Christmas is Coming - and so are the Books!

Last week I was in the process of scouring the book catalogues for Christmas presents. The problem is that once I get engrossed in the catalogues I see books which I would like for myself. I do tend to read quite a lot, and not the latest popular "50 shades of" type of novel. In fact you will usually find non fiction on my bedside locker.

I have always enjoyed reading about the places we visit on holiday to widen my knowledge and experience of them. So it should come as no surprise that when my eyes came across books with such titles as:

Dryburgh Abbey
The Kingdom of MacBrayne
The West Highlands
Northumberland Strongholds
Castles - Scotland and the Border Country

I was tempted!

I have resisted the urge to read any of these books at the moment, although they are all sitting in my office just begging to be read!

Dryburgh Abbey is situated in Border Country. Whenever we do the "Border Abbey Trip" we usually visit Kelso Abbey, Dryburgh Abbey, Melrose Abbey and Jedburgh Abbey.

Dryburgh Abbey nestles in wooded seclusion by the River Tweed. It was founded in 1150 by the Premonstratensian Order (or White Canons as they became known due to their white robes.) Dryburgh Abbey never quite aspired to the heights of wealth and influence achieved by its neighbours at Kelso, Jedburgh and Melrose, and on the whole the monastic life was lived out quietly. The sound of war occasionally visited the secluded spot, most famously in 1322, when Edward II’s retreating army, on hearing the abbey’s bells ringing in the distance, turned back and set fire to the place.

Dryburgh Abbey is the resting place of Earl Haigh and his wife. Earl Haigh was the leader of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from 1915 to the end of World War I. His name is associated with the Poppy Appeals.

One of the things I most remember about this building is the Chapter House, which you entered by going down a flight of about 12 steps, into a large vaulted chamber. This chamber was wonderfully resonant.

 

One of the names synonymous with early travel in the remote west of Scotland is David MacBrayne. He owned a fleet of coaches which travelled the highways and bye ways. He also moved into shipping, which were often the only routes to some of the more remote Western Isles. Even today, the name Macbrayne conjures up travel by the red funnelled ferries complete with a lion emblem, which serve some 24 Scottish Islands.

We have travelled on the following routes by Macbrayne Ferries:

ARRAN
Ardrossdan - Brodick
Lochranza - Claonaig

MULL
Oban - Craignure
Lochaline - Fishnish
Kilchoan - Tobermory
Finnaphort - Iona

OUTER HEBRIDES
Uig - Tarbert
Leverburgh - Berneray
Lochmaddy - Uig

The company is now known as Caledonian MacBrayne, and is usually shortened to CalMac.

This book is a series of photographs taken in the West Highlands. Some years ago we took a holiday by crossing from Skye to the Outer Hebrides and then on our return we travelled all the way up the west coast to Durness which is the western equivalent to John O' Groats.

If you want to explore castles and fortified buildings there is no better place to go to than the Border region. Northumberland is the county south of Scotland, so has more than its fair share of castles, peel towers, bastle houses and the like. The photo on the front of this book is of Alnwick Castle, with the Percy Family Lion stood on the bridge over the River Aln. It was in Alnwick Castle that many of the Castle Scenes for the Harry Potter films were filmed.