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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
The SNP Record: Good or Bad?
The report: THE SNP RECORD: good or bad? - issued by ThinkScotland.org sets out that far from the progressive politics the SNP claims to represent, the Scottish people have suffered in many key areas of life under SNP government. (pdf) (April 2021)
This is actually a report I was working on myself and so am happy to place this on the site and recommend you read it. I had covered most of the topics covered in this report but not in such detail so was pleasantly surprised when I saw this report.
I will say this report does suggest that Devolution has not been a success for Scotland. It also suggests that we should vote in the Conservative party to see if they can do any better. And if they can't then we should consider Devolution as dead in Scotland.
I mean by this that we've had Labour in power, then the Labour/Lib Dems, then the SNP and then the SNP/Greens and so that only leaves the Conservatives as the only remaining party to try and run Scotland. I think we should give them the chance at least to see if they can do any better.
And no matter what happens I suggest we do not re-join the EU even if they would allow us to do so as the whole bloc is a disaster area right now with lots of infighting going on. Also Angela Merkel in Germany is leaving politics in a few months time so she won't be around.
You can get to this report at: https://electricscotland.com/independence/snprecord.pdf and I do encouage you to read it. The report is some 72 pages so lots to read and digest.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Covid in Scotland: Government failed social care sector during pandemic
Scotland's health secretary has said the government failed to properly understand the needs of social care during the pandemic. There have been more than 10,000 Covid-related deaths in Scotland. Of that number, a third occurred in care homes.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-56680666
Covid infections in Canada edge closer to US rate
The rate of Covid infections in Canada is edging close to - and may overtake - US levels for the first time. It comes as Canada struggles to contain new Covid-19 variants and to ramp up its distribution of vaccines.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56644466
Duke of Edinburgh dies aged 99
PRINCE PHILIP, the Duke of Edinburgh, has died aged 99, the Queen has sadly announced in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal...al-news-update
The key difference between the British and EU approach to AstraZeneca’s vaccine
The UK's approach to vaccine safety has been far more sensible than some European countries'
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-key-difference-b...necas-vaccine/
Secret report shows Scotland's drug deaths for all of 2020 even worse than previous worst-in-world years
Scottish Government slammed for allowing another wasted year before announcing £250 million emergency response
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...-drug-23564291
Nicola Sturgeon led tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh today as the Scottish Parliament reconvened for only the sixth time in its history.
With political campaigning ahead of May's election briefly suspended due to the death of Prince Philip on Friday, MSPs returned to Edinburgh to pay tribute to the Queen's husband and his long record of public service. The First Minister described the Duke a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent who was devoted to supporting the Queen.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...rince-23897578
Lord Frost's Brexit prediction comes TRUE as UK's trade with EU surges in February
LORD FROST's prediction UK trade with the EU would bounce back in February has proven true, after Remainers claimed the record slump in January was due to Brexit.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...istics-exports
Makers of honey made with Scots heather hail it as the world’s latest superfood
She’s always been sweet on sustainability and Suzie Millar is buzzing about her new career as queen of bees.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/honey-...her-superfood/
Meet the future weapon of mass destruction, the drone swarm
As militaries across the world are ramping up their drone capabilities, it's becoming increasingly clear that armed, fully-autonomous swarms of unmanned vehicles are the future of weapons of mass destruction. And in this 21st Century arms race, China has already the Guinness World Record for the most drones flown simultaneously by a Chinese aerospace company.
Read more at:
https://thebulletin.org/2021/04/meet...he-drone-swarm
The Fantasy Economics behind the case for Scottish independence
Last week Professor Blake summarised the economic cost to Scotland of becoming independent. In this article he lays out the case against independence in more detail including the serious difficulties Scotland will face in attempting to rejoin the EU.
Read more at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...-independence/
World holds breath as Biden expels 10 Russian diplomats - Putin warns US will pay
JOE Biden has slapped on new sanctions against Russia, including the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in response to election interference in 2020 and occupation of Crimea.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...omats-expelled
A revival of Indigenous throat singing
Inuit throat singing was at risk of extinction after years of erasure by colonists and missionaries, but TikTok star Shina Novalinga is sharing the tradition for a new generation
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2021...throat-singing
Electric Canadian
Elora, Ontario
Added several books and articles to my picture gallery of my trip to Elora in 2004. You can find these around the middle of the page where I finish my tour of Elora at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/canada/040605-1.htm
The publications include...
Planning and Development of Canadian Country Towns in the Nineteenth Century
A Case Study of Elora Village, Upper Canada by Mitsuko TANIGUCHI, Doshisha Girls' Junior and Senior High School. (pdf) [Text is in the Japanese language but the final two pages are in English.]
Extracts from a Teacher's Observations of School Government (1870) (pdf)
Undique
Elora District High School Year Book 1964 (pdf)
Elora District High School Year Book 1965 (pdf)
Selected Papers from the Proceedings of the Elora Natural History Society
1874-5. Instituted 1874 (pdf)
--------
Significance of Emigration - Discussion
By Edward Alsworth Ross (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...emigration.pdf
Canada's Broadcasting Pioneers
1918 - 1932 by Michael Nolan, School of Journalism, University of Western Ontario (1984) (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...g_pioneers.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday morning - the 11th day of April 2021
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can view this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...-of-april-2021
The Backwoodswoman
A chronicle of pioneer home life in Upper and Lower Canada. By Mrs. Isabel Skelton (1924)
Isabel Skelton has written a book, not about individual heroines, but about a heroic state of society. There are few heroines in Canadian history: there have been no voyageuses, and the "economy" of Canadian women has been of necessity domestic rather than political. Mrs. Skelton’s literary predecessors have been content to dismiss the subject with eulogies of Madeleine de Verchéres and Laura Secord. It is true, of course, that the real heroines were the Loyalist mothers and the heads of emigrant families who endured the horrors of a long passage and the hardships of a pioneer settlement. Only enterprise and courage would have led anyone to undertake such a Homeric task as compiling a book from the scattered records of these early settlers, and only literary taste and a wide knowledge of the original sources could have made it so fresh and vivid.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...woodswoman.htm
Electric Scotland
Beth's weekly video
April 14th 2021 - You are your own best evidence
You can view this at: https://electricscotland.com/bnft/videos.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Hi Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying the lovely spring weather that we are here in north Georgia! It's not too hot nor too cold, but just right! Blue skies and growing grass. In fact, when I have finished this, it is time for me to mount up on Old Mow Fella and cut the grass.
Here is the May 2021 BNFT. You'll be able to visit Fingal's cave with a Scottish sea kayaker, Nick Ray. I did and it was amazing. Have fun!
We can all join in sending best wishes and happiness to Clan Skene president, Al McGAlliard, and his brand new - as of April 1 - fiance, Lori Robertson on their engagement!
There's a story about a Loch Ness sighting and a photo to boot in this section! Tom and I were just talking about that sighting while we were up at Lake Burton a day or two ago and we were gob-smacked when we spotted a Nessie-like creature in that north Georgia lake! The Lake Burton creature looked precisely like the photo of the Loch Ness sighting! (We didn't get too excited, since they both looked like a faraway log in the water.) It doesn't matter, we BELIEVE in Nessie!
There are even some Scottish words that we can use in English! Now, all I have to do is remember them all!
We lost Graham Harris Graham, a wonderful Scottish photographer, in a mountain climbing accident just a few days ago. We'll have a more detailed Flowers of the Forest in the next section. Love and sympathy to his wife, Lora.
My dear friend, Alastair McIntyre, at electricscotland.com, has "recycled" some of the oldies from The Family Tree. If you have been a reader for a very long time, you will remember back when we asked our readers to send in their favorite stores, jokes, and tales for "The Ceilidh Book." Alastair has somehow revived that book and we'll share some of the information contained therein. What fun! It's a great resource when you are going to a real Ceilidh and want to go "armed" with great material!
Next time, we can look forward to another adventure with Pete Hylton in Scotland! Those are always as close to a real visit there as you can get without a suitcase!
Please remember to send me updated information on your email address. Please remember that genealogical queries are free in BNFT. (Did I just make a rhyme?) Whee.
Please continue to be careful, we have a ways to go before it is really safe for us to go out and live as we once did.
Aye,
beth
You can view the May 2021 issue 2 at: https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Scottish independence – playing by EU rules
By David Blake 04/04/2021
Professor David Blake argues that the SNP want to give back control to the EU (not a slogan they are likely to use)
You can read this at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...g-by-eu-rules/
The Fantasy Economics behind the case for Scottish independence
By David Blake in Briefings for Britain (April 10th 2021)
Last week Professor Blake summarised the economic cost to Scotland of becoming independent. In this article he lays out the case against independence in more detail including the serious difficulties Scotland will face in attempting to rejoin the EU.
You can read this at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...-independence/
A Cameronian Apostle
Being some Account of John Macmillan of Balmaghie by the Rev. H. W. B. Reid, B. D., Balmaghie with ten illustrations (1896)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...illan_john.htm
Musings of a Tank Commander
Part 33 On the US, U2 and eggs-over-easy
You can read this part at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tank/index.htm
The Anglo-Scottish War of 1558 and the Scottish Reformation
By Amy Blakeway (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/r...cottishwar.pdf
Riddoch, Alexander
Provost of Dundee 1787-1819 which we've added to our Significant Scots page.
You can read about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history..._alexander.htm
An Account of the Most Important Records of Great Britain
And the publications of the Record Commissioners together with other miscellaneous, Historical and Antiquarian Information compiled from various printed books and manuscripts By C. P. Cooper in two volumes (1832)
In the Preface the author is highly critical of the state of these records and in one case suggest that some may benefit by being placed in such a manner that the General Register House, Edinburgh are kept.
As always records of Great Britain also include records of Scottish matters and you'll find many in these volumes.
You can read these at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...nt_records.htm
Story
Loch-in-Dorb, An Ancient Royal Fortress
By A. D. Cumming, FSA Scot
Standing bare, ruinous, and lonely, amid black, forbidding hills, frowned on by grey, weatherbeaten rocks, and washed by the sluggish waves of the peaty lake, in a region well-nigh inaccessible and irresponsive to the reforming zeal of the later Scottish kings, it appears a strange perversion of history that the chief title of the island castle of Loch-in-dorb to a place in history should be due to its close associations with the early Plantagenet kings of England. Bare and bleak as the surrounding country now appears, in comparatively recent times it was covered with one dense forest of pine, oak, birch, and hazel, from the Spey to the Findhorn. There is clear evidence that the forest was destroyed by fire, since in many places in the neighbourhood may be seen black stretches of moss, utterly devoid of vegetation, covered with thousands of charred tree stumps. How this wanton destruction occurred, history does not record.
[Tradition says that in the days of Queen Mary a chief in the uplands of Strathspey tarried long amid the pleasures of the Court at Holyrood, while his lady pined in her Highland keep. At last, in despair, she despatched a trusty servitor to Edinburgh to seek her lord, giving him strict injunctions to treasure well the first queries with which his chief might address him. The mission was duly accomplished, and on his return the henchman was ushered into his lady’s presence. In answer to her eager questions, he informed her that his chief had first inquired as to the state of his woods, in which he took great pride. He then questioned him as to the welfare of two favourite staghounds, while the last inquiry was as to the health of his lady. Transported with anger and jealousy that woods and hounds should rank iii her husband’s mind before herself, she forthwith ordered the woods to be set fire to, while the favourite hounds were immediately slaughtered.]
This wooded country was called the Forest of Leanich and Braemoray. Its suitability for a royal hunting domain was seen by King Alexander II., who, in 1236, exchanged with Andrew, Bishop of Moray, the lands of Fynlarg (near the church of Inverallan) for this forest.
Loch-in-dorb is two miles long, about two-thirds of a mile broad, and the surface of the water is 969 feet above sea-level. The island on which the Castle is built is more than an acre in extent, and bears evident traces of being partly artificial. In this it resembles Loch-an-Eilan and Loch Moy in the same province.
[In the statistical account of the parish of Cromdale of 1791, it is stated that— "Great rafts or planks of oak, by the beating of the waters against the old walls, occasionally make their appearance, which confirms an opinion entertained of the place that it had been originally built upon an artificial island."]
Probably the original stronghold was a crannog, or fortified retreat, which in peaceful times might be used as a hunting shelter by the Caledonian kings who followed the chase in the surrounding forests. Afterwards it became the stronghold of the Comyns, then the most powerful clan in the Highlands. From public records, we learn that Black John Comyn of Badenoch, Governor of Scotland, died in his Castle of Loch-in-dorb in 1300. His son, the notable claimant to the Scottish throne, was slain by Bruce at Dumfries. His son, John, in turn possessed Loch-in-dorb until his death in 1326, and in him came to an end the direct line of a family once the most populous and powerful in Scotland.
When Edward I. of England returned from Flanders to crush Wallace, he invaded Scotland with a large army of English, Welsh, Irish, and Gascons, and, penetrating to Moray, took up his abode in the Castle of Loch-in-dorb. As Andrew of Wyntoun tells—
"And owre the Mownth (Grampians) then alsa fast
Til Lowchyndorbe then stracht he past
There swjourned a quhile he bade
Quhill he the North all wonnyn had."
Having settled there on 25th September 1303, he despatched his forces against the opposing strongholds of the north. Those of Inverness, Nairn, Forres, and Elgin surrendered at once, and the strong Castle of Urquhart, on Loch Ness, after a long siege, also capitulated to "The Hammer of the Scottish Nation." Fordoun relates that during Edward’s residence here, the northern parts of the kingdom submitted to him. The conditions as first laid down as a basis for treating of submission were extremely hard, and many of the Highland chiefs, like the bard of Wales, must have cursed in their hearts Edward of the long shanks.
But when the submissions were duly accomplished, Edward entertained the vanquished chiefs right royally. Long and strenuous days were spent in hunting in the Royal forests of Leanich and Braemoray, while by night the island rang with revelry. Edward left the Castle in December 1303, and spent the winter in Dunfermline.
The Castle bears such a strong resemblance to the mediaeval military fortresses in England and Wales, that we are justified (apart from the vague evidence of tradition) in assuming that it was entirely rebuilt, or, as Tytler suggests, had extensive additions made under the orders of Edward, between the close of 1303 and the beginning of 1306. Its irregular quadrangular shape, curtain walls, and strong circular towers, bell-shaped at the base (one commanding the entrance), would in England at once rank it amongst the" Edwardian" castles.’
[Dr Mackintosh, in his History of Civilisation in Scotland, vol. L p. 247, writes: "During this period a new form of defensive work was gradually introduced, usually called the Norman type of castle. The earliest remains of castles of this style in Scotland belong to the thirteenth century, and the best examples of them were the castles of Loch-in-dorb, Hermitage, Bothwell, Kildru’nmy, Caerlaverock, and Dirleton. These appear to have been built in the latter half of the thirteenth century. Massive walls of enormous strength were the chief features of these structures, but they presented little distinctive art characteristics, as strength and defence was the original idea and end contemplated by their owners." ]
The magnificent gateway on the east side, built of freestone, was a pointed arch of the early English style. The walls were built of whinstone and granite. According to Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, "the lime used in the building of the castle was brought in the state of stone in creels on horses’ backs from the quarries near to Grantown, and burned at limekilns on the opposite side of the hill from the loch."
The massive iron gate (one of the few distinctive Scottish "yetts" now in existence) which guarded the entrance, may still be seen at Cawdor Castle.
The outer walls were seven feet thick, and are still, in spite of the "gnawing teeth of time," almost 30 feet in height. Within the inner walls were the keep, banqueting hall, chapel, and domestic offices. Nor were dungeons, those necessary adjuncts of mediaeval strongholds, awanting.
The most notable event in the history of Loch-in-dorb was its siege by Sir Andrew Moray, Regent of Scotland, and its relief by Edward III. of England in 1335. A civil war was raging in Scotland round the rival claims of Edward Baliol and David Bruce to the throne of Scotland. At this time David Bruce was a prisoner in England, while Sir Andrew Moray was Regent of Scotland.
On St Andrew’s Day, 1335, the Earl of Athol, who was besieging Christian Bruce, sister of King Robert, in Kildrummie Castle, was surprised and slain in the forest of Braemar. His wife, Catherine de Beaumont, fled for refuge to the Castle of Loch-in-dorb, where she was besieged for seven months by Sir Andrew Moray. All the early historians of Scotland gave prominence to this notable siege and its subsequent raising.
The account given by Hector Boece, Canon of Aberdeen, as translated by Bellenden in Cronikles of Scotland, is probably the most complete. John of Fordoun’s account is similar; the only difference is his mentioning that Edward of Baliol accompanied the King, and that they brought away "the wife and heir of David, Earl of Athol."
King Edward left Blair Athol on 12th June 1336, and arrived with 500 horsemen at Loch-in-dorb on 15th June. The country was densely wooded, trackless and inhospitable, and many horses were lost on the way. Both the above historians omit to mention the masterly retreat of Sir Andrew Moray when almost surrounded by the large army of Edward. It is to this feature that Andrew of Wyntoun devotes special attention in Book VIII. of his. Cronykil. The besieging army lay on the east side of the lake, on a flat peninsula opposite the Castle, and the double ditches and redoubts may still be traced.
"That time the Erlis wyfe Dawy,
With other ladyis that were lovely,
Were in Lochindorb lyand,
And when the King of England
Herd that so thae ladyis
Were environed with thare enemies
He busk’d to rescue them thane
With twenty thousand chosen men."
The force of Sir Andrew Moray, alarmed at the near approach of such a large army, fell into a panic, which was only allayed by the example of perfect coolness set by their leader. He was about to celebrate mass, and would not permit a move until his devotions were ended. At last his steed was led forth, and his men clamoured for him to mount with all haste. He delayed until a broken piece of his armour was repaired.
"He leaped on syne, and in array
Held welle his folk, and held his way,
And when the English saw thame there,
Hold so together all their men
They followed noucht out of array."
Sir Andrew managed his retreat so skilfully, and availed himself so well of the nature of the ground, that King Edward was entangled in the intricacies of the forest and lost sight of him. The King, believing the enemy to be still in front, pressed on in pursuit till the forest grew thinner, when he saw that he had been outmanoeuvred. He camped for the night, and next day returned to Loch-in-dorb, where he stayed for some time. On his departure, he conveyed the Countess of Atholl and her ladies to a place of safety in the south. He was so enraged at having been baffled by the Regent, that in revenge he ravaged and burned Morayland. Sir Walter Scott styles the masterly retreat of Sir Andrew Moray one of the finest actions of the period, and most characteristic of Scottish generalship." There is a local tradition to the effect that the besiegers made an attempt to flood the Castle by constructing a dam at the north-west end, where the stream issues from the loch. The barrier, however, proved too weak and broke, several of the besiegers being drowned in the impetuous rush of waters.
A few years later the Castle was the scene of the imprisonment and death of the famous William Bullock. Bullock was an ecclesiastic of obscure birth, but possessed great military talent. When evil days fell upon Baliol, Bullock, who had been his chamberlain, deserted him and his English friends, and for an adequate consideration transferred his allegiance to the Scots, and delivered up the Castle of Cupar, which he commanded. He became a great favourite at court, and was raised to high honours. His enemies, who were neither few nor powerless, procured his arrest on a groundless charge of treason. He was imprisoned within the massive walls of this fortress, and at last flung into the "water-pit" dungeon, where he perished of cold and hunger in 1342.
For twenty-five years afterwards the Castle was used as a State prison. On 16th November 1367 David II. granted to Symon Reid, the Constable of Edinburgh Castle, the forest and Castle of Loch-in-dorb, which had fallen to him by the forfeiture of the late John Comyn, knight. We have, however, no record of the Constable ever taking possession of the fortress. In 1370, the first year of his reign, King Robert II. gave Badenoch, with the lands, forests, and Castle of Loch-in-dorb, to his son, Alexander, Earl of Buchan, Lord of Badenoch. "The Wolfe of Badenoch" was a man of huge stature, bold as a lion, but unscrupulous and unprincipled. His fierce, ungovernable temper and haughty bearing earned him the apt but undesirable sobriquet of "The Wolfe." He was long at bitter enmity with the Church, and did not scruple to issue forth from his insular stronghold and seize the fat lands of the wealthy churchmen of Moray and Badenoch. For these and other even less amiable traits he was excommunicated by the Church of Rome. In deep wrath and mortification, he sallied forth in June 1390, and burned Forres and the beautiful Cathedral Church of Elgin, "The Lantern of the North." In his latter days "The Wolfe" became somewhat tamed, and did penance for his sacrilegious deeds in the Church of the Black Friars at Perth. After his death, the Castle came into possession of his son, who possessed much of the fiery temper and ruthless character of his father.
The last occasion on which Loch-in-dorb came into historical prominence was during the "Douglas Wars." It was then strongly fortified by Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, who became possessed of lands in Moray in right of his wife. By this time the Douglas family had become so powerful in Scotland that in wealth and power they not only approached to, but even surpassed, the King himself. At last, in 1455, they broke into open rebellion. Decree of attainder was pronounced against the Earl of Douglas, his mother the Countess Beatrix, and his brother Archibald, Earl of Moray. The treasonable acts specified against Archibald, "pretended" Earl of Moray, were garrisoning and fortifying Loch-in-dorb and Darnaway Castles against the King. On 1st May 1455, the Douglases were utterly crushed at Arkinholme, and the Earl of Moray was slain. The house of Douglas had now reached its fall, and all its lands were forfeited.
The subsequent history of Loch-in-dorb is comparatively uninteresting. The tragic death of James II. prevented the Earldom of Moray from passing directly into the Royal family, although the estates remained as Crown lands until 1548, when the Earl of Huntly, for his extraordinary valour at the Battle of Pinkie, received a grant of the Earldom of Moray and the Lordship of Abernethy.
About 1612 John Grant of Freuchy (commonly called John of Freuchy), the chief of the Grants, exchanged with George, first Marquis of Huntly, the lands then belonging to the family of Grant in Glenlivet and Strathavon for certain lands in Abernethy and Inverallan, "which were a part of the sixteen davochs of the Lordship of Badenoch, and to which the lake and Castle of Loch-in-dorb are a pertinent." Since this time Loch-in-dorb has remained in the possession of the Grants of Castle Grant, Strathspey.
A peculiar herb, locally termed "Loch-in-dorb kail," springs up annually amid the ruins. It is somewhat similar to the red cabbage, and grows occasionally to a pound in weight. The country people transplant it to their gardens, and use it as greens. It is said to have been originally cultivated by the last occupants of the Castle in a space between the outer and inner walls.
For 455 years Loch-in-dorb Castle has been crumbling in ruins, but even now is magnificent in decay. Its history is in many ways unique. So far as we are aware, it never sheltered a ruling sovereign of Scotland, although members of the Royal house were its repeated possessors. Yet two kings of England resided, held court, and dispensed hospitality within its walls. Built on Scottish soil by a Plantagenet king of England, it fell by command of a Stewart king of Scotland. Its stirring history was over ere many castles accounted old were built; its ruin was accomplished more than a century before the Reformation.
Have added a YouTube video about the castle which you can watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...lochindorb.htm
END.
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
The SNP Record: Good or Bad?
The report: THE SNP RECORD: good or bad? - issued by ThinkScotland.org sets out that far from the progressive politics the SNP claims to represent, the Scottish people have suffered in many key areas of life under SNP government. (pdf) (April 2021)
This is actually a report I was working on myself and so am happy to place this on the site and recommend you read it. I had covered most of the topics covered in this report but not in such detail so was pleasantly surprised when I saw this report.
I will say this report does suggest that Devolution has not been a success for Scotland. It also suggests that we should vote in the Conservative party to see if they can do any better. And if they can't then we should consider Devolution as dead in Scotland.
I mean by this that we've had Labour in power, then the Labour/Lib Dems, then the SNP and then the SNP/Greens and so that only leaves the Conservatives as the only remaining party to try and run Scotland. I think we should give them the chance at least to see if they can do any better.
And no matter what happens I suggest we do not re-join the EU even if they would allow us to do so as the whole bloc is a disaster area right now with lots of infighting going on. Also Angela Merkel in Germany is leaving politics in a few months time so she won't be around.
You can get to this report at: https://electricscotland.com/independence/snprecord.pdf and I do encouage you to read it. The report is some 72 pages so lots to read and digest.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Covid in Scotland: Government failed social care sector during pandemic
Scotland's health secretary has said the government failed to properly understand the needs of social care during the pandemic. There have been more than 10,000 Covid-related deaths in Scotland. Of that number, a third occurred in care homes.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-56680666
Covid infections in Canada edge closer to US rate
The rate of Covid infections in Canada is edging close to - and may overtake - US levels for the first time. It comes as Canada struggles to contain new Covid-19 variants and to ramp up its distribution of vaccines.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56644466
Duke of Edinburgh dies aged 99
PRINCE PHILIP, the Duke of Edinburgh, has died aged 99, the Queen has sadly announced in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal...al-news-update
The key difference between the British and EU approach to AstraZeneca’s vaccine
The UK's approach to vaccine safety has been far more sensible than some European countries'
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-key-difference-b...necas-vaccine/
Secret report shows Scotland's drug deaths for all of 2020 even worse than previous worst-in-world years
Scottish Government slammed for allowing another wasted year before announcing £250 million emergency response
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...-drug-23564291
Nicola Sturgeon led tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh today as the Scottish Parliament reconvened for only the sixth time in its history.
With political campaigning ahead of May's election briefly suspended due to the death of Prince Philip on Friday, MSPs returned to Edinburgh to pay tribute to the Queen's husband and his long record of public service. The First Minister described the Duke a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent who was devoted to supporting the Queen.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...rince-23897578
Lord Frost's Brexit prediction comes TRUE as UK's trade with EU surges in February
LORD FROST's prediction UK trade with the EU would bounce back in February has proven true, after Remainers claimed the record slump in January was due to Brexit.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...istics-exports
Makers of honey made with Scots heather hail it as the world’s latest superfood
She’s always been sweet on sustainability and Suzie Millar is buzzing about her new career as queen of bees.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/honey-...her-superfood/
Meet the future weapon of mass destruction, the drone swarm
As militaries across the world are ramping up their drone capabilities, it's becoming increasingly clear that armed, fully-autonomous swarms of unmanned vehicles are the future of weapons of mass destruction. And in this 21st Century arms race, China has already the Guinness World Record for the most drones flown simultaneously by a Chinese aerospace company.
Read more at:
https://thebulletin.org/2021/04/meet...he-drone-swarm
The Fantasy Economics behind the case for Scottish independence
Last week Professor Blake summarised the economic cost to Scotland of becoming independent. In this article he lays out the case against independence in more detail including the serious difficulties Scotland will face in attempting to rejoin the EU.
Read more at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...-independence/
World holds breath as Biden expels 10 Russian diplomats - Putin warns US will pay
JOE Biden has slapped on new sanctions against Russia, including the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in response to election interference in 2020 and occupation of Crimea.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...omats-expelled
A revival of Indigenous throat singing
Inuit throat singing was at risk of extinction after years of erasure by colonists and missionaries, but TikTok star Shina Novalinga is sharing the tradition for a new generation
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2021...throat-singing
Electric Canadian
Elora, Ontario
Added several books and articles to my picture gallery of my trip to Elora in 2004. You can find these around the middle of the page where I finish my tour of Elora at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/canada/040605-1.htm
The publications include...
Planning and Development of Canadian Country Towns in the Nineteenth Century
A Case Study of Elora Village, Upper Canada by Mitsuko TANIGUCHI, Doshisha Girls' Junior and Senior High School. (pdf) [Text is in the Japanese language but the final two pages are in English.]
Extracts from a Teacher's Observations of School Government (1870) (pdf)
Undique
Elora District High School Year Book 1964 (pdf)
Elora District High School Year Book 1965 (pdf)
Selected Papers from the Proceedings of the Elora Natural History Society
1874-5. Instituted 1874 (pdf)
--------
Significance of Emigration - Discussion
By Edward Alsworth Ross (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...emigration.pdf
Canada's Broadcasting Pioneers
1918 - 1932 by Michael Nolan, School of Journalism, University of Western Ontario (1984) (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...g_pioneers.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday morning - the 11th day of April 2021
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can view this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...-of-april-2021
The Backwoodswoman
A chronicle of pioneer home life in Upper and Lower Canada. By Mrs. Isabel Skelton (1924)
Isabel Skelton has written a book, not about individual heroines, but about a heroic state of society. There are few heroines in Canadian history: there have been no voyageuses, and the "economy" of Canadian women has been of necessity domestic rather than political. Mrs. Skelton’s literary predecessors have been content to dismiss the subject with eulogies of Madeleine de Verchéres and Laura Secord. It is true, of course, that the real heroines were the Loyalist mothers and the heads of emigrant families who endured the horrors of a long passage and the hardships of a pioneer settlement. Only enterprise and courage would have led anyone to undertake such a Homeric task as compiling a book from the scattered records of these early settlers, and only literary taste and a wide knowledge of the original sources could have made it so fresh and vivid.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...woodswoman.htm
Electric Scotland
Beth's weekly video
April 14th 2021 - You are your own best evidence
You can view this at: https://electricscotland.com/bnft/videos.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Hi Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying the lovely spring weather that we are here in north Georgia! It's not too hot nor too cold, but just right! Blue skies and growing grass. In fact, when I have finished this, it is time for me to mount up on Old Mow Fella and cut the grass.
Here is the May 2021 BNFT. You'll be able to visit Fingal's cave with a Scottish sea kayaker, Nick Ray. I did and it was amazing. Have fun!
We can all join in sending best wishes and happiness to Clan Skene president, Al McGAlliard, and his brand new - as of April 1 - fiance, Lori Robertson on their engagement!
There's a story about a Loch Ness sighting and a photo to boot in this section! Tom and I were just talking about that sighting while we were up at Lake Burton a day or two ago and we were gob-smacked when we spotted a Nessie-like creature in that north Georgia lake! The Lake Burton creature looked precisely like the photo of the Loch Ness sighting! (We didn't get too excited, since they both looked like a faraway log in the water.) It doesn't matter, we BELIEVE in Nessie!
There are even some Scottish words that we can use in English! Now, all I have to do is remember them all!
We lost Graham Harris Graham, a wonderful Scottish photographer, in a mountain climbing accident just a few days ago. We'll have a more detailed Flowers of the Forest in the next section. Love and sympathy to his wife, Lora.
My dear friend, Alastair McIntyre, at electricscotland.com, has "recycled" some of the oldies from The Family Tree. If you have been a reader for a very long time, you will remember back when we asked our readers to send in their favorite stores, jokes, and tales for "The Ceilidh Book." Alastair has somehow revived that book and we'll share some of the information contained therein. What fun! It's a great resource when you are going to a real Ceilidh and want to go "armed" with great material!
Next time, we can look forward to another adventure with Pete Hylton in Scotland! Those are always as close to a real visit there as you can get without a suitcase!
Please remember to send me updated information on your email address. Please remember that genealogical queries are free in BNFT. (Did I just make a rhyme?) Whee.
Please continue to be careful, we have a ways to go before it is really safe for us to go out and live as we once did.
Aye,
beth
You can view the May 2021 issue 2 at: https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Scottish independence – playing by EU rules
By David Blake 04/04/2021
Professor David Blake argues that the SNP want to give back control to the EU (not a slogan they are likely to use)
You can read this at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...g-by-eu-rules/
The Fantasy Economics behind the case for Scottish independence
By David Blake in Briefings for Britain (April 10th 2021)
Last week Professor Blake summarised the economic cost to Scotland of becoming independent. In this article he lays out the case against independence in more detail including the serious difficulties Scotland will face in attempting to rejoin the EU.
You can read this at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...-independence/
A Cameronian Apostle
Being some Account of John Macmillan of Balmaghie by the Rev. H. W. B. Reid, B. D., Balmaghie with ten illustrations (1896)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...illan_john.htm
Musings of a Tank Commander
Part 33 On the US, U2 and eggs-over-easy
You can read this part at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tank/index.htm
The Anglo-Scottish War of 1558 and the Scottish Reformation
By Amy Blakeway (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/r...cottishwar.pdf
Riddoch, Alexander
Provost of Dundee 1787-1819 which we've added to our Significant Scots page.
You can read about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history..._alexander.htm
An Account of the Most Important Records of Great Britain
And the publications of the Record Commissioners together with other miscellaneous, Historical and Antiquarian Information compiled from various printed books and manuscripts By C. P. Cooper in two volumes (1832)
In the Preface the author is highly critical of the state of these records and in one case suggest that some may benefit by being placed in such a manner that the General Register House, Edinburgh are kept.
As always records of Great Britain also include records of Scottish matters and you'll find many in these volumes.
You can read these at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...nt_records.htm
Story
Loch-in-Dorb, An Ancient Royal Fortress
By A. D. Cumming, FSA Scot
Standing bare, ruinous, and lonely, amid black, forbidding hills, frowned on by grey, weatherbeaten rocks, and washed by the sluggish waves of the peaty lake, in a region well-nigh inaccessible and irresponsive to the reforming zeal of the later Scottish kings, it appears a strange perversion of history that the chief title of the island castle of Loch-in-dorb to a place in history should be due to its close associations with the early Plantagenet kings of England. Bare and bleak as the surrounding country now appears, in comparatively recent times it was covered with one dense forest of pine, oak, birch, and hazel, from the Spey to the Findhorn. There is clear evidence that the forest was destroyed by fire, since in many places in the neighbourhood may be seen black stretches of moss, utterly devoid of vegetation, covered with thousands of charred tree stumps. How this wanton destruction occurred, history does not record.
[Tradition says that in the days of Queen Mary a chief in the uplands of Strathspey tarried long amid the pleasures of the Court at Holyrood, while his lady pined in her Highland keep. At last, in despair, she despatched a trusty servitor to Edinburgh to seek her lord, giving him strict injunctions to treasure well the first queries with which his chief might address him. The mission was duly accomplished, and on his return the henchman was ushered into his lady’s presence. In answer to her eager questions, he informed her that his chief had first inquired as to the state of his woods, in which he took great pride. He then questioned him as to the welfare of two favourite staghounds, while the last inquiry was as to the health of his lady. Transported with anger and jealousy that woods and hounds should rank iii her husband’s mind before herself, she forthwith ordered the woods to be set fire to, while the favourite hounds were immediately slaughtered.]
This wooded country was called the Forest of Leanich and Braemoray. Its suitability for a royal hunting domain was seen by King Alexander II., who, in 1236, exchanged with Andrew, Bishop of Moray, the lands of Fynlarg (near the church of Inverallan) for this forest.
Loch-in-dorb is two miles long, about two-thirds of a mile broad, and the surface of the water is 969 feet above sea-level. The island on which the Castle is built is more than an acre in extent, and bears evident traces of being partly artificial. In this it resembles Loch-an-Eilan and Loch Moy in the same province.
[In the statistical account of the parish of Cromdale of 1791, it is stated that— "Great rafts or planks of oak, by the beating of the waters against the old walls, occasionally make their appearance, which confirms an opinion entertained of the place that it had been originally built upon an artificial island."]
Probably the original stronghold was a crannog, or fortified retreat, which in peaceful times might be used as a hunting shelter by the Caledonian kings who followed the chase in the surrounding forests. Afterwards it became the stronghold of the Comyns, then the most powerful clan in the Highlands. From public records, we learn that Black John Comyn of Badenoch, Governor of Scotland, died in his Castle of Loch-in-dorb in 1300. His son, the notable claimant to the Scottish throne, was slain by Bruce at Dumfries. His son, John, in turn possessed Loch-in-dorb until his death in 1326, and in him came to an end the direct line of a family once the most populous and powerful in Scotland.
When Edward I. of England returned from Flanders to crush Wallace, he invaded Scotland with a large army of English, Welsh, Irish, and Gascons, and, penetrating to Moray, took up his abode in the Castle of Loch-in-dorb. As Andrew of Wyntoun tells—
"And owre the Mownth (Grampians) then alsa fast
Til Lowchyndorbe then stracht he past
There swjourned a quhile he bade
Quhill he the North all wonnyn had."
Having settled there on 25th September 1303, he despatched his forces against the opposing strongholds of the north. Those of Inverness, Nairn, Forres, and Elgin surrendered at once, and the strong Castle of Urquhart, on Loch Ness, after a long siege, also capitulated to "The Hammer of the Scottish Nation." Fordoun relates that during Edward’s residence here, the northern parts of the kingdom submitted to him. The conditions as first laid down as a basis for treating of submission were extremely hard, and many of the Highland chiefs, like the bard of Wales, must have cursed in their hearts Edward of the long shanks.
But when the submissions were duly accomplished, Edward entertained the vanquished chiefs right royally. Long and strenuous days were spent in hunting in the Royal forests of Leanich and Braemoray, while by night the island rang with revelry. Edward left the Castle in December 1303, and spent the winter in Dunfermline.
The Castle bears such a strong resemblance to the mediaeval military fortresses in England and Wales, that we are justified (apart from the vague evidence of tradition) in assuming that it was entirely rebuilt, or, as Tytler suggests, had extensive additions made under the orders of Edward, between the close of 1303 and the beginning of 1306. Its irregular quadrangular shape, curtain walls, and strong circular towers, bell-shaped at the base (one commanding the entrance), would in England at once rank it amongst the" Edwardian" castles.’
[Dr Mackintosh, in his History of Civilisation in Scotland, vol. L p. 247, writes: "During this period a new form of defensive work was gradually introduced, usually called the Norman type of castle. The earliest remains of castles of this style in Scotland belong to the thirteenth century, and the best examples of them were the castles of Loch-in-dorb, Hermitage, Bothwell, Kildru’nmy, Caerlaverock, and Dirleton. These appear to have been built in the latter half of the thirteenth century. Massive walls of enormous strength were the chief features of these structures, but they presented little distinctive art characteristics, as strength and defence was the original idea and end contemplated by their owners." ]
The magnificent gateway on the east side, built of freestone, was a pointed arch of the early English style. The walls were built of whinstone and granite. According to Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, "the lime used in the building of the castle was brought in the state of stone in creels on horses’ backs from the quarries near to Grantown, and burned at limekilns on the opposite side of the hill from the loch."
The massive iron gate (one of the few distinctive Scottish "yetts" now in existence) which guarded the entrance, may still be seen at Cawdor Castle.
The outer walls were seven feet thick, and are still, in spite of the "gnawing teeth of time," almost 30 feet in height. Within the inner walls were the keep, banqueting hall, chapel, and domestic offices. Nor were dungeons, those necessary adjuncts of mediaeval strongholds, awanting.
The most notable event in the history of Loch-in-dorb was its siege by Sir Andrew Moray, Regent of Scotland, and its relief by Edward III. of England in 1335. A civil war was raging in Scotland round the rival claims of Edward Baliol and David Bruce to the throne of Scotland. At this time David Bruce was a prisoner in England, while Sir Andrew Moray was Regent of Scotland.
On St Andrew’s Day, 1335, the Earl of Athol, who was besieging Christian Bruce, sister of King Robert, in Kildrummie Castle, was surprised and slain in the forest of Braemar. His wife, Catherine de Beaumont, fled for refuge to the Castle of Loch-in-dorb, where she was besieged for seven months by Sir Andrew Moray. All the early historians of Scotland gave prominence to this notable siege and its subsequent raising.
The account given by Hector Boece, Canon of Aberdeen, as translated by Bellenden in Cronikles of Scotland, is probably the most complete. John of Fordoun’s account is similar; the only difference is his mentioning that Edward of Baliol accompanied the King, and that they brought away "the wife and heir of David, Earl of Athol."
King Edward left Blair Athol on 12th June 1336, and arrived with 500 horsemen at Loch-in-dorb on 15th June. The country was densely wooded, trackless and inhospitable, and many horses were lost on the way. Both the above historians omit to mention the masterly retreat of Sir Andrew Moray when almost surrounded by the large army of Edward. It is to this feature that Andrew of Wyntoun devotes special attention in Book VIII. of his. Cronykil. The besieging army lay on the east side of the lake, on a flat peninsula opposite the Castle, and the double ditches and redoubts may still be traced.
"That time the Erlis wyfe Dawy,
With other ladyis that were lovely,
Were in Lochindorb lyand,
And when the King of England
Herd that so thae ladyis
Were environed with thare enemies
He busk’d to rescue them thane
With twenty thousand chosen men."
The force of Sir Andrew Moray, alarmed at the near approach of such a large army, fell into a panic, which was only allayed by the example of perfect coolness set by their leader. He was about to celebrate mass, and would not permit a move until his devotions were ended. At last his steed was led forth, and his men clamoured for him to mount with all haste. He delayed until a broken piece of his armour was repaired.
"He leaped on syne, and in array
Held welle his folk, and held his way,
And when the English saw thame there,
Hold so together all their men
They followed noucht out of array."
Sir Andrew managed his retreat so skilfully, and availed himself so well of the nature of the ground, that King Edward was entangled in the intricacies of the forest and lost sight of him. The King, believing the enemy to be still in front, pressed on in pursuit till the forest grew thinner, when he saw that he had been outmanoeuvred. He camped for the night, and next day returned to Loch-in-dorb, where he stayed for some time. On his departure, he conveyed the Countess of Atholl and her ladies to a place of safety in the south. He was so enraged at having been baffled by the Regent, that in revenge he ravaged and burned Morayland. Sir Walter Scott styles the masterly retreat of Sir Andrew Moray one of the finest actions of the period, and most characteristic of Scottish generalship." There is a local tradition to the effect that the besiegers made an attempt to flood the Castle by constructing a dam at the north-west end, where the stream issues from the loch. The barrier, however, proved too weak and broke, several of the besiegers being drowned in the impetuous rush of waters.
A few years later the Castle was the scene of the imprisonment and death of the famous William Bullock. Bullock was an ecclesiastic of obscure birth, but possessed great military talent. When evil days fell upon Baliol, Bullock, who had been his chamberlain, deserted him and his English friends, and for an adequate consideration transferred his allegiance to the Scots, and delivered up the Castle of Cupar, which he commanded. He became a great favourite at court, and was raised to high honours. His enemies, who were neither few nor powerless, procured his arrest on a groundless charge of treason. He was imprisoned within the massive walls of this fortress, and at last flung into the "water-pit" dungeon, where he perished of cold and hunger in 1342.
For twenty-five years afterwards the Castle was used as a State prison. On 16th November 1367 David II. granted to Symon Reid, the Constable of Edinburgh Castle, the forest and Castle of Loch-in-dorb, which had fallen to him by the forfeiture of the late John Comyn, knight. We have, however, no record of the Constable ever taking possession of the fortress. In 1370, the first year of his reign, King Robert II. gave Badenoch, with the lands, forests, and Castle of Loch-in-dorb, to his son, Alexander, Earl of Buchan, Lord of Badenoch. "The Wolfe of Badenoch" was a man of huge stature, bold as a lion, but unscrupulous and unprincipled. His fierce, ungovernable temper and haughty bearing earned him the apt but undesirable sobriquet of "The Wolfe." He was long at bitter enmity with the Church, and did not scruple to issue forth from his insular stronghold and seize the fat lands of the wealthy churchmen of Moray and Badenoch. For these and other even less amiable traits he was excommunicated by the Church of Rome. In deep wrath and mortification, he sallied forth in June 1390, and burned Forres and the beautiful Cathedral Church of Elgin, "The Lantern of the North." In his latter days "The Wolfe" became somewhat tamed, and did penance for his sacrilegious deeds in the Church of the Black Friars at Perth. After his death, the Castle came into possession of his son, who possessed much of the fiery temper and ruthless character of his father.
The last occasion on which Loch-in-dorb came into historical prominence was during the "Douglas Wars." It was then strongly fortified by Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, who became possessed of lands in Moray in right of his wife. By this time the Douglas family had become so powerful in Scotland that in wealth and power they not only approached to, but even surpassed, the King himself. At last, in 1455, they broke into open rebellion. Decree of attainder was pronounced against the Earl of Douglas, his mother the Countess Beatrix, and his brother Archibald, Earl of Moray. The treasonable acts specified against Archibald, "pretended" Earl of Moray, were garrisoning and fortifying Loch-in-dorb and Darnaway Castles against the King. On 1st May 1455, the Douglases were utterly crushed at Arkinholme, and the Earl of Moray was slain. The house of Douglas had now reached its fall, and all its lands were forfeited.
The subsequent history of Loch-in-dorb is comparatively uninteresting. The tragic death of James II. prevented the Earldom of Moray from passing directly into the Royal family, although the estates remained as Crown lands until 1548, when the Earl of Huntly, for his extraordinary valour at the Battle of Pinkie, received a grant of the Earldom of Moray and the Lordship of Abernethy.
About 1612 John Grant of Freuchy (commonly called John of Freuchy), the chief of the Grants, exchanged with George, first Marquis of Huntly, the lands then belonging to the family of Grant in Glenlivet and Strathavon for certain lands in Abernethy and Inverallan, "which were a part of the sixteen davochs of the Lordship of Badenoch, and to which the lake and Castle of Loch-in-dorb are a pertinent." Since this time Loch-in-dorb has remained in the possession of the Grants of Castle Grant, Strathspey.
A peculiar herb, locally termed "Loch-in-dorb kail," springs up annually amid the ruins. It is somewhat similar to the red cabbage, and grows occasionally to a pound in weight. The country people transplant it to their gardens, and use it as greens. It is said to have been originally cultivated by the last occupants of the Castle in a space between the outer and inner walls.
For 455 years Loch-in-dorb Castle has been crumbling in ruins, but even now is magnificent in decay. Its history is in many ways unique. So far as we are aware, it never sheltered a ruling sovereign of Scotland, although members of the Royal house were its repeated possessors. Yet two kings of England resided, held court, and dispensed hospitality within its walls. Built on Scottish soil by a Plantagenet king of England, it fell by command of a Stewart king of Scotland. Its stirring history was over ere many castles accounted old were built; its ruin was accomplished more than a century before the Reformation.
Have added a YouTube video about the castle which you can watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...lochindorb.htm
END.
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair