Spring Road Trip Drive To Visit Elcho Castle Perthshire Scotland

Tour Scotland travel video of a Spring road trip drive, with Scottish bagpipes and drums music, on visit to the grounds of Elcho Castle located on the South bank of the River Tay by Rhynd not far from Perth, Perthshire. This Scottish castle was built in the latter half of the 16th century for the Wemyss family, whose descendants still own it, although it is now in the care of Historic Scotland. The surname Wemyss is derived from the Scottish Gaelic uaimh which means cave. It is believed to be taken from the caves of the Wemyss, Fife, by the Firth of Forth, where the Wemyss family made a home. Sir Michael Wemyss along with his brother, Sir David, and also Scott of Balwearie were sent to Norway to bring back the infant Queen Margaret, the Maid of Norway, in 1290. Sir Michael Wemyss swore fealty to Edward I of England in 1296 but then changed his allegiance to Robert the Bruce. In 1513 Chief Sir David de Wemyss was killed leading the Clan Wemyss at the Battle of Flodden. John Wemyss was knighted in 1618 and created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1625. David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss was nominated as one of the trustees for the Treaty of Union with England. In 1707 he became Vice Admiral of Scotland. During the Jacobite rising of 1745, David Wemyss, Lord Elcho, joined the Jacobite leader, Charles Edward Stuart in Edinburgh. Lord Elcho accompanied Stuart into England and was also present at the Battle of Culloden. The chiefship of the Clan Wemyss and the estates in Fife devolved upon the 5th earl's third son, James Wemyss, born 1726, died 1786, who was MP for Sutherland and married Lady Elizabeth Sutherland in 1757. James Wemyss's great grandson married Millicent, daughter of Lady Augusta Gordon, and illegitimate granddaughter of William IV of the United Kingdom. Their son, Michael Wemyss, married Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck, last surviving god-daughter of Queen Victoria. ( While keeping a Social Distance you can still take a drive for a walk during the Coronavirus Pandemic keeping yourself out of close contact with other people, the interior of the castle is closed due to the virus )

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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