Rainy Autumn Road Trip Through Pends On History Visit To St Andrews Fife Scotland

Tour Scotland travel video of a rainy Autumn road trip drive through the Pends on ancestry, genealogy, history visit to St Andrews, Fife. The arched Pends was the former entrance to the St Andrews Priory. The Pends is also known locally as one of the sites of a ghostly vision of a coach and horses. This is often thought to be the coach of Archbishop Sharp who was murdered in 1679 during the Covenanter period of Scottish history. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Halloween Cookies On Visit To A Bakers Shop In Perthshire Scotland

Tour Scotland 4K Autumn travel video of Halloween cookies on history visit and trip to a Bakers shop in Perthshire, Britain, United Kingdom. The word Halloween means hallowed evening or holy evening. It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve, the evening before All Hallows' Day. The earliest ancestors of Halloween cookies date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest and the onset of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead blurred during this time. To appease wandering spirits and honour ancestors, they baked simple biscuit like food offerings made from grains and honey. These were left on doorsteps or used as ritual offerings. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome. Meteorological Autumn or Fall is different from standard and astronomical Autumn and begins September 1 and ends November 30 All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Scotsman Walking Wearing Kilt By A Maitland Castle On History Visit To Borders Scotland

Tour Scotland short 4K Autumn travel video of a Scotsman wearing a kilt and Sporran and walking by trees and a Maitland Castle on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit and trip to the Scottish Borders, Britain, United Kingdom. The Maitland family originally arrived in Britain from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066. Around 1250, Sir Richard Maitland married Avicia, the daughter and heiress of Thomas du Thirlestane, which brought the local lands into the family’s ownership. For centuries, they lived in a traditional stone peel tower. In 1590 Sir John Maitland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland under King James VI, acquired the current site. He constructed a massive, four-and-a-half-story rectangular keep built directly upon the foundations of the ancient 13th century fort. The new castle quickly became a focal point of Scottish high society, hosting King James VI on multiple occasions in the 1590s. In the late 1670s, the castle underwent a dramatic transformation under John Maitland, the 2nd Earl and only Duke of Lauderdale. The Duke was one of the most powerful and controversial political figures in 17th-century Britain. Following the Restoration of the monarchy, King Charles II appointed him Secretary of State for Scotland, effectively making him the uncrowned king of Scotland. The castle took on its final grand shape in the 1840s. The 9th Earl of Lauderdale hired celebrated Victorian architects David Bryce and William Burn to expand the property to accommodate large scale social entertaining. Clan Maitland is a traditional Lowland Scottish clan with roots tracking back to the Anglo-Norman settlement of Scotland in the 12th century. Known historically for their sharp political minds, legal dominance, and influential roles as royal advisors, the clan has left a significant mark on Scottish and British history. The hereditary chief of the clan is the Earl of Lauderdale. The name Maitland derives from the Old French nickname Mautalent or Maltalant, which translates roughly to foul tempered, vexation, spite, or even evil genius". In a medieval feudal context, such a pejorative name was likely adopted as a nickname to project fearsome strength or ruthless intelligence. The family's ancestors originated from the villages of Les Moitiers d'Allonne and Carteret on the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. A Mautalent officer fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Around 1130, King David I of Scotland invited younger sons of Norman continental nobility to settle in Scotland to help establish administrative and feudal law. The family settled in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. Because the surname is so rare, genealogists believe that all Maitlands share a single common early medieval ancestor. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome. Meteorological Autumn or Fall is different from standard and astronomical Autumn and begins September 1 and ends November 30 All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Scotsman Walking Wearing Kilt By Lochwood Castle On History Visit To Dumfries And Galloway Scotland

Tour Scotland short 4K Autumn travel video of a Scotsman wearing a kilt and Sporran and walking by trees and ruined Lochwood Castle on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit and trip to the Dumfries and Galloway, Britain, United Kingdom. For centuries, it served as the ancestral seat and principal stronghold of the formidable Clan Johnstone, one of the most powerful and feared of the Scottish Border clans. The earliest version of the castle was likely a timber motte and bailey design built on a strategic ridge by the Bruces, who were the Lords of Annandale. The Johnstones may have initially occupied the site as knights serving the Bruce family. After the early fortifications were destroyed or abandoned, the Johnstones constructed a massive stone tower house towards the end of the 15th century. The castle's name is derived from a forest or wood near an ancient lake or loch, which later deteriorated into a bog known as Lochwood Moss. The castle was purposefully built in this swampy, treacherous woodland to make it incredibly difficult for an invading army to approach with heavy equipment. During the military conflict known as the Rough Wooing, English forces led by Sir Thomas Carleton successfully captured Lochwood in 1547 through sheer stealth. A dozen English soldiers sneaked past the outer wall before dawn and intercepted the housemaids. As a maid opened the tower's heavy wooden door, the soldiers rushed it. In her panic to secure the wooden door, she failed to lock the massive inner iron gate or yett, allowing the English to flood the castle and seize it without a heavy siege. The English occupiers recorded being highly impressed by how well-stocked the castle was, noting vast stores of salted beef, malt, barley, oatmeal, butter, and cheese. The Johnstones managed to reclaim it in 1550. The Johnstones were locked in a generational, incredibly bloody feud with their great regional rivals, the Clan Maxwell. In 1585, Robert Maxwell and his men retaliated against the Johnstones by attacking and burning Lochwood Castle to the ground. This bitter rivalry eventually culminated in the famous Battle of Dryfe Sands in 1593, where the Johnstones won a decisive victory and Lord Maxwell was slain. The castle was rebuilt after the Maxwell raid and hosted King James VI in 1592. However, by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the fortress became outmoded and uncomfortable compared to modern residences. The Earls of Annandale relocated their primary lives to Edinburgh, completely abandoning Lochwood around 1724. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome. Meteorological Autumn or Fall is different from standard and astronomical Autumn and begins September 1 and ends November 30 All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Scotsman Walking Wearing Kilt By Mellingshaw Tower On History Visit To Galloway Scotland

Tour Scotland short 4K Autumn travel video of a Scotsman wearing a kilt and Sporran and walking by trees and ruined 16th Century Mellingshaw Tower on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit and trip to the Dumfries and Galloway, Britain, United Kingdom. The prominent Johnstone clan, a powerful Border family famously known as the gentle Johnstones, who were anything but gentle to their enemies, held the heritable rights to the land. Records from 1527 to1528 document that Archibald Johnstone, son of Gavin Johnstone of Elshieshiels, formally resigned his rights to the five mark land of Greskine and Mellingshaw to his clan chief, John Johnstone of that Ilk. It is highly likely that a branch of the Johnstone family constructed the tower shortly after this period to secure and manage their localized estate. Mellingshaw Tower was built as a typical Scottish tower house, designed primarily to protect its inhabitants and cattle from Border Reivers, the notorious raiders who plundered the Anglo Scottish frontier. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome. Meteorological Autumn or Fall is different from standard and astronomical Autumn and begins September 1 and ends November 30 All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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