Aside from Castles and Gardens in Dumfries and Galloway, we wanted to explore the coast and began with Rockcliffe village and bay, very picturesque on a wild and windy day. We climbed the Mote of Mark, a dramatic hill fort with a viewpoint across the bay (and mythical links with Merlin from the King Arthur stories.) Teetering on the pebbles along the coastal walk we were wind-whipped and rain-lashed but found a sheltering tree for a blustery picnic. Wild. As we ascended the headland we stumbled upon Joseph Nelson’s Grave; he was a victim of the shipwreck of The Ann, lost in January 1791 (Nelson’s body washed ashore in July, six months after the disaster.) Our destination was Castle Point, a high promontory with panoramic views along the coast. The return journey included an alarming herd-of-cows attack, so I had to summon my Inner Farmer to bring the family to safe haven….
Mossyard Beach was another memorable stop, a magical shell-covered beach with a series of dunes and the noise of waves rolling in, slurching out, relentlessly flowing and ebbing, (from Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach:)
Listen! You hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin….
Frequent surprises on this trip were provided by the terrific guides or custodians of every site we visited, even when we were spending only the briefest of comfort stops, for example at Dundrennan Abbey (the last place Mary Queen of Scots stayed before leaving Scotland forever) or Carsluith Castle with its welcome coffee/Deli shop. Was it the lyrical nature of the Scottish accent, or just the well-trained tourist-friendly gift-of-the-gab? Who knew bits of old rock could be made so dramatic and inspirational? But so it was at Cairn Holy I and II, two chambered cairns with their cup-and-ring marks and tantalising glimpses into burial practices that we can only imagine. Who rested there? A religious figure? The mythical Scottish King Galdus? A famous Somebody who is famous No More?
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
 |
| Castle Point |
No comments:
Post a Comment