, and the other friend who had been wearing two sets of clothes gave her the spare one. The pregnant friend then left looking quite different on the way out. Then the Earl and the second friend exited, he with the handkerchief hiding his face and the pregnant lady's attire on. This left only the wife, who remained for many hours having a 'conversation' with her husband, in which she played both parts so that no one would suspect… and presumably praying that no one opened the door and looked into the room!
Eventually she said 'goodbye' to him and left... by which time he had got a good distance away. They then escaped to France and lived at the palace with the exiled royals, where she became governess to the children, including Charles — a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Charlie— who the Jacobites believed should be the future king.
A guest bedroom at Traquair House. Just make sure to check the bed for nettles before cozying in for the night!
The main Stuart line of the family that had the house from 1491 ended in 1875 with a brother and sister, neither of whom married or had children. The brother, Charles, the Eighth Earl of Traquair (in the words of the Traquair website) “thwarted his family’s attempts to find him a wife by putting stinging nettles in the beds of his female admirers.” Well… that is ONE way to prevent guests from lingering! Charles passed away in 1861, meaning the house passed to his sister, Lady Louisa Stuart. She lived to be 99 years old and (apparently) still haunts the house and grounds. It then went to a cousin and remains in that line today. Tours of the house are conducted by the 21st Lady of Traquair herself.
At the Peebles Hydro Hotel, a man undergoes some kind of scary-looking electrical/hydro treatment. Photo from Scottish Field.
Next up the road is the town of Peebles, a site of therapeutic water treatments. In the 19th century, hydropathic hotels sprung up throughout Scotland, largely in the Highlands. The concept was that the water coming from the hills had health-giving properties. A stay at one of the hotels would be prescribed by doctors for medicinal purposes, whilst wealthy Scots would go on holiday as a preventative measure. There would be plunge pools of different temperatures and other 'curative' measures such as being wrapped in a cold wet towel (and nothing else) for an hour or two.
The hotels were in amazing Victorian buildings, most of which are still hotels today (albeit without the water treatments!)
Coming into Edinburgh itself, right by our route is the village of Roslin, home of Rosslyn Chapel. This has become one of the most popular places to visit (rightly so!). I remember 30-35 years ago going with my grandparents and the place would be almost empty... but then came the book and then film The Da Vinci Code.
Rosslyn Chapel (photo from the Chapel’s website)
The Apprentice Pillar (photo from Jimmy Velleman’s art lover’s blog.)
The Chapel is from 15th century, built over the course of 40 years. It is small, but was initially planned to be a cathedral-sized building. Built for William Sinclair, Earl of Caithness, he died with it uncompleted. His son was not interested in the project; beyond making what had already been constructed watertight, he left the building unfinished. And yet what is there, is still utterly remarkable and perhaps its small size and its more remote and hidden location, protected it, as the family remained Catholic during times when Catholic churches were being destroyed.
Especially remarkable is the amount of beautiful carving inside the chapel - all with its own stories. The best known story is of the Apprentice Pillar. The master mason (it is said) wished the decoration of a particular column towards the front of the building to be as intricate and beautiful as anything that could be found in Renaissance Rome. He was to carve it himself, and he decided to take a trip to Italy in order to study the masterworks himself before starting.
This was a trip of many months. During that time, a slightly naïve apprentice saw the pillar and, knowing the master wanted this special design, thought the master would be pleased if he 'helped'. So when the master mason returned ready with all his ideas and newfound skill, he saw the pillar completed, and to a better level than he knew he was capable of himself.
He was furious, and when he found out that the sculptor was the apprentice he couldn't contain himself, but grabbed he mason's mallet and hit the apprentice over the head - killing the boy. The master was punished by being hanged, and within the chapel even now, there is the carving of the face of the apprentice (with a mark on his forehead) and also of the master mason, whose eyes are directed toward the offending column: as an extra punishment, he has to stare at it forever!
Inside Rosslyn Chapel (photo from Secret Scotland)
In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown claimed that the Holy Grail is in the vault of Rosslyn, and (when there’s not a pandemic raging) millions of people now visit each year in order to see for themselves. Is the Grail there? The vault is full of the mausoleums of the Sinclair ancestors, and the family won't allow it to be opened and inspected, so it remains a mystery.
There were some major problems with water getting in and damaging the stone due to Victorian-era 'conservation' work. So for about 10 years the chapel had to be surrounded by scaffolding with what was basically a large umbrella over the top to keep it dry. It was during this time that the film was being made, so they couldn't use the outside of the building to film. Because of this, the producers apparently had decided not to use it at all and film the interiors in studios as well - however, evidently it was Tom Hanks who successfully pushed for them to film inside Rosslyn Chapel itself. After that, the chapel became overwhelmed with visitors and had to build a whole new visitor centre/shop/café, and limit the number of people inside at a time.
We’ll end the week coming into Edinburgh, following the line of the Pentland Hills, a 20-mile stretch of conserved parkland, which has wonderful trails. They mark the southern boundary of the city and are the location of the reservoirs that supply most of Edinburgh's tap water. On the Edinburgh side there is Hillend Ski Slope - a dry slope for summer skiing. I admit I have some unpleasant memories of skiing on it as a child! It was very hard and rough material to fall over onto. I think they have improved the surface since then to make it more realistic.
A note from Ashley: We’ll start next week in Edinburgh, where Kirsten makes her home, with lots of stories and history. Thank you SO much, Kirsten! And a reminder to readers: Kirsten is a professional guide to Scotland, so if you’ve enjoyed the stories she’s shared with us, know that she offers a range of tours to groups large and small, and there is more info about all her offerings at her site.
Fancy a pint?
Unlike the Naylor brothers, who pledged to “abstain from all intoxicating drink” during their 1871 walk on this route, I’m not at all opposed to popping into interesting-looking pubs along the way. Here are a few along this stretch of the journey.
Being the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland is not Traquair House’s only claim to fame: it is also a brewery! It is unknown for how long brewing took place for the house’s domestic use, but in contemporary times, as ScottishBrewing.com recounts: “brewing recommenced in 1965 after Peter Maxwell Stuart, the twentieth Laird of Traquair, discovered disused domestic brewing equipment during renovations. He enlisted the help of Sandy Hunter, then of Belhaven Brewery, to assist in getting things going again.
It is known that brewing was done here as early as Mary, Queen of Scots’ visit in 1556 and that a 200-gallon copper was installed in 1739 in the brewhouse under the chapel. When brewing originally resumed, the output was used solely for sale at Traquair's own shop; however, as word spread, outside demand increased and in 1993 Catherine extended the brewing operation into the eighteenth-century stable buildings next to the house. All the beer produced is still fermented in the original two hundred year old oak fermentation tanks with brewing taking place all year long with the exception of the month of August. About six to seven hundred barrels are produced yearly.”
And if after tasting Traquair’s brews you find yourself craving more of their Jacobite Ale, the Tontine Hotel in Peebles is one of just a handful of places that serve their limited-quantity libations.
As you can see at left, the Tontine Hotel carries the date "1808" in large numerals high above the main door. It was built as a hotel over the two years 1806-1808, mainly using French prisoners of the Napoleonic wars, and the first manager when it opened was a Franco-Belgian called Monsieur Lenoir.
The name “tontine” is unusual, and as “Undiscovered Scotland” recounts, it comes from the method of funding. A group of subscribers invested in the hotel, with the agreement that the last surviving of them would become the sole owner. For obvious reasons such an arrangement, a "tontine" has been used as a plot device in more than one crime story. In this case, Sir John Hay of Hayston, who had been nominated as a member of the tontine in infancy, eventually became the owner. It has been owned and run by the Innes family since 2001.
The Bridge Inn, also in Peebles, is another historic pub, situated in the heart of Peebles: at the end of the High Street, in the shadow of the Old Parish Church, overlooking the River Tweed. The pandemic has forced the cancellation of most gatherings, but its event calendar offers a taste of the eclectic atmosphere, with the pub hosting French conversation groups, “Tech Tuesdays” when an obliging techie will troubleshoot your technology problems, and “ATOM Club” when people gather to jam together, playing All Types of Music.
Here’s hoping it won’t be long before people can gather at the Bridge for a pint again.
Sustenance for the Hungry Vegan
The Old Bakehouse in West Linton is a very traditional-seeming restaurant, but offers an entirely vegan menu in addition to its classic meaty dishes.
Curries, fajitas, and even a chickpea “steak” are options, and an ever-changing selection of vegan baked goods round things out for dessert.
The Old Bakehouse’s cozy interior.
No. 1 Peebles Road
No 1 Peebles Road in Innerleithen bills itself as a “special little space for Coffee Lovers and Foodies.” Judging by the online reviews, they’ve succeeded. One customer described the menu as “Hearty tasty soups, exciting salads that aren't just a sad looking few pieces of lettuce on a plate! Colourful exciting dishes.. Vegan options have been the baked sweet potatoes with hummus and avocado, falafel salad and wraps plus big vegan breakfasts. Can't forget the baking, made with quality ingredients!”
Sounds delicious!
Cheers, everyone, and see you on the trail!
