Category Archives: Scotland

Scotland Travel Journal ~Holy Rude

The Church of Holy Rude in Stirling, Scotland is steeped in Scottish History. The church is Stirling’s oldest building after the castle. During the reign of Robert II (1371-1390), and altar to the Holy Rude was established, leading to the church being renamed as the Parish Church of the Holy Rude of the Burgh of Stirling. “Holy Rude” translates to Holy Cross.

From the brochure: This site, a focal point of faith and heritage, witnessed the worship of Mary, Queen of Scots, the crowning of her infant son King James VI and many significant events, including the Scottish Reformation and the Jacobite rising.

See that little stained glass window way at the top of arch. The Angel Window was installed in 1870 and the artist is unknown.

This window, above the Apse, is dedicated to John Cowane, founder of Cowane’s Hospital. The middle right depicts the last supper, the left shows the Sermon on the Mount, and the lower portion illustrates Matthew 25:35-40, reflecting the charitable intentions of Cowane. The Inscription read, “For I was hungry, and you gave me food.”

The coat of arms above the entrance to St. Andrew’s Chapel is a 17th century carving of the Royal Arms of Scotland recalling the era when Scottish royalty frequented the Church.

Mary, Queen of Scots: At nine months old, she was crowned Queen in Stirling Castle’s Chapel Royal after her father, James V, died. She spent much of her childhood in the castle and visited this church. After Mary’s abdication, her son was crowned King James VI of Scotland in the Church of the Holy Rude.

At her 13 month old son’s coronation, John Knox preached the sermon. For the first time the rites were Protestant and not Roman Catholic and the whole of the ceremony was made and done in the Scottish tongue and not Latin.

This is the oldest surviving church in Scotland that witnessed a coronation.

 

John Knox, A figurehead of the reformation in Scotland. Reverend James Guthrie was another prominent Scottish minister during the Covenanting era. His convictions led to the division of the Church’s congregation in the 17th century.

The Church has seen its share of conflict over the centuries.  During the religious and political troubles of the 17th Century, the Church was divided in 2 and had a wall built to create 2 separate churches – the East and the West.  The minister whose activities led to this division, James Guthrie, was hanged for high treason in 1661, and the 2 parts of the church were finally re-united in 1935.

During Cromwell’s uprising, General Monk set up his guns on the Church tower in 1651 for the last successful attack on Stirling Castle.  The Church walls bear the scars of musket shot and cannon-fire from this and other conflicts, including the Jacobite uprising of 1746. The battle scarred walls are indeed a testament to the skills of the stone masons and craftsmen of the past.

King Robert the Bruce

This window was created in memory of the Argylls of WWI and it was fitting for it to be in the Church of the Holy Rude because the regiment had strong ties to this church. This window depicts a Highland soldier surrounded by poppies and figures from the regimental cap badge. Thousands lost their lives in World War I. This window was dedicated in 2016.

The current windows date from the 19th century.

We left the church and walked down into town needing a little snack before we made our way to the Wallace Monument which will be another post. Sunday the 15th of September was a full day of history for us!

Thanks for traveling along with us on this day that we connected more dots about John Knox and the Scottish Reformation and Covenantors in Scotland. We took in Stirling in one day but you could easily spend a few more days soaking it all in.

Scotland Travel Journal ~ Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle was first mentioned around 1110, and many royal dramas unfolded here. Until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, almost every Scottish monarch had either lived in the castle, or been crowned or died here.

The castle’s long, turbulent history features:

  • William Wallace
  • Robert the Bruce
  • Mary Queen of Scots
  • Bonnie Prince Charlie

Stirling Castle is a complex monument of diverse buildings and spaces added over the centuries.

In this shot we can see the William Wallace Monument in the distance. We would travel there after we explored The Church of the Holy Rude.

From high on a volcanic outcrop, the castle guarded the lowest crossing point of the River Forth for centuries. Today it remains a great symbol of Scottish independence and national pride.

At the castle’s heart is the Inner Close, a square formed of the principal buildings for royal occupation.

 

Our tour guide, Joanie! She was excellent and kept us entertained and laughing.

A statute of Robert the Bruce, designed by George Cruikshank and sculpted by Andrew Currie in 1876-77. The carved stone statue stands on a square stone pedestal and depicts the king as a tall chain mailed figure resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. At the feet and to the rear of the king is his shield and axe.

From the castle we went down hill to the Church of the Holy Rude to take a look inside.

There is so much history and conflict associated with this castle and area. Here is a link to more information.

Scotland Travel Journal ~ Stirling ~Margaret Wilson

We arrived at our lodging before we could check into our rooms and left our luggage before we walked uphill to Church of Holy Rude and their Kirk on the way to Stirling Castle. We had been given outdated information that there was a tourism bus available in Stirling but that service had ended in August. It was good we didn’t wait at one of the stops that were advertised.

We were so very thankful for a beautiful sun filled day to start our Stirling adventures!

“Stirling, where every walk seems to be uphill.”

We made it to the Church of the Holy Rude while a service was going on so we planned our look inside for after our time at the castle. My main interest was the Kirk Churchyard and the memorials to Margaret Wilson and other Martyrs.

Wigtown Martyrs Monument

 A large and ornate memorial to Margaret Wilson, one of the Wigtown Martyrs, is located on the shoulder of Ladies’ Rock in the Mar Place Cemetery. The statue shows the martyr in the act of reading the Scriptures, with her younger sister Agnes by her side. A lamb rests at their feet, and over both is a guardian angel. The statue is covered with an ornate cupola and glazing. The statue was erected in 1859 and was the work of Handyside Ritchie. Originally, the statue was open to the elements, but in 1867 an ornate cast iron frame and glass cupola was raised over it, making it one of the most distinctive monuments in Stirling, if not the whole of Scotland. The cupola was designed by John Thomas Rochead (1814-1878), who is better known for his design for the Wallace Monument on Abbey Craig. The frame was cast at the Sun Foundry in Glasgow, and when it was added, a marble lamb that lay at the feet of Margaret, had to be removed. The cost of the monument was financed by William Drummond, of the Drummond Tract Enterprise. Margaret Wilson was one of the Wigtown martyrs, two women who were drowned in the rising Solway Tide on 11 May 1685. They were both Covenanters, and the other martyr, Margaret MacLachlan, was a woman in her sixties. Drummond had a great love of the Presbyterian martyrs, and erected other memorials to them and other ministers in Stirling, including statues of Rev James Renwick, Rev Ebenezer Erskine, Rev John Knox and the Star Pyramid.

The words around the top of the monument are ‘Christ~In Us~Lord ~Jesus ~King~ Judge~ Saviour. I think there was one other that I couldn’t see well.

ny ¤ Ω

MARGARET

VIRGIN MARTYR OF THE OCEAN WAVE,

WITH HER LIKE–MINDED SISTER

AGNES

“LOVE MANY WATERS CANNOT QUENCH” – GOD SAVES

HIS CHASTE IMPEARLED ONE! IN COVENANT TRUE.

O SCOTIA’S DAUGHTERS! EARNEST SCAN THE PAGE”

AND PRIZE THIS FLOWER OF GRACE BLOOD – BOUGHT FOR YOU.

PSALMS IX. XIX.

REV XXII.   13 – 21

I wore my ‘Margaret’ t-shirt that I ordered from The Essential Church Movie. The story of the Margaret’s and Jenny Geddes really inspired me. More about Jenny in a future post from Edinburgh. This monument to Margaret Wilson is many miles from Wigtown, where the actual drownings happened.

A detailed history of the Solway Martyrs can be read here. Another account can be read here.

When the now limp form of the first Margaret was being tossed about by the swirling tide, the waters began to engulf Margaret Wilson. Her lips were not silent. First she sang the stirring words of Psalm 25.

My sins and faults of youth
Do thou, O Lord, forget:
After thy mercy think on me,
And for thy goodness great.
God good and upright is:
The way he’ll sinners show;
The meek in judgment he will guide
And make his path to know.

And, upon finishing this Psalm, she quoted the words of Romans 8:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to com, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These stories make me wonder how I should stand for the Truth. I trust if ever I have to, God will provide all I need to Stand.

Other monuments to John Knox, Alex Henderson and Andrew Melville, early Reformers in Scotland.

We moved onward and upward to Stirling Castle and that will be another post.

In Their Steps Hodgepodge

The new questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge are coming from  Jo From This Side of the Pond while she is across the Pond!
Thanks Jo and I hope your jet lag will be mild!
~
1. Hey, it’s October…what’s one fun thing on your October calendar? 
This Saturday is the Marcus Ciderfest and we’ll enjoy some time there buying some freshly squeezed apple cider from local apples.
~
I’m also following along on an October 31 day journey with the Heroes of the Reformation called Here We Stand. I get an email each day with the history of one of the heroes.
If you want to follow along you can sign up here.

2. Thursday is National Poetry Day (first Thursday in October)…do you like to read poetry? If so, what’s a favorite poem, or whose poetry do you especially enjoy? 

My favorites are songs and hymns and spiritual songs. That kind of poetry I can understand. I also enjoy children’s rhymes.

So many favorites in the Psalms;

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

3. Tell us about something you’ve seen recently that could be described as ‘poetry in motion’. 

Other than watching Eagles and Hawks in the sky I would hearken back to the Olympics and watching the diving and other pool events including synchronized swimming that they now call artistic swimming.

4. What’s one song on your autumn playlist? Do you have an autumn playlist? If not, pretend you do. If yes, then feel free to share more than one. 

This is a song that has been playing on the cd in my car that gets me every time.

And this one that I was listening to yesterday…

5. Share a quote that inspires you this time of year especially. 

I’m inspired by our very recent trip to Scotland and specifically walking along the steps of John Knox and his influence on Scotland and the Scottish Reformation. Not him alone but many other Covenantors who lost their lives for the Gospel and the Kingship of Christ and the Church. So at this time of year I’m inspired by Knox and other Martyrs. John Knox preached across Scotland and in England and Europe. George Wishart was burned at the stake in front of St. Andrews Castle another location where John Knox spent time. We visited St. Andrews and the ruins of the castle. St. Andrews is filled with history and not just golf. 🙂

“Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.”
― John Knox

“The man who stands with God is always in the majority.”
― John Knox

And from George Wishart a friend of Knox and Scottish Martyr–

When he came to the place of his death he knelt and prayed to Christ, then he addressed the watching crowd: ‘If I had taught men’s doctrine, I had gotten greater thanks by men. But for the true Evangel [gospel], which was given to me by the Grace of God, I suffer this day by men, not sorrowfully, but with a glad heart and mind… This grim fire I fear not: and so I pray you to do, if any persecution come unto you for the Word’s sake; and not to fear them that slay the body, and afterwards have no power to slay the soul… I know surely that my soul shall sup with my Saviour this night, ere it be six hours, for whom I suffer this.’ Next he prayed for those who had viciously persecuted and slandered him, saying, ‘I forgive them with all my heart.’

These images and placards were inside the visitors center for St. Andrews Castle Ruins.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

We are still recovering from our Jet Lag and thankfully each day gets better.

The devastation from Hurricane Helene has been on my mind and I pray that help will reach the stranded. Thankful for the groups like Samaritan’s Purse who respond quickly and compassionately to those in need. The family members we have living in North Carolina were spared and they are pitching in to help where they can.

Scotland Travel Journal ~ Celtic

On the same Saturday as our visit to Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis we attended the Celtic v. Hearts game at Celtic Park Stadium. It is our tradition when traveling with Josh and Laura to attend at least one futbol (soccer) match. Josh has a good source to secure tickets for us and they are always tickets that include special seats and hospitality.

Celtic won the game and after the game we decided to wait around to see if Josh could get his Jersey signed by a U.S. Player who is on the Celtic team.

Success! It was fun to greet Cameron Carter-Vickers and congratulate him on his performance in the game.

Our time at the stadium was complete and now we hoped an Uber could pick us up and get us to our dinner reservations on time.

We made it with 5 minutes to spare! The Ox and Finch is a Michelin star restaurant with small plates on offer that were all very interesting and out of the ordinary. We enjoyed our time.

It was the end of a very filled first full day and only full day in Glasgow.

We had breakfast on Sunday at the Ivy again before we packed up and journeyed to Stirling for our next big adventure.

I had some extra shots of our time at the Ivy from Saturday morning.

The rest of these photos are from Sunday morning the 15th of September.

While waiting for our uber to Stirling, Laura was able to search out the music this Piper was playing and get a video and photo of him. It was a bucket list item for Laura. She got a few more of these moments, too.

Goodbye Glasgow. We enjoyed our stay.

Waiting for our Uber ride to Stirling.

At every turn and every new experience we thanked God for His goodness to us.

Scotland Travel Journal ~ The Necropolis

On Saturday the 14th of September after viewing the inside of Glasgow Cathedral we walked outside to improving weather and decided we shouldn’t miss the hike up to the Necropolis to view the John Knox Memorial.

The Necropolis is a Victorian garden cemetery full of wonderful architecture, sculpture and fascinating stories.

Scotland Travel Journal ~Glasgow Cathedral

We made it all the way home on Thursday the 26th of September. We fly out of Seatac Airport (Seattle) which is a good five to six hour drive from our home in Colville. Since we were traveling with Josh and Laura we find it easier to drive to their home the day before our flights and drive and park at the airport with them. Our flight home from Scotland arrived Tuesday evening and we would be in no good shape to then drive the 6 hours home so we spend another night at Josh and Laura’s before we attempt our final drive home. There were dust storms predicted on our route home for Wednesday so we put off our travels home for one more day and had a very nice drive with great weather conditions on Thursday. Taking the extra day made it possible for us to see Katie and Andrew, too, which was good.

Looking back I see that I covered our flight and arrival to Scotland well here. I even had the energy to post a few details on our first full day which was Saturday the 14th of September here. From here on out in Scotland the days were full of activity and I had no energy to put words together or match those words up with photos. Our internet connections were slower and slower, too. Some of our days and the events and experiences we had deserve a post all to themselves. I might be done with my Scotland Travel Journal by November!!

Our lodgings in Glasgow were at Native Glasgow. The central location worked well for us.

A photo for any Dr. Who fans out there.

On Saturday September 14th we had breakfast reservations at The Ivy for 8:30 and their webpage said we should dress ‘smart’. We dressed as smart as we could and walked over to the restaurant which was very close to our hotel. It was a wet and drizzly beginning to the day.

After breakfast we walked over to George Square to catch a hop on hop off bus.

George Square is named after King George III. Laid out in 1781, today Glasgow Square is home to the headquarters of Glasgow City Council, and showcases an important collection of statues and monuments, including those dedicated to famous scots such as Robert Burns, James Watt, Sir Robert Peel and Sir Walter Scott. It is also the square where people gather for major events and to let their voices be heard, aka protest.

Our first hop off spot was St. Mungo’s Cathedral (Glasgow Cathedral).

This medieval cathedral is thought to have been built on the site of St Kentigern’s tomb and marks the birthplace of the city of Glasgow.

My people looking up in awe of this amazing structure.

One of my interests in this trip to Scotland was gleaning information connected to the Reformation and the Covenantors of Scotland like John Knox, George Wishart, Patrick Hamilton, The Two Margarets, Jenny Geddes, and others. We would learn much about the early martyrs of the church throughout our stops in Scotland.

This stone reads…

“Here lies the corps of Robert Bunton, John Hart, Robert Scot, Matthew Patoun, John Richmond, James Johnston, Archibald Stewart, James Winning, John Main, who suffered at the cross of Glasgow, for their testimony to the covenants and work of reformation, because they durst not own the authority of the then tyrants, destroying the same, betwixt 1666 and, and 1688.

Years sixty six, and eighty four,
Did send their souls home into glore,
Whose bodies here interred ly,
Then sacrific’d to tyrrany;
To covenants and reformation,
‘Cause they adheared in their station,
These nine, with others in this yard,
Whose heads and bodies were not spar’d,
Their testimonies, foes to bury,
Caus’d beat the drums then in great fury
They’ll know at resurrection day,
To murder saints was no sweet play.

 

 

I love the eagle lecterns in the United Kingdom.

The Unicorn and the Lion (Scotland and England), the Thistle and the Rose.

We looked up a lot but it was also good to look down on the amazing floors.

Stand Sure is the inscription on the Sword.

The Crypt of St. Mungo’s was another layer of amazing architecture.

 

The weather outside improved and we decided to make the journey up behind the cathedral to view the Necropolis and specifically the monument to John Knox.

This is already way too long of a post and I will save the Necropolis for another day. Thank you so much for journeying along with us on this most amazing experience we enjoyed. Thank you to Laura for sharing all her photos with me. All my posts will be a mix of both her photos and mine.

Thanks be to God for His amazing goodness to us in our travels.

 

Back in the ‘States’

We are back from the bonnie land of stairs and steps and elevated castles. We are not all the way home yet but our air and foreign travels are complete for another year. I have lots of photo sorting to do. It will take a while for my brain to be able to compose all our wonderful experiences. It is not trite for me to say that God abundantly blessed our time and our travels. We are thankful for our trip and thankful to be safely at Josh and Laura’s home. Now onwards to our own country bungalow. Cheers!

Postcard from Friday the 20th of September

The internet connection here at our apartment in Edinburgh is painfully slow so this will be the last postcard until we reach home again.

If you are a golfer, you will know the significance of this spot in St. Andrews.

After a couple nights (Thursday the 19th and Friday the 20th) just a little north of St. Andrews in St. Michaels we returned our rental car to Stirling. Josh did an amazing job of navigating all the roads, wide and narrow. We had a beautiful stop on the way to Stirling and the future posts are piling up! From Stirling we took a train into Edinburgh and taxied to our apartment in the hub of new town. Our stair conditioning has really paid off for us. We are having a Scottish Reformation tour today meeting our guide at St. Giles Cathedral.

We fly home on Tuesday. Hope all is well stateside!

Thursday the 19th of September

Our Thursday travels took us south from Barras along the North Sea for some miles before we cut inland to see Glamis Castle.

This Castle is still a residence so photos were not allowed on the inside. We had a wonderful tour guide who took our group through the several of the interior rooms. We enjoyed coffee and tea at the castle and found some fun treasures in the gift shop.

Our next stop was Carnoustie Golf Links to see if Josh could book a tee time. There were no tee times that would work for him. We enjoyed lunch in the Rookery at the Links and I had a bowl of Cullen Skink, a first for me. More about that in a later post. We researched golf courses closer to our lodging for the next couple of nights and found St. Michael’s Golf Links about 5 minutes away from our inn. We stopped there and secured a tee time and clubs for Josh to play early on Friday morning. When in the land of golf a game of golf is a bonus for a golfer!

We checked into our country inn and then enjoyed a leisurely dinner at St. Michael’s Inn before we called it a day.