Historic Scotland

Do you know your motte from your bailey? Duffus Castle near Elgin is a well preserved example of a motte-and-bailey castle. The motte is the massive, artificial mound with steep sides which the castle is built on. This gave Duffus Castle a strong defensive position. The bailey at Duffus Castle is now a broad expanse of grass, but in the past it was a courtyard crowded with buildings and yards to serve the castle. The bailey was protected by a ditch and palisade. http://ow.ly/cqjo30lxsUr

How did Scottish Adventurer Ella Christie get generations of gardeners to bring a little bit of Japan to Clackmannanshire? All is revealed in this fascinating blog post from Historic Environment Scotland about The Best Japanese Garden in the West... http://ow.ly/8rIk30lDbcI

Take a tour of Kildrummy Castle - ‘the noblest of northern castles’ - and find out about people who lived there and the languages they spoke.

We just had to share this amazing video from Historic Environment Scotland!
To mark the launch of the HES Gaelic Language Plan, poet Daibhidh Eyre was asked to write a poem in Gaelic and Scots. Double Take Projections then used 8 historical sites across Scotland to create a stunning visual spectacle.
Gus comharrachadh sgaoileadh Plana Gàidhlig ùr aca chaidh fhaighneachd air bhàrd Daibhidh Eyre dàn a chruthachadh ann an Gàidhlig agus a’ Bheurla Ghallda. Chuir Double Take Projections an uair sin na faclan suas air ballachan eachdraidheil air feadh na dùthcha – ’s e tha coimhead math!

🎬 Lights, camera, action! 🍿
Imposing castles, atmospheric abbeys and elegant palaces all make exciting locations for films. Have you spotted any of our sites lurking in the background of your favourite TV shows or films?

It's scone-a be a good one!
With #BakeOff returning to our screens tonight we couldn't resist sharing this easy peasy* cheesy scone recipe again from the Edinburgh Castle baker.
*does not contain peas

Cast your mind back... Do you remember that spell of gloriously dry, sunny, hot weather we had in Scotland earlier in the summer? ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Well, it revealed something rather special in a river in Aberdeenshire... http://ow.ly/mxnu30lwvrk

One of many Saints with #ScottishConnections with Europe is Triduana.
She was born in the Greek city of Collosse and travelled to Scotland in the 4th century AD.
According to the 16th-century Aberdeen Breviary, Nectan, King of the Picts was attracted by Triduana’s beauty. To ward off Nectan’s unwanted affections, it is said that Triduana defaced herself by tearing out her eyes.
... The incident is represented by a statue carved in 1907 housed in St Triduana's Chapel at Restalrig Collegiate Church. The holy water from the spring here became associated with cures for eye ailments.
Find out more about St Triduana's Chapel including how to visit at http://ow.ly/Xi7A30lxsTo or explore the statue on Sketchfabat http://ow.ly/zrEn30lxsTp
We'll be celebrating more historic links between Scotland and Europe as part of Heritage Awareness Day 2018 on Thursday 20 September.
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Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep, Ocean's a royal bed. Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep Watch by your weary head. - The Skye Boat Song
... Flora MacDonald became one of the most celebrated characters in Scottish history after she helped Bonnie Prince Charlie in his escape after his defeat at Culloden. The prince was disguised as ‘Betty Burke’, an Irish maidservant, when the party fled to Raasay in the hope of being picked up by a French warship.
In the time since their daring exploits, some have tried to suggest a romantic entanglement between Flora and the Young Pretender, but nothing could be further from the truth. Join Flora at Dunstaffnage Castle this weekend for a little tête a tête to set the record straight. http://ow.ly/1wZg30lwpW4
📆 Take a look at all the events we’ve got lined up this weekend http://ow.ly/B4JG30lwpW5
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On This Day in 1305, Sir William Wallace was executed in Smithfield, London. He is described by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as “not merely the first but the most durable and heroic of Scottish patriots.”
The details of Wallace's early life and family background are contested. He was born into lesser nobility circa 1270 in Renfrewshire, or possibly Ayrshire. He emerged from obscurity in 1297 when, together with Sir Andrew Moray, he became one of the main leader...s in the First War of Scottish Independence.
On 11 September 1297, Wallace and Moray guided Scottish forces to a famous victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and assumed the title of Guardians of the Kingdom of Scotland.
In or around November, Wallace led an extensive Scottish raid into the Northern English counties of Cumberland and Northumberland. He was knighted at Selkirk at towards the end of the year.
Wallace resigned his Guardianship after defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in April 1298. Following records are vague, but it is possible Wallace travlled to France to seek assistance to the cause of Scottish independence.
Upon his return to Scotland in 1304, Wallace was a wanted man. On 5 August 1305 he was finally delivered into the hands of English soldiers at Robroyston, near Glasgow. In Westminster on 23 August, Wallace was found guilty of treason and atrocities against civilians in war.
Wallace's legacy is evident in film, literature and monuments across Scotland, including a statue guarding the main gates at Edinburgh Castle and a stained glass window in St. Margaret's Chapel.
Visit Edinburgh Castle: http://ow.ly/ksbE30lwqOH Visit Stirling Old Bridge: http://ow.ly/IKQn30lwqOI
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"Good God! What a fine sight. I had no conception there was such a fine scene in the world; and to find it in my own dominions; and the people are as beautiful and as extraordinary as the scene."
On this day in 1822 King George IV visited Edinburgh Castle and was seriously impressed by what he found. Indeed, when the King stepped ashore in Leith a week earlier, he became the first reigning monarch in nearly 200 years to visit Scotland.
True to form, it was a rainy day in Aug...ust when the King visited the Castle and he was also heard to utter: "Rain? I feel no rain. Never mind, I must cheer the people."
The great romantic novelist, Sir Walter Scott, was incredibly excited by the King’s visit and had leapt on the opportunity to arrange a huge pageant in his honour. Representatives from all over Scotland were urged to come to Edinburgh dressed in tartan and King George IV made quite the impression by wearing a kilt that was too short – well above the knees – and pink tights to hide his bare legs.
This carefully stage-managed visit was a pivotal moment in reinventing Scotland as a land of romance and tartan.
Visit Edinburgh Castle http://ow.ly/VHtk30ltLLf
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On 22 September, deaf historian John Hay will be in Stirling for a day of British Sign Language tours.
Join John at Stirling Castle as he delves into the history of Scotland's royal family and explores the royal palace. Or you could find out about conservation and traditional building materials at the Engine Shed. If you can't decide, you can always do both!
Book your BSL tour here http://ow.ly/woHf30luMQ0

What do you think? An innocent mistake or a treasonable act? If you visit Earl’s Palace in Orkney, you’ll see an inscription above the front door which reads: ‘ROBERTUS STEUARDUS FILIUS JACOBI 5ti REX SCOTORUM HOC AEDIFICUM INSTRUXIT’ (‘Robert Stewart, son of James V, King of Scotland, commissioned this building’) Robert Stewart, who built the palace, was the illegitimate son of James V, and half-brother of Mary Queen of Scots.... The use of ‘rex’ rather than ‘regis’ made it appear the king was Robert himself, not his father. This was technically treason. While this could have been a simple error of grammar, it may have been intentional. Sources say Robert ruled his new domain in Orkney as if he were king. http://ow.ly/s9tA30luAhb
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On Thursday 20 September, we'll be celebrating Scotland's historic links with Europe as part of Heritage Awareness Day.
Did you know that a monument made from Dumfriesshire marble sits in the centre of the Spanish village of Teba? It commemorates the Battle of Teba, which was fought in August 1330 and involved an errant of Scottish knights led by Sir James Douglas.
Before he was killed in the battle, "Black Douglas" is said to have thrown the heart of Robert the Bruce into ...the melee with the words "go first as thou hast always done."
Douglas' body and the heart of Bruce were returned to Scotland, the latter buried at our very own Melrose Abbey.
What is your favourite #ScottishConnection? Find out how you can get involved this Heritage Awareness Day at http://ow.ly/X1OE30ltzRr
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Go anywhere nice on your summer hols this year? ☀️ Did you get on a plane, maybe at Glasgow Airport? ✈ From eyebrow arches to glass fingers, find out all about the surprisingly human architecture of the place over on our Historic Environment Scotland blog! http://ow.ly/wiCF30loA5w

On this day in 1513, James IV ordered the guns at Edinburgh Castle to be hauled out of the gun house and transported south for the largest battle ever fought between Scottish and English forces: the Battle of Flodden.
The Treasurer’s Accounts of the time give us an insight to the sheer size of these guns and the power needed to move them. There is a reference to an ox being purchased in Dalkeith to replace one that had been run over by a cannon while the guns were being moved. It also records payments to a smith in Dalkeith to mend the yoke that harnessed the animal to its gun. Transporting this heavy equipment was dangerous work.
Find out more about Edinburgh Castle’s role as a gun house in Historic Environment Scotland’s new research publication. http://ow.ly/nV9l30lrQOQ

Beat the back to school blues by making fun plans for this weekend! Will you #getthebug?

On this day in 1057, Macbeth (or Mac Bethad mac Findlaích in Gaelic) was killed at the Battle of Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. This is the nearby Peel Ring of Lumphanan as it might have looked in 1296. If you visit today you'll see a grassy mound, and nearby Macbeth's Stone where it is said he was beheaded by Malcolm Canmore... http://ow.ly/WiR130loBCp