RUINS TO RESTORATION

Today it’s September 5 and we have a full day planned on the way to Aberdeen.  First up, of course, is breakfast at the B&B.  Our host, ex-RAF Jack, had something special on offer, which was haddock poached in milk with a poached egg on top.  For me, this was one of the “highlight” breakfasts of our trip, along with the previous whole trout.

Yes, it was good!  The only downside to Brighton House was the dodgy wifi, which would allow only one device on at a time, and it appeared that Jack’s son had that device most of our stay.  Jack was flummoxed, as the system was supposed to handle multiple items, but it seemed to treat all subsequent devices as having the same IP address, and reported us as already being on.  Very frustrating in an otherwise excellent stay.  The NO thanks and YES signs are part of the upcoming vote in Scotland on going fully independent or remaining a part of Great Britain.  We saw thousands of signs and banners on private homes and in public places.  I have to say, upon watching televised interviews and debates on the subject, that the tenor of Scottish politics is leagues ahead of the nonsense that we have to endure in the States from our extremist shrill voices (on both sides).  The Scots are actually civil, despite having passionate viewpoints on the subject.
Our first stop of the day was the Elgin Cathedral ruins, which were eerily beautiful in their delicacy.  Unfortunately, we had our first day of rain, but not very heavy.  Elgin dates, like many others, to the 1200’s, was burned by some nobleman in 1390, and was violently attacked in the upheavals leading to the Protestant Reformation of 1560, wherein Scotland broke ties with the Papacy.  A lot of structures were destroyed in the Reformation, and again later in the Jacobite period between 1688 and 1746 when the movement was to restore a Catholic king, James II of England and VII of Scotland, to the throne.  Nothing like religion as a destructive force.  Anyway, Elgin was quite haunting in the rain.

As you can see from the ground between these towers above and the rose window at the far end, this was a big cathedral.

The grounds also contained some very old carved stones that have stood up remarkably well after twelve centuries of wear, better than most of the tombstones we saw which were barely 200 years old.

Next up was Spynie Palace, almost walking distance from Elgin, which for 500 years was the rather sumptuous (for the times) residence and R&R hangout for the bishops of Moray.  It allegedly had its own bowling green and, by one account a tennis court!  Ah, the religious life.  Nice work if you can get it.  We had to hoof it a bit from the parking lot.

This is David’s Tower, where the Bishops entertained the kings and queens and each other, on six floors of relative luxury.


This was the largest tower by volume of all medieval Scottish towers, six stories tall with a vaulted basement and garret. The basement contains a circular dungeon. The ground floor contained the hall with a spiral staircase which led to the upper floors. All things must end.  The tower interior today.


Nice view over the countryside from the top of the tower.

We left the bishops’ luxo-roost via another of Scotland’s super-highways for another exercise in upscale living, this time a little more modern. 
One of my favorite stops of the trip was Duff House, located in Banff, Aberdineshire, built in Georgian style as designed by William Adam. The foundation stone was laid in June, 1735, and the building was finished five years later, although it took over 100 years to complete the interior.  It is set within extensive park-like grounds with a long entry drive.  It houses a collection of paintings and furniture on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland, although we didn’t see anything of note.

This shot, cribbed from the internet, shows a small portion of the park setting.

Between 1908 and 1913, and again in the 1920s, Duff House was used as an exclusive hotel for wealthy customers who were attracted by the sea-near location, the new golf course which had recently opened behind the House, and the Royal connections associated with the House.  Inside, sixteen suites were available all with en-suite facilities and electric lighting, which was still fairly new then.  From 1913 to 1923, it was used as a private hospital for the scientific investigation and treatment of internal diseases, including pioneering research of the then relatively unknown condition, diabetes.  From 1939 to 1946 the House was used as a military base, first as an internment camp, followed by a brief period as a prisoner of war camp, and then as an Allied headquarters for various English and Scots regiments. In 1942 it became the HQ for Norway's Norwegian Brigade and, after the war, as a base for Polish soldiers waiting for resettlement in Scotland.  With all that varied use, it’s remarkable that it survived basically intact.
Unfortunately, with one exception, we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the interior.  It was sumptuous in a very livable fashion.  Yes, I could see myself there, especially in the billiards room which had the biggest table I have ever seen.  The one photo exception was in the music room, where they invited visitors to play the grand piano.  The docent was hoping for a little jazz to break the classical monotonies he’d been enduring, but no luck.  We inveigled Chuck to take a shot.  After excessive disclaimers of modesty, he did a fine job.  Well, except for the final notes.  :)

I have a video of the performance, complete with tinny camera sound, but I’m under threat of severe bodily harm if it is published.  All this walking around of course produced a great need for afternoon tea and scones, and the café at Duff House didn’t disappoint.  In fact, it was one of the best scones we had on the whole trip.  With, of course, clotted cream and jam.

Our last stop of the day before hitting Aberdeen was the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse & Museum.  Unfortunately, we got there so late we had to settle for a mini tour of the lighthouse, and a dash through the museum.  I would have liked to spend more time in the museum. 

Built for the Fraser family, the 16th century castle was altered in 1787 to create the first mainland lighthouse built by the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses.  It is still in working order but has now been replaced by a small unmanned light nearby. The lighthouse remains much as it was left by the last lighthouse crew.
The light’s rotation originally was driven by a clockwork mechanism powered by weights on these long chains that hang down the spiral staircase.  It had to be re-weighted every 30 minutes!  That kept the keepers busy.  Today, it is driven electrically.

The clockwork mechanism.









The light itself, a giant Fresnel lens, originally was lit by paraffin wax.  Several months supply were kept in these containers.  Today, it is lit by one ordinary 250w bulb.



The local town is built right up to the edge of the lighthouse property.  At right is the now-unused foghorn adjacent to the lighthouse.  We were told that property values in the neighborhood jumped when the decision was made to finally silence the horn.  Gosh, I guess silence really is golden!