Scotland, Here We Come! (Part 1)

Day 1

After the usual late drive to Carolyn's and getting up much too early on Saturday,

we were finally on our way!  Scotland, here we come!

Day 2

After almost 19 hours of travel (12 of which was in the air), we landed in Glasgow, Scotland around 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

 I'm smiling because I'm back on firm (even though unfamiliar) ground.

He's smiling because we haven't driven out of the parking lot yet!

After a little trial and error with the GPS (and a little help from me on the translation of its British accent), we managed to get headed in the right direction. Then our whole focus was "drive on the left, drive on the left, drive on the left". (It's not too hard to do if you are going in one direction and never have to turn a corner or go around a roundabout. However, in Scotland there are a lot of roundabouts!)

Destination: Dumbarton.

That's Dumbarton Castle up on the bluff at the end of the street. 

We made it to the Dumbarton Ward church building with a half hour to spare before meetings started.  We enjoyed the meetings and loved listening to everyone speak with a strong Scottish accent.  Because it was Fast Sunday, Roger had been thinking about Fast and Testimony meeting and took the opportunity to bear his testimony and express his love of the Gospel and the wonder of enjoying the Spirit of the Lord at a meeting there in Dumbarton.  Dumbarton was the first area that he served in on his mission in 1966, 45 years previously.  Roger: "A few were old duffers like myself and we joked about having changed somewhat."

After church, we again tackled the GPS and driving on the left side of the road and headed for the Positano Bed and Breakfast. We had to drive the rental car through a narrow alley to the back of the building to park, and we were holding our breath the whole way for fear we might scrape the car.  

After relaxing for a little while, we went for a walk to explore the area and figure out what we were going to do for food.  We ended up eating at a little cafe' called "The Clipper".  Roger ended up eating scampi while I had chicken. 

 We enjoyed wandering around town for awhile and then headed back to our room.  We had been on the go for what seemed like days and were very tired.  No problem going to sleep.

Day 3

After a typical Scottish breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, potato patty, black pudding, toast & jam, and juice - we headed out on another day of "drive on the left, drive on the left".  The weather started out a little misty as we headed for one of the areas where the Montgomery Clan came from.  Surprisingly, by the time we reached our destination, it was sunny and beautiful.  Destination: Kilwinning and the Eglinton Castle  We picked Eglinton Castle because the area around Ayre kept coming up on family geneaology and the description of the castle seemed to fit the story of the castle picture taken years ago by a Montgomery cousin.   The guidebook says that the Earls of Eglinton, (Montgomerie) held title to the lands of Eglinton for over 500 years.

For about 45 minutes we drove through beautiful countryside of fields, trees, and rolled up grass hay, with an occasional small house and yard.   Kilwinning is a small town with quaint homes, a church, and a few businesses.  We stopped at a private college to ask directions to the Eglinton Castle.  

Kilwinning

We pulled into beautiful grounds of a 1,000 acre estate that has been turned over to the North Ayrshire Council. There are a few old rock buildings that have been turned into a visitor's center, groundskeeping facilities, and a cafe' called "The Tournament Cafe'". There are children's playgrounds set up in two locations.

Some of the original buildings on the grounds that have been restored for other purposes.



Finally, up on the hillside about a quarter of a mile away, a castle turret showed above the treetops.

Montgomery (Montgomerie) Family Crest and Family Motto "Watch Well"

Eglinton Castle (Model in Visitor Center)

Eglinton Castle (Picture in the Visitor Center)

Eglinton Castle (Picture taken by a Montgomery cousin years ago)

Eglinton Castle today

We experimented with different angles and decided that this is the same view that is in the picture that was taken years ago by one of  the Montgomery cousins.  All that remains of that view now is the front foundation and the left turret.  The ruined wall that remains on the grounds would have been part of the outerwall of the castle (shown in the picture from the visitor's center) that is to the lower left of the front of the main castle.  We determined that by the fact that the outer lower turrets were only two stories high, while the four main corner turrets of the main building were four stories high.

Here are some pictures of the rest of the ruins.  The first picture is looking down into the castle from the front.  You can see where the large center turret and the back right corner turret used to be.  The second picture is looking from the main entrance back towards the ruins of the lower wall.  The final picture is looking towards the remaining turret and lower wall from the opposite end of the castle. 

We took a walk, along a path on the grounds, that wandered through fields, past the river and loch (lake), and across an old stone bridge.

When we first arrived, the Visitor's Center was closed.  However, as we walked around the grounds, Roger started talking with a gentleman that we met (Mr. Armstrong) and it turned out he was over the Visitor's Center.  When he found out where we were from and that we were only there for one day, he offered to let us in because he didn't want us to come so far and not be able to look at some of the history of the castle.  He explained what happened to this beautiful gothic castle.

The government passed a roof tax.  This proved to be a large sum to pay and the owner's of Eglinton Castle and several other beautiful castles could not afford to pay the tax.  The government foreclosed on the roof tax in 1925 or the owner's sold the roof to pay the tax -- we aren't sure which.   The Montgomerie family removed themselves from the castle. The contents of the castle were removed or auctioned off and the roof itself was sold for the lead in it. Once that happened, the castle was open to the elements and fell into disrepair.  By the 1940's it was in ruins and was used for target practice by the military during World War II.

According to "Landscape of the Knights" a brochure on Eglinton Country Park: "In 1981 Irvine Development Corporation began to redevelop the environs of Eglinton Castle as parkland.  The Clement Wilson Foundation had as one of its aims the preservation and beautification of historic properties.  At Eglinton the dangerous, ugly ruin of the castle was made safe and the sad disarray of its grounds was remedied by extensive landscaping.  It is now managed by the North Ayrshire Council."

We were there on a Monday, and there were quite a few people taking advantage of the hiking paths, wandering around the castle, and enjoying the beautiful grounds. It was a wonderful experience for us to see the remains of the castle and walk the grounds that members of the "Montgomerie" family had owned for hundreds of years.  Whether we are direct descendants or not, it has been a part of our family history and something that we always wanted to see.