Of Dreich, Castles and Kinship, Nine Days in Scotland

There is an old saying in Scotland: "If you like the weather, wait half an hour and it will change".  Scots coined hundreds of names to define their pesky dank weather, Dreich is the most used as it defines a wet, chilly and grey sort of weather, mainly rainy.  Unfortunately, but predictably, this unfriendly dreich stayed with us for most of our eight-day visit (Edinburgh, Isle of Sky, and the Highlands).  A decade ago, I spent four sunny days in the eastern part of Scotland, and I was foolish enough to expect similar weather conditions this time around.   

Dreich is no impediment to Scottish tourism; for many visitors it is actually part and parcel of their Scottish experience.  I convinced myself to take a backpack exclusively to carry indispensable waterproofed clothing.  Nowadays, my idea of tourism is comfort, dry weather forecast and contingency planning to avoid stress and disappointment.  My English fellow traveler B had devised a superb all-weather itinerary which allowed for flexibility and last-minute creativity.

For years, I had pestered B to plan a Scottish vacation.  I always had a soft spot for Scotland, and since 2016, I empathized with a people who rejected Brexit.  Despite the unfriendly weather and the midges[1] ‘offensive, the French feel welcome in Scotland; for their part many Scots have taken roots in France, particularly in the wine areas.  The Scottish/French connection is Europe’s oldest.  The military and diplomatic Auld Alliance between the two countries was signed in 1295.  France was expected to offer troop support against English incursions into Scotland.  France did not always keep its side of the bargain.  Nonetheless, during the 15^th century, 15 000 Scottish troops came to France’s assistance to help defeat the English invaders.  Scottish soldiers were on Joan of Arc’s side in Orleans where she trounced the English.  Since the French king was broke, he paid the Scottish soldiers in kind: lands, castles, cities and claret. 

After Scotland’s conversion to Protestantism and union with England, the treaty lapsed, but the claret privilege continued.  The Scots were able to import or smuggle the best French wines; a vexing matter for the English.  During their history, the clannish Scots were a troublesome lot, so much that when James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603, de facto uniting the two countries, he moved to London, only to return north once.  Incidentally, he succeeded Elizabeth I of England who had sent his mother Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots to the gallows.

                                                                     Rainbow over Loch Ness

My idea of a Scottish vacation was everything except getting wet and trudging on soggy paths.  It happened once for the sake of prehistoric curiosity near the village of Kilmartin.  In dreich conditions, we climbed a small rocky hill to check the ruins of the prehistoric Dunadd Fort and the big foot of a king carved in stone.  I am usually an unhurried walker who likes to spot wildlife, legacy of my hunting days.  But dreich gave me wings! I ran down hill in no time, overtaking B the serious walker, she couldn’t believe it.  Many famed landscapes were shrouded in haze, and sometimes the fog was so thick that lochs, glens and beinn (hills) disappeared totally from view.  In Loch Lomond, the boat ride to the romantic ruins of Inchmahome Priory was cancelled because of choppy water.  Bad weather conditions also suspended the ferry service to Skye, and we had to drive an additional 150 kms. 

                                                          Castle Stalker in dreich

When dreich made outdoor activities too uncomfortable, Scottish castles offered relief, history and bits of trivia.  Castles come in all shapes, conditions and periods: ruined or inhabited, haunted or fairytale, sitting in isolated inlets or perched on clifftops.  Scottish castles are money-making enterprises, they provide selfie spots for millions of gawking tourists and offer out-of-the-ordinary locations for blockbuster films and television series.  We visited Eilean Donan, Dunvegan, Blair and Inveraray, all run like small businesses.  Inveraray Castle is known as the earliest Gothic revival castle, built 100 years before the 19^th century vogue.  It belongs to the Duke of Argyll who cashes in the Downton Abbey craze.  The castle hosted the Crawleys for a Christmas vacation of deer stalking, fishing, and freezing-cold dinner parties[2].  I remember the episode because, the hosts, Lady Rose’s parents, were incessantly squabbling over their financial misfortune.

Penny-wise Scottish owners have had to invest in central heating to open coffee shops (great scones, shortbread and jams), souvenir shops, bed rooms and venues for fairytale weddings.  The owner of Eilean Donan went a step further: he rebuilt the medieval castle from scratch.  On May 1719, the castle was completely blown up by the English navy (using the Spanish gunpowder found in the cellar)[3].  It took 20 years to rebuild, and in 1932 was inaugurated to its former glory! Not quite, the inside was rebuilt according to bourgeois mores of the early 20^th century; now visitors have to squeeze in its many small rooms and conform to strict traffic direction. 

Eilean Donan: Before

                                                                           After

We also visited a floating palace, the Royal Yacht Britannia.  After 40 years of royal services worldwide, the boat was decommissioned and anchored in the port of Leith (1997).  More than 200 crew and staff took care of the royal family.  To my surprise, the royals’ quarters are rather small in size, spartan in comfort and very bourgeois in decoration.  The queen and the duke had their own small twin bedrooms.  I was impressed by the engine room with plenty of shiny brass pipes and knobs.  Amazing too was a video showing how the royal Land Rover and Rolls-Royce Phantom were hoisted on board.  To earn its keep, the Britannia has morphed into a venue for afternoon teas, dinners and private functions.  Wedding parties take place in the state dining room and the shop sells all kind of memorabilia.  The £ 14.50 visit was still worthwhile.  In spite of this necessary commercialization, the yacht has kept its royal feel and 50s charm.  We stopped for tea, scones and shortbread.  I had forgotten that shortbread does not taste like those packed in tin boxes with the Queen’s picture on the lid!

The visit of Rosslyn Chapel was memorable, it is a real Gothic gem.  Incredibly this place of worship is still owned by the same family since its founding in 1446.  The chapel’s delicately carved indoor and elegant outdoor structure are strikingly beautiful.  Sadly, since the late 1980s, the chapel has become the center of conspiracy theories linking it to the Knight Templar, the Holy Grail and even the Freemasonry.  It also features in Dan Brown’s hit novel (and film) The Da Vinci Code.  Consequently, the Chapel is attracting many visitors more interested in speculative stories than in its spiritual beauty.

Last but not least, we enjoyed a midge-free vacation; apparently, these man-eating bugs had not survived the early September frost.

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[1] Small flies.

[2] The current duke and his wife have recently installed a wood boiler to heat the smaller rooms. 

[3] During the 18^th century, Scotland held many grudges against England, people were restless and mutinous.  As a result, a number of Highland clans took arms under the Jacobite banner (Jacobite Rising of 1745).  A year later, they were finally defeated by the Hanoverian/English forces.