Starting as we mean to go on we decided to explore our neighbourhood, and by neighbourhood I mean the river, walks and fields that lie a stones throw from our house. Some of these paths I wandered with Toots and Tiger as babies, waddling and toddling, as well as in the sun and snow. But we also walked a new route along the River Don till it met the River Ury, then walked back along that to climb the Bass of Inverurie, something I'd always intended to do in the 15 months we'd lived here previously.
First up though was feeding the ducks on the Don. This was also the 'reason' given for leaving the house, as "going on a walk" now causes Joey to start a fresh hour of whines. These whines always turn into "I miss Abiii Dhaaabiiiii [where we didn't have to walk anywhere and we could drive everywhere]!!"
The River Don has brought wealth to the historic town of Inverurie over the centuries. The first Don Bridge across the River Don was built around 1971 and was 'as sound and trustworthy in 1924 as it was in 1791'. However, it was too narrow and unable to cope with long vehicles such as buses, because of the steep gradient on both approaches.
A new bridge was constructed in 1924 which still stands today. The height of one of the town's highest floods was commemorated by a mark on the upstream side of the bridge between the two arches. We've not looked to see if the flooding from last January was higher! Just downstream of the bridge on the Port Elphinstone side is the mouth of the Aberdeenshire Canal, opened in 1805 to link Inverurie with Aberdeen. The canal was 19 miles long, 23 feet wide and had 17 locks to raise the canal by 168 feet along it's length. The main cargo of the canal was granite being shipped via Aberdeen to London and other parts of the UK. The canal was mostly filled in to form the corridor for the current railway.
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| The Bass |
The Bass of Inverurie is a large rectangular mound that is part of a castle built approximately 800 years ago as a centre of royal power in the North-east. As such, it is one of the oldest castle sites in Scotland. There would originally have been a timber tower on the summit and, at a slightly lower level on the (now detached) Little Bass, stabling, workshops and other buildings. This was the centre of the King's authority which was administered by the Hereditary Constables of the Garioch, the de Lesselyn family (later Leslies).
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| Looking east from the Large to the Little Bass, with the River Ury in the background |
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| Looking west to the River Don (basically in front of that white house you can see) and Bennachie in the distance |
The site was well defended, both by the river and the low-lying marshy ground all around, and also by a deep ditch and stockade. Access to the top was by means of an oak gangway, traces of which were found in 1883. This side of the mount had also been scarped to deter attackers. In all, this was a typical motte and bailey castle of the 12th and 13th centuries. It was probably here that Robert the Bruce lay sick early in 1308 and from which he marched at the Battle of Barra at Oldmeldrum during the Wars of Independence. The finding of decorated pottery dating from the 14th Century suggests that the castle also continued in use well into that century.
Within the churchyard were four pictish stones which are typical monuments erected by the Picts approximately 1500 years ago. Their location in a group of four at the confluence of two rivers (in this case the Don and the Ury) is a characteristic of this early period, as is their incised decoration. It is possible that the stones commemorate important individuals who may have been buried nearby in low cairns.
The stones were found reused in the walls of the now-demolished medieval church which stood on this site and formed a group with the later motte, the Bass.
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| Figure of a horse, prancing. Single animal symbols are rare and usually limited to single locations |
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| A large disc joined to either a horseshoe symbol or a smaller disc (making a very large mirror?) |
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| The remains of a circle above a double disc and Z-rod |
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| A series of symbols (now truncated) including a double disc and Z-rod |
The designs cut into the untreated surface of the boulders may have been a form of heraldry identifying the families of the individual(s) buried in the cairn(s). The symbols used by the Picts are either vivid depictions of animals that would have been visible in their surroundings or a limited number of versions of objects in everyday life. A small number are more abstract and less easy to interpret. The symbols on the stones may well have been coloured-in to make them even more vivid. The pairing of symbols on each stone may also have been a significant part of the message.
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| Looking north west towards the railway line, our house (just beyond the trees) and lots of marshy ground |
Much to the kids delight and my regret, we then decided to cross that marshy ground in order to walk through the fields and along the railway that our house backs on to, which was also part of the whole point of our walk. The kids in their welly boots had a grand old time, but me in my nice leather boots (the best option I packed for our time of temporary living) and Joey who was only waist high to the tall grasses and nettles could have enjoyed it more. But, as we're due to be moving from this house in a months time we need to get these walks in while we can... and quite frankly, papa crazily tackled some of this field within a week of having his hip replaced, so we approached it in the spirit of his adventure!
*For American's reading this (or at least those in AD), in-service days in Scotland are essentially like English half-terms. We don't officially get half term breaks, but we do get in-service days in September (?), November, February and May, which children take as holiday but teachers have to work.
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