Corran Lighthouse
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Lochmaben Castle
Lochmaben Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Lochmaben, the feudal Lordship of Annandale, and the united county of Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by Edward I in the 13th and 14th centuries, and later rebuilt during the reign of James IV of Scotland. An earlier motte-and-bailey castle was built south of the current castle in c. 1160 by the Bruce family, Lords of Annandale.
King Edward replaced the castle with a much sturdier structure at the south end of Castle Loch around 1300 and its remains still show the massive strength of its defences. Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway, with the assistance of the Earls of March and Douglas, after a siege of nine days, took Lochmaben Castle from the English and “razed it to the ground” on 4 February 1384/5. The castle and barony became a possession of the Earls of March, but when the 10th Earl was forfeited and then reinstated, in 1409, it is noted that it was “with the exception of the castle of Lochmaben and the Lordship of Annandale” which by July 1455 was in the possession of Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, etc.,(d.1485). Following his death both the Lordship and the castle were annexed to the Crown by Act of Parliament dated October 1, 1487.
On 16 January 1508/9, at Edinburgh, Sir Robert Lauder of The Bass (d.1517/8), knight, was appointed “Captain and Keeper of the King’s castle and fort of Lochmaben, with all pertinentes” and other privileges etc., for three years. In 1605 the Depute Lieutenant of the Borders, Sir William Cranstoun of that Ilk (later 1st Lord Cranstoun), was Keeper of Lochmaben Castle.
Lochmaben Castle remained important and had a turbulent history until some time after the early 17th century by which time it had seen its last siege and was gradually abandoned.
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Die Burg liegt in der Nähe eines Sees, der von Bäumen gesäumt kaum sichtbar ist.
Die ehemalige Königsburg wurde um 1365 von den Engländer aus Stein erbaut, als sie diesen Landesteil besetzt hielten. Vorher hatte Edward I. von England hier eine hölzerne Befestigungsanlage errichten lassen. Dies erklärt sich aus der strategischen Lage: Um von Süden nach Schottland zu reisen, musste man die Sümpfe durchqueren. Vorspringende Wände bildeten einen Anlegeplatz für Boote vom damals offenbar näher gelegenen Loch.
Greyfriars Church, Dumfries
The site of the present church was originally Hangman’s Hill where King Robert the Bruce’s brother-in-law, Sir Christopher Seton, was hanged for supporting his relative. Bruce’s sister, Christiana, later had a small chapel erected in his memory (traditionally dedicated to St Mary, although some say to the Holy Rood). It later became known as St Christopher’s Chapel, and eventually The Chrystal Chapel. All that remains is the small stone pillar at the top of the steps from the street.
The present building was built for the sum of £2520 and opened on 12th November 1839. It contains a fine pipe organ built by Harrison and Harrison of Durham in 1884, and a large stained-glass window at the east end, erected in December 1896 in memory of Sir James Anderson Kt. who captained the steamship “Great Eastern”, (designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel), which laid the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866.
The hall across the road was built around 1900 thanks to the efforts of the Minister Rev Alexander Chapman, who together with other members of the congregation organised a series of fund raising activities. He was also responsible for the formation in November 1886, of the St Mary’s Woman’s Guild, now known as The Guild.
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Devorgilla Bridge
Devorgilla Bridge is also sometimes known as Devorgilla’s Bridge or the Old Bridge and is named after Devorgilla, Lady of Galloway, the mother of King John Balliol.
The first bridge was built around 1270 by the Lady Devorgilla of Galloway, a deeply religious and very influential noblewoman who was the great neice of William the Lion and of Malcolm VI. Her son, John Balliol, became King of Scotland in 1292.
She is best known for the foundation of Balliol College, Oxford, but in addition she built the Cistercian Sweetheart Abbey, near Dumfries, where in due course she was buried. She also built the convent of Greyfriars in Dumfries, the site of the confrontation between the Red Comyn and Robert the Bruce.
The 13th century bridge would have been wooden, but the name ‘Devorgilla Bridge’ has been attributed to all successive stone bridges on that site. This is the only real confirmation of her role in the early construction although there is a little additional circumstantial evidence: it is known that Devorgilla built Greyfriars and from around the time of her death through the subsequent centuries until the Reformation, the convent also held the feu of the bridge.
A second bridge replaced it around the middle of the 15th century. A papal indulgence of 1432 recorded the Pope’s approval for a call for subscribers to pay for the completion of a bridge, followed by annual ‘Pro Const.’ payments in the Exchequeur Rolls made for Dumfries Bridge between 1456 and 1465. This was a new replacement and the sequence matches the time it would take to build a masonry bridge of that size. It seems that the feu continued to be held by Greyfriars. A charter of 23rd April 1569 withdrew this feu along with its income, and returned it to the Crown. In a typical Reformation transition, James VI then awarded the feu to the Burgh but included an obligation that they should be required to maintain it.
In 1609 the bridge was part of the line of James VI and Ist’s road from Carlisle to Portpatrick, built to facilitate the Ulster Plantation in which 20,000 English and Scots settlers were exported to Ulster.
In 1621 there were major floods in the south of Scotland and the Devorgilla Bridge suffered severe damage. It is recorded that the eastern part was swept away. A complete rebuild was soon started and this is the bridge that remains today. The single Gothic arch at the western end was retained but the new arches were semicircular. This new construction had nine arches and was 200ft long. The parapets were rebuilt in 1725 and a tollgate house at the single central refuge was demolished in 1769 to reduce weight.
In the early 19th century , over a period of thirty years, three of the arches were removed from the eastern end as the river was narrowed and land reclaimed. Access to that end of the bridge was now by a series of steps. Wheeled traffic was precluded, which no longer mattered because the New Bridge at Buccleuch St. had now been completed, 100 yards upstream. The old bridge had now become a pedestrian way.
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Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle first built in the 13th century. It is located on the southern coast of Scotland, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south of Dumfries, on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. Caerlaverock was a stronghold of the Maxwell family from the 13th century until the 17th century when the castle was abandoned. It was besieged by the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and underwent several partial demolitions and reconstructions over the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 17th century, the Maxwells were created Earls of Nithsdale, and built a new lodging within the walls, described as among “the most ambitious early classical domestic architecture in Scotland”. In 1640 the castle was besieged for the last time and was subsequently abandoned. Although demolished and rebuilt several times, the castle retains the distinctive triangular plan first laid out in the 13th century. Caerlaverock Castle was built to control trade in early times.
Today, the castle is in the care of Historic Scotland and is a popular tourist attraction. It is protected as a scheduled monument,and as a category A listed building.
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Caerlaverock Castle ist eine gut erhaltene Burgruine in der Region Dumfries and Galloway in Schottland. Sie liegt ungefähr 13 Kilometer südöstlich von Dumfries an der B725.
Der Grundstein für die Burg wurde um 1270 gelegt. Sie ist die einzige dreieckige Wasserburg in Schottland. An der nördlichen Ecke befindet sich das Torhaus, das aus einem Doppelturm besteht. Die Burg ist komplett von einem wassergefüllten Graben umgeben und wurde nicht, wie viele andere Burgen, auf einem Felsen errichtet.
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Dumbarton Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Breatainn, pronounced [d̪̊unˈb̊ɾʲɛhd̪̊ɪɲ]) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is 240 feet (73 m) high.
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Dumbarton Castle ist eine Burg oder Festung in der schottischen Stadt Dumbarton in der Unitary Authority West Dunbartonshire. Die Anlage nimmt einen markanten Basaltfelsen vulkanischen Ursprungs am Ufer des Clyde an der Mündung des Leven ein. 1971 wurde das Bauwerk in die schottischen Denkmallisten in der höchsten Kategorie A aufgenommen. Des Weiteren ist die Burg seit 1994 als Scheduled Monument geschützt.
Devorgilla Bridge is also sometimes known as Devorgilla’s Bridge or the Old Bridge and is named after Devorgilla, Lady of Galloway, the mother of King John Balliol.
The first bridge was built around 1270 by the Lady Devorgilla of Galloway, a deeply religious and very influential noblewoman who was the great neice of William the Lion and of Malcolm VI. Her son, John Balliol, became King of Scotland in 1292.
She is best known for the foundation of Balliol College, Oxford, but in addition she built the Cistercian Sweetheart Abbey, near Dumfries, where in due course she was buried. She also built the convent of Greyfriars in Dumfries, the site of the confrontation between the Red Comyn and Robert the Bruce.
The 13th century bridge would have been wooden, but the name ‘Devorgilla Bridge’ has been attributed to all successive stone bridges on that site. This is the only real confirmation of her role in the early construction although there is a little additional circumstantial evidence: it is known that Devorgilla built Greyfriars and from around the time of her death through the subsequent centuries until the Reformation, the convent also held the feu of the bridge.
A second bridge replaced it around the middle of the 15th century. A papal indulgence of 1432 recorded the Pope’s approval for a call for subscribers to pay for the completion of a bridge, followed by annual ‘Pro Const.’ payments in the Exchequeur Rolls made for Dumfries Bridge between 1456 and 1465. This was a new replacement and the sequence matches the time it would take to build a masonry bridge of that size. It seems that the feu continued to be held by Greyfriars. A charter of 23rd April 1569 withdrew this feu along with its income, and returned it to the Crown. In a typical Reformation transition, James VI then awarded the feu to the Burgh but included an obligation that they should be required to maintain it.
In 1609 the bridge was part of the line of James VI and Ist’s road from Carlisle to Portpatrick, built to facilitate the Ulster Plantation in which 20,000 English and Scots settlers were exported to Ulster.
In 1621 there were major floods in the south of Scotland and the Devorgilla Bridge suffered severe damage. It is recorded that the eastern part was swept away. A complete rebuild was soon started and this is the bridge that remains today. The single Gothic arch at the western end was retained but the new arches were semicircular. This new construction had nine arches and was 200ft long. The parapets were rebuilt in 1725 and a tollgate house at the single central refuge was demolished in 1769 to reduce weight.
In the early 19th century , over a period of thirty years, three of the arches were removed from the eastern end as the river was narrowed and land reclaimed. Access to that end of the bridge was now by a series of steps. Wheeled traffic was precluded, which no longer mattered because the New Bridge at Buccleuch St. had now been completed, 100 yards upstream. The old bridge had now become a pedestrian way.
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The Fountain in Dumfries
Culloden Battlefield
The Battle of Culloden took place on Culloden Moor, (a short drive outside Inverness), on 16 April 1746. It was the final battle of the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the last Battle to be held on British soil.
The Battle on Culloden Moor, was both quick and bloody, it started with an unsuccessful Jacobite Highland charge across flat boggy ground, totally unsuitable for this previously highly effective maneuver. The Jacobites troops were soon routed and driven from the field, the battle only lasting about an hour.
The Battle of Culloden saw some 1,500 Jacobites killed or wounded, while government losses were lighter with 50 dead and 259 wounded.
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Das Schlachtfeld von Culloden markiert jenen Ort, an dem die brutalste Schlacht der schottischen Geschichte ausgetragen wurde.
Innerhalb von nicht mal einer Stunde wurde hier am 16. April 1746 die Armee von Bonnie Prince Charlie durch den Duke of Cumberland regelrecht abgeschlachtet.
Eine Legende besagt, dass hier jedes Jahr am 16. April, die Schreie der Männer zu hören seien, die auf dem Schlachtfeld ihr Leben lassen mussten.
Zudem wird behauptet, dass hier niemals der Gesang eines Vogels zu hören ist, man aber das Aufeinanderprallen der Schwerter weithin über den morastigen Boden vernehmen kann. Auch soll von Besuchern schon das Gemurmel der Gefallenen wahrgenommen worden sein, die dabei ihre Verwirrung über die katastrophale Niederlage kundtaten.
Wir persönlich haben bei unseren unzähligen Besuchen zwar noch keinen der Verstorbenen flüstern hören, doch dass auf diesem blutgetränkten Boden kein Vogelgezwitscher zu hören ist, können wir bestätigen. Dort herrscht die sprichwörtliche Totelstille, zudem tobte bei all unseren Besuchen der Wind über das Moor.
Scottish Dreams 