***Disclaimer: This trip occurred at the beginning of October, and once again I’m posting about it much later. At least I’m consistent 😛
Two of my friends, Ecem and Brinda, and I recently went on an exciting weekend away in Scotland! We had an early flight from London Gatwick! After getting hardly any sleep, we had the entire day ahead of us to explore Edinburgh! We started off at Arthur’s Seat, then we walked around the town a bit and saw some of the sights, and then stopped for a pint before heading back for a much needed nap! After our nap, we headed out on the town to find some live music! We enjoyed a bit of live Scottish music and some beers!
The next day we had a big day trip! We spent 12.5 hours touring the highlands and different parts of Scotland! We visited a few little towns along the way and eventually made our way up to Loch Ness! We spent some time searching for Nessie (no luck). Then we made our way back down to Glencoe, which was absolutely stunning! The day trip was fantastic! We got to see some amazing things! It was definitely well worth it!
The next day, we headed off to Aberdeen! We had a nice time walking around and exploring the Granite City! After a day of exploring, we had a nice dinner at a restaurant near the hotel then we got some much needed rest!
We had another big day the following day with a trip out to Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven. I’ve been hearing about this place for as long as I can remember, and I was absolutely ecstatic to finally make it out to see it! Dunnottar Castle was once home to my ancestors, the Keiths of Scotland. They were Earls Marschial to the King for many decades, and lived in the castle for over 400 years!
The Earl Marischal role was mainly a military role, which suited the Keiths well because they were known for their warrior abilities. It was hereditary role and duties also included presiding over court hearings and caring for the royal regalia. The role started appearing in records as early as 1180 and was raised to earldom in 1458. Sir Robert Keith fought at Bannockburn in 1314 and was made Great Marschial by King Robert The Bruce. Robert The Bruce made the role hereditary in honor of Robert Keith’s bravery in the battle (*see below for the fun version of this story). Sir William Keith was the first to hold the Earl Marschial title. The association with Dunnottar began when Sir William Keith built the first stone castle (the Keep) in the 1390s.
Now, the history of the castle itself goes back further. In fact, it dates back as early as 400 when legend states a missionary station was created. In 1276, a stone chapel was built on the site and parts of it are still there. Not much later, in 1297, William Wallace attacked an English garrison at Dunnottar. Legend has it that Wallace trapped a 4,000 strong English force at Dunnottar. Supposedly, he set fire to the chapel and those not in the chapel were driven over the edge of the cliff, resulting in no survivors. Some other fun events include Mary Queen of Scots stayed there for a few days while she was in the area to watch an execution. You know, casual queen duties and stuff. The young queen was only 19, and is said to have stayed at Dunnottar a few years later as well. In 1645, William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal was supportive of the Covenanters. These were people who supported the National Covenant (AKA most of the country), which embraced Presbyterianism during the time when King Charles wanted the Scottish church to adopt episcopacy (side note, why is everyone always fighting over religion? HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING FROM OUR ANCESTORS PEOPLE!?) So the leader of the Covenanters switched sides and tried to get ole Willy Keith to switch too and when he wasn’t successful, he just lit the joint on fire. A normal reaction to not getting your way, obviously. However the Earl took it all with a grain of salt and is reported to have told them that he would not go against his country. As the Earl watched Dunnottar burn, Andrew Cant told him that the smell of the property burning would be a sweet smelling incense to the Lord for its sacrifice to the Holy Covenant.
A few years later, during the War of the Three Nations (Ireland, England, and Scotland), invasions by Oliver Cromwell made it necessary for the Scottish Crown Jewels to be stored at Dunnottar for the Earl Marischal to do his duty to protect them. However, the Earl Marischal was imprisoned and held at the Tower of London. I can’t find anything that tells my WHY he was imprisoned, but he wasn’t there when this went down and his close friend George Ogilvy was in custody of the castle. At first, Cromwell lacked firepower to take on the great fortress. However, due to the castle’s set up, invasion from the east made it difficult to get more supplies and food to the castle, since it sits on a giant cliff, so they had to resort to desperate measures to gather food. At one point Dunnottar stood alone undefeated by Cromwell’s forces. In May of 1652, after the winter, heavy artillery arrived, which led to the eventual surrender of those inside the castle. The Honors of Scotland had been saved, though. They had been secretly lowered down the side of the cliff and picked up by a woman pretending to collect seaweed. The Honors were taken to a nearby church and looked after by the Reverend Grainger and his wife. The Honors remained buried under the flagstones of the church until 1660, when Charles II was restored to the throne.
In 1685, Dunnottar Castle also served as a prison for the Whigs. This was the anti-Catholic and anti-Royalist group that opposed the Catholic King and wished for Scotland to remain Protestant. They were brought to Edinburgh and ordered to pledge their allegiance to the King. Those who refused were taken to Dunnottar to wait transportation to the West Indies. Of the 167 that were imprisoned, 5 died, many were tortured, and 2 fell off the cliff. After 10 weeks, 120 of the prisoners set off on their journey, but around 70 died during the trip. The vault where the Whigs stayed for 10 weeks is pretty much intact and we got to walk into it, which was pretttty friggin’ cool!
The connection between the Keiths and Dunnottar basically came to an end with the 10th and last Earl Marischal, George Keith. The Glorious Revolution had ended the Catholic Monarchy in 1688, pushing King James VII into exile. Mary and William reigned together as the Protestant William II of Scotland, William II of England, and Mary II. Those who supported the exiled King were known as the Jacobites. They were in support of an uprising to return the Catholic Stuarts to the throne. It was around this time that the 8th Marischal garrisoned Dunnottor for William and Mary. However, the next two Marischals were supportive of the Jacobites. The 9th earl was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle in 1708 for Jacobitism. The 10th and last Earl Marischal, however, took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715. Both George and his younger brother James (James is my 7th great grandfather) fought in crucial battles with the aim of bringing King James VII’s son, Prince James Francis Stuart to Scotland (he was living in exile in France) and to eventually get him on the throne. Their efforts failed, however, and as a result of his participation in the uprising, George was stripped of his title and exiled. Dunnottar was dismantled in 1718. George saw the castle once again later and the sight of the seat of his ancestors in ruins brought him to tears. He left to go back to his life on the Continent and never returned. Dunnottar was owned by the Keiths once again from 1767 until 1873, but now it is simply a tourist attraction.
Okay so that’s a bit (kinda a lot) on the history of Dunnottar. Now, for a bit on a couple of other of the key Keiths. Lol that’s fun to say. Anyway, so we have Sir William Keith (my 17th great-grandfather) was excommunicated from the church for building the Keep on what was considered to be sacred land (see above, the Keep from 1390). The Bishop of St. Andrews excommunicated him for what appeared to be personal reasons, so William appealed to the Pope (Benedict XIII) and explained the need for a protective fortress and that he compensated by building another church. The Bishop was forced to reverse the excommunication and after a generous donation to the church, all was well again. Fast forward to George Keith, 5th Earl Marschial, who founded Marschial College in Aberdeen (now used as a city hall building). Now, I mentioned James Keith above (10th Earl’s younger brother). This is where my line of the Keiths continues. He was a celebrated military man. He went on to be one be one of the greatest and decorated military commanders in Europe at the time. He fought many battles and was victorious in many of them. He died fighting the Austrians in 1758 and was buried with full military honors before his body was transferred to a church in Berlin.
Okay one last story. This is the true story of Braveheart. Unlike what the Hollywood movie depicts, the real Braveheart was Robert The Bruce. Sir William Keith (tbh I don’t remember which one it was there are like 7,000 William Keiths) was very supportive of the war of independence against the English (I’ve learned that the Keiths loved to fight. Many of them even participated in the American Revolution apparently). Anyway, when Robert The Bruce died, he asked that his heart be taken to the Holy Land and carried into battle because he had never been on a crusade. William Keith went on this crusade. At one point, they were overwhelmed and surrounded by the Moors, who occupied Spain at the time. Sir James Douglas, who was carrying the heart, took it off his neck and threw it at the Moors shouting, “Farewell, thee Braveheart. We followed you in life, we shall follow you in death!” William Keith survived the battle and took Robert’s heart back to Scotland.
Just one last fun fact: Apparently, the Disney movie Brave was inspired by Dunnottar castle and so yeah that’s a bit awesome! 🙂
That wraps up our brief history lesson hahaha. All I have left to say is that it was incredible to walk on the very land my ancestors did so long ago. Exploring Dunnottar Castle was absolutely amazing and I am so glad I got this opportunity. It was absolutely stunning and the pictures just simply don’t do it justice. The cliffs look much more jagged and dangerous in person!! We finished of the trip with another night in a pub listening to some great live music and singing, and then the next morning we headed back to Edinburgh and did some shopping before catching our flight back to London! I hope you all enjoy the lovely pictures of our trip to the beautiful Scotland!
Bye for now!
❤ Meg
*Three Stripes of Blood: This story has been passed down by word of mouth for centuries. I’ve even heard many versions of it, so it’s probably not the “historically accurate” version of the origins of the clan and many historians reject it, but it sure is fun! So, during the time of the Danish invasion, a great leader of the Danes, called Camus, was wreaking havoc all over Scotland. King Malcom approached the Keiths for help as Camus’ army started conquering parts of Scotland. According to this story, Robert Keith and Camus fought a vicious one on one battle, ending in the death of Camus. King Malcom went to the scene himself to check out the news and when he was the once great Camus defeated, he dipped his fingers in their enemy’s blood and swiped three red stripes of blood on Robert’s shield. This later became the Keith Coat of Arms. I’ve heard another version that depicts King Malcom swiping the three stripes of blood onto Robert’s arm, and from then on the future Chiefs of Clan Keith were born with three red strips on their arm. Okay, so yeah this is a bit more of a fairy tale version, but like I said, way more fun amiright?!
**I’ve just thought about how I have never proofread these posts. I just write and post and hope for the best I guess hahaha. I will make that a goal of mine – to proofread everything I’ve posted so far, but not today, so please do forgive any typos and mistakes. 🙂
Taking off
Touchdown!
Arthur’s Seat
Arthur’s Seat
Arthur’s Seat
At Arthur’s Seat
Arthur’s Seat
Some cook building
Somewhere in the city
Colorful buildings
Harry Potter Shop
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Clansman
A cathedral
Near the Cathefral
Edinburgh
This is a statue of the dog that kept guard over its owner’s grave
Where JK wrote some of HP 🙂
I’ll drink to that 😉
Off on our day trip
Cute little city we stopped at first
Near the Welcome to the Highlands sign
Admiring the Highlands
Touring the highlands
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Found Nessie
Found this inside the Loch Ness cafe area
Loch Ness
Castle that Nessie reportedly likes to hang out around
War Memorial
Just outside Glencoe
Just outside Glencoe
Just outside Glencoe
Just outside Glencoe
Another scenic stop
Aberdeen
Exploring Aberdeen
Exploring Aberdeen
Statue of Robert The Bruce
Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College
Inside Marischal College
Statue of William Wallace
Touring Aberdeen
A walk through an interesting churchyard cemetery
A walk through an interesting churchyard cemetery
Relaxing in a park
Relaxing in a park
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Down by the shore
Down by the shore
Down by the Shore
War Memorial
Lion’s Den
Lion’s Den
The Honors of Scotland
The Keith’s
According to Legend…
Wishing well or maybe an entry point for William Wallace
The Keep built by William Keith
The Keep
Stunning views
Stunning views
Views of the ruins
More views
Dunnottar Castle
More stunning views
More stunning views
Exploring Dunnottar Castle
They used to make Ale here because brewing it into a weak Ale reduced the risk of disease from water
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
This is the quarters for the Ear Marischal’s wife
The Marischal Suite
The Marischal Suite
The Marischal Suite
Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
Sundial
Stunning views
Dining room
The Chapel
The Chapel
Cemetery
Cemetery
Cemetery
Look-Out Post
View from the Look out post
the kitchens
The Whig’s Vault
the Whig’s vault. Definitely not big enough for 160+ people.
View from the Whig’s vault. This wasn’t originally there, of course
Thief’s Hole
Thief’s Hole
More views of the ruins
More views of the ruins
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Meg's Next Adventure 