Comin' Thro' the Rye

It was Historic Scotland a go-go today and first up: Caerlaverock Castle. 

Surrounded by a moat, lawns and stands of trees, the unusual pink-stoned triangular castle looks impregnable.  In fact, it fell several times, most famously when it was attacked in 1300 by Edward I when only 60 men held off a siege for three days.  The current castle dates from the late 13th century but, once defensive purposes were no longer a design necessity, it was refitted as a luxurious Scottish Renaissance mansion house in 1634.

The entrance at the heart of the castle was the
weakest part of its protective shield.  As a result
it was given the most elaborate defences
including a gunhole from the 16th century,
machicolation for dropping missiles and
a portcullis chamber from the 15th century and
 arrow slits from the 13th century,

The Nithsdale Lodging was built by Robert
Maxwell in the 1630s. The Renaissance facade
was a bold statement of the family's power, status
 and sophistication (building to the right of the
courtyard).

Murdoch's Tower contained a grim pit-prison,
reputedly the holding cell for Murdoch, Duke
of Albany, before his execution in 1425.

Historic graffiti in the main
bedroom - any clue who?!?

Best bit for the kids was the adventure playground we discovered outside the castle walls.  Can you face the challenge of the champions?  Do you have the courage to be a hero?  Do you have the will and the skill?  Do you have the speed, the strength, the heart to be a winner?  It's not for beginners.  Deep down in your soul...

Toots was the winner with Lap 4, a knee-injured Tiger completed Lap 3, Joey, who'd already fallen and clunked his head hard on a wooden beam and then the ground, ran a modified Lap 1 which didn't include the wooden beams that he'd fallen off, and the Don and I finished up Laps 6 and 5.  The video above is only an 'example' run (hence not that much cheering) we filmed at the end, by which point we'd all cheered, yelled, encouraged, and hurt ourselves as we shouted at each other and flung ourselves around the course.  Very good fun, but knackering!

After lunch was a short drive back in to Dumfries and down the other side of the River Nith to New Abbey where a waterwheel has powered a mill here for more than 600 years.  Monks from nearby Sweetheart Abbey built the first mill here in the 1300s, and it is still known locally as the 'Monks' Mill'.

The present building was constructed in the 1790s by Mr Stewart of Shambellie.  He paid £600 for the medieval mill, which he demolished to make way for a modern replacement that could keep up with advancing technology.

The miller carrying out different tasks to process the grain.
The waterwheel drives a series of gears and pulleys to carry
the grain around the mill and grind into meal.

The boulting machine shakes the husks of grain from the kernels.
Sometimes the husks are used as fuel in the kiln to dry the grain.

Three pairs of millstones produce three different grades of meal.

The sack hoist is a clever device which lifts
sacks to the loft from the ground floor, saving
the miller a great deal of backbreaking work.
Stacks of grain are stored in the loft before
processing and after drying.

Water from the millpond flows down and along the wooden
launder (wooden channel) to power the wheel

Two hundred and fifty meters away sits Sweetheart Abbey, the last of the major monasteries to be established in Scotland, and founded by Lady Dervorgilla of Galloway, a powerful Scottish noble.  A monument of human and diving love, the abbey was named for its founder, who was buried here with the heart of her beloved husband, John Balliol (with whom she had founded Balliol college, Oxford). On his death she had his heart embalmed and carried it with her until she died 22 years later. 

A community of Cistercian monks lived and worshipped here from the late 1200s.  Their aim was to lead a simple and austere life, completely focused on their religious devotions.  Cistercians were also renowned farmers.  At Sweetheart, they specialised in agriculture and extracting seawater from sea-water.

The monks met in the Chapter House each
morning to discuss business and to hear a
chapter of the rule of the order read.

 

This much rebuilt cloister gate was the entrance to the cloister walk
from the lay brothers' accommodation.

Time for a Cream o' Galloway break!

Last visit of the day was to Sandyhills Beach, which was more mud flat than beach and s-q-u-e-l-c-h-y.

Endless tides turn shore into sea and back again and a vast expanse of sand is revealed as the tide recedes, stretching to the horizon.  But below the deceptively calm surface, strong currents are created by the tidal ebb and flow and huge quantities of sand and mud are constantly moved by the power of the water which sculpts the soft sediments into mud banks, sand bars and deep channels.

It was beautiful to look at, but as soon as you took a step on the sand you realised it wasn't sand and not that much fun at all!

A working phone box!!