Elgin and Craigellachie: Scotland '21 Part 4

An Ancient Cathedral, a Dearth of Dolphins and One of Scotland's Few Remaining Cooperages

The 'City' of Elgin

Scotland

Moray

We left Forres for Elgin, a 20-minute drive away.

With 25,000 citizens, Elgin is Moray’s administrative capital and largest population centre, indeed Moray was known as Elginshire until 1918. As a testament to its importance Elgin has spawned namesakes in New Zealand and South Africa, seven more in Canada (including 2 Port Elgins) and no less than 22 in the United States (2 in South Carolina!).

I have, thus far, avoided referring to Elgin as a town or a city. Elgin was a Royal Burgh and until the late 19th century the word ‘city’ was used informally in Scotland. As new rules were applied, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow quickly obtained city status, others, including Elgin. assumed they were cities, because that was how they thought of themselves - the local football club has been 'Elgin City FC' since its foundation in 1893. In 1972 Elgin and Perth were assumed to be on an official list of Scottish cities, then discovered they were not. Stirling 'jumped the queue' when it became a city for the Queen's Golden Jubilee (2002) and Elgin lost out to Perth at the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, so Elgin is a town, just like Brechin - despite the existence of Brechin City FC. (Fingers crossed for the 2022 Platinum Jubilee?) [Update May 2022: Lost out to Dunfermline - so unfair.]

Moray (My thanks and apologies to the copyright holders of these maps!)

Elgin Cathedral

Reaching Elgin we turned off the A96 and followed signs to the Cathedral.

Had Elgin been in England the existence of a cathedral would have further muddied Elgin’s city status. Fortunately, it is not. Prior to the Reformations (1534 in England, 1560 in Scotland) both countries had their compliment of Catholic Cathedrals. Those in England seamlessly(ish) became Church of England and their locations ‘cities’. Scotland became Presbyterian and the Presbyterian Church has no bishops and hence no need of cathedrals. Some former cathedrals, like St Giles in Edinburgh and Dunblane Cathedral are still called Cathedrals, but as a courtesy title. Elgin is slightly different, as it is clearly a ruin.

Elgin Cathedral

We had not thought it necessary to acquire tickets in advance, but a group of ticketless elderly ladies who arrived just before us were not allowed in. The cathedral’s ‘open plan’ design meant we could see there was ample space, but apparently the man on the gate could not take money, only check tickets.

We were about to follow them away when we realised we did not have to, Lynne pulled out her phone, bought two tickets for 10.00 (it was then 9.55) and in we went. It was a shame, though, they could not find a solution for the earlier group and that Historic Environment Scotland's Covid regulations had made no allowance for those to whom ‘on line’ remains a closed world.

Inside Elgin Cathedral

The Bishops of Moray led a somewhat peripatetic existence until 1224 when Alexander II granted land near the River Lossie and Bishop Andreas de Moravia (AKA Andrew of Moray) set about building a cathedral.

Rebuilding after a damaging fire in 1270 saw the choir double in length, the construction of outer aisles to the northern and southern walls…

The post 1270 outer aisles, Elgin Cathedral

…and the addition of a Chapter House. The Chapter House was extensively repaired and reroofed between 1976 and 1988.

Chapter House vaulting: old design, modern workmanship

The cathedral was damaged again by fire twice more, in 1390 during an attack by Alexander Stuart, the ‘Wolf of Badenoch’ and again in 1402 by supporters of Donald, Lord of the Isles.

We encountered a story teller near the back wall who told us much about the Wolf of Badenoch, a man with the sense of entitlement of an Old Etonian Prime Minister and the cruelty and rapacity of a psychopath. I doubt that the Lord of the Isles was much nicer. At that time the king, Robert III (the Wolf’s older brother) was acknowledged by all, but in large parts of Scotland the local ‘nobility’ had free reign and were often little more than war lords. The rich farmland of Moray was equally attractive to the Lord of Isles and the Wolf of Badenoch and what they wanted, they took – or fought each other for.

For a time, life became less dramatic. The South Tower has a display of 15th century vaulting bosses, probably modelled on local people.

15th century carved vault bosses

An engraving found in Elgin Past and Present by Herbert B. Mackintosh (1914), now in the public domain, suggests all was peaceful in 1538…

… but the Reformation was only decades away. In 1560 the Scottish parliament declared that the Scottish church would be Protestant, and the Catholic mass illegal. Cathedrals were to become parish churches, but as Elgin already had a parish church the cathedral was abandoned. In 1567 parliament authorised the Privy Council to remove the lead from the roof and sell it for the upkeep of the army. Unfortunately the overladen ship transporting the lead to Holland capsized in Aberdeen harbour.

By 1615 the steeples and walls were still standing, but the roof had gone and the window, marble monuments and many tombs had been broken and defaced. The central spire collapsed during a storm in 1711.

The Cathedral precinct became Elgin’s burial ground. There are some excellent gravestones, some depicting the life of the interred….

Gravestone, Elgin cathedral

…and several leaving no doubt as to our common future (and the sands of time are dwindling away).

Our common future, a reminder from Elgin cathedral

Ownership passed to the crown and in the early years on the 19th century the growth of tourism and interest in the past led to the first attempts at stabilization and then restoration. The ruin is now managed by Historic Environment Scotland, a safe pare of hands even if their ticketing policy could do with a rethink.

Baxter’s Foods, Fochabers

Leaving the cathedral, we found our way back to the A69 and set off toward Fochabers. some 15 mins to the east.

Just before crossing the River Spey we passed Baxter’s Foods factory.

Four generations after 25-year-old George Baxter borrowed 11 guineas to open a grocery shop in Fochabers, Baxter’s soups, preserves and condiments can be found on the shelves of every supermarket.

Baxter's original

One of George’s most successful lines was the jam made by his wife Margaret using local fruits.

In time, George’s son William took over the business. His wife Ethel was another indefatigable jam maker and in 1916 they built a jam factory beside the River Spey. The jams were marketed all over Scotland.

Classic Baxters

In 1923 they acquired a canning machine and Ethel moved on to soups. The range included their Royal Game Soup with local venison. By the end of the decade Baxter’s soups, with their reputation for quality had spread beyond Scotland and were stocked by Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.

George’s son Gordon married Ena Robertson in 1952. Together they created their ‘Best of Scotland’ range of soups and Ena Baxter became what we would now call a ‘TV Chef’.

In the 21st century the company has expanded by acquiring other producers and their products are widely available throughout the UK. The expansion has been profitable but it inevitably lost them their reputation for high quality. Recent changes in the boardroom, with the next generation of Baxters retaking the helm, may herald a change.

To the Mouth of the Spey

Crossing the river and turning left between Baxter’s and Fochabers we followed the minor road up to the mouth of the Spay and parked near the Scottish Dolphin Centre. This, we had been told, was a good place to see dolphins.

A shingle spit protects the mouth of the river and behind it is a small lagoon.

Lagoon at the mouth of the Spey

Osprey

As we crunched our way towards the sea, we learned that this is also a good place to see Ospreys. ‘He came up from over there,’ we were told, ‘picked his dinner from out the river and flew off upstream to eat it.’ ‘When was this?’ ‘Five minutes, ago.’

Some see ospreys

Dolphins

So, we had just missed the Osprey, but out on the spit we looked optimistically out to sea waiting for a pod of dolphins to swim by.

There is a limit to how long you can stand on an exposed beach scanning the featureless grey sea waiting for something to happen. On a cold blustery day that had us reaching for the calendar to check it was still August, that limit was soon reached.

Some will stand on the spit and photograph others not seeing dolphins

Back in the car we mused philosophically. It was a good place for seeing dolphins but we lacked the determination to wait long enough, and however long you wait, wild animals offer no guarantees. We have at least seen ospreys and dolphins in the past (and would see dolphins again in only a matter of weeks) but our four lengthy attempts to see tigers (here in Rajasthan and here in Karnataka) have all drawn blanks.

Buckie

Less than half way back to Fochabers we found a minor road to take us back to the coast to join the A990 which we followed through Portgordon with its small harbour and on to Buckie. With some 9,000 citizens Buckie was the largest town in the small county of Banffshire before it was absorbed into Moray.

Lunchtime was upon us, but Buckie is a working town, not a holiday resort and the long seafront offered no possibilities. Fishing and shipbuilding are in decline, but shellfish and fish processing still thrive and it was easier find a smokehouse than a coffee shop. Just before the harbour we turned right towards the town centre.

Parking on the corner of High Street and Cluny Square we set off on foot up the High Street. Norma had informed us she was cooking Italian that evening and we wanted to do it justice, but something small would be welcome now. The High Street had little to offer and we were almost back at the car before finding a shop that would provide a takeaway sandwich and coffee.

Taking a virtual walk later, I discovered that had we eschewed the High Street and tried Cluny Square (actually a street, not a square) instead, we would have been spoilt for choice. Oh well.

To Craigellachie

Plan A had involved driving along the coast through Findochty to Cullen, but we were well behind schedule. We had a timed ticket for the Speyside Cooperage in Craigallechie and once we had dealt with our sandwich and coffee we needed to immediately head south.

Our thirty-minute journey took us via Braes of Enzie, Auchlunkart and Maggieknockater. None are big, two of them scarcely count as hamlets, but they are part of Scotland's wealth of great place names. They are not pretty, but they are names that could tell stories, and I appreciate that while knowing anything about them.

Craigellachie

Craigellachie

The Macallan

Although described (by Wikipedia) as a small village, Craigellachie sprawls over a substantial area between the Rivers Spey and Fiddich and has more facilities than most villages of its size.

Situated were Strathspey meets Glen Fiddich it lies in the heart of whisky country and has two distilleries. East of the Spey lies The Macallan, one of the largest selling single malts, and a bit of a favourite of mine. In the heart of the village is the eponymous Craigellachie, owned by Dewars. It is occasionally bottled as a single malt, but its main function is to provide the touch of class in Dewars blended whiskies.

Dewars Craigellachie Distillery

But whisky could not exist if there were no barrels, even the humblest blend must spend three years maturing in wood. There was a time when all sorts of produce from apples to zebras (no, not really) was transported in barrels and coopers were everywhere, now just wine and whisky (and some beer and cider) require wooden barrels. As far as I can ascertain, there are only two cooperages left in Scotland, one in Glasgow, one in Craigellachie.

Speyside Cooperage, Craigellachie

At the Speyside Cooperage 14 coopers are busy shaping, shaving and charring oak casks that will be used for as long as 60 years – though they must occasionally return here for inspection and repair.

The flavour of whisky depends on the water, the barley, the distillation and the cask. The fresh distillate is colourless, the colour as in most brown spirits comes from the barrel and charring is an important part of that.

Dealing with 15 to 30 casks a day, they work fast (they are paid per cask), running or dancing round the barrels. Sometimes it looks as though the workshop has been choreographed.

Speyside Cooperage, Craigellachie

All this information and more came from our cheerful guide as we watched from the viewing gallery. I had never seen coopers at work before, but it was well worth the trip – thanks to Norma for recommending this visit.

Craigellachie to Forres

We took the cross-country route but contrived to miss Thomas Telford’s Bridge over the Spey at Craigellachie. The road then led past the Cardhu distillery to Upper Knockando, just north of Knockando and the Knockando and Tamdhu distilleries.

Dallas and Dallas Dhu

Further on we encountered Dallas which, like Elgin, has spawned a worldwide crowd of namesakes. There are not quite as many, perhaps because Dallas is much smaller, with only 150 inhabitants, but the largest Dallas has a (much) bigger population than all the Elgins combined.

We were almost back in Forres before we passed Dallas Dhu distillery. Norma's grandfather was once a maltman there, but it is no longer one of Moray's 50+ functioning distillers of Speyside malt whisky. Built in 1898 it had a chequered history with several owners who revived it after closures caused by the First World War and the depression of the 1930s. It closed for good in 1983 and is now a visitor attraction (owned by Historic Environment Scotland) showing the distillery as it was at the start of the 20th century.

A few bottles of Dallas Dhu survive, you can pick up the 21-year-old for a modest £800, or splash out on the 50-year-old, which retails at £6,700.

A Pleasant Evening

Back in Forres, our evening with Norma and Wilson involved an excellent Italian dinner and plenty of good wine and conversation

Scotland 2021

Part 1 Edinburgh (1): The Castle and National Museum
Part 2 Edinburgh (2): The Royal Yacht and the Royal Mile
Part 3 Moray (1) Forres
Part 4 Moray (2) Elgin and Craigellachie
Part 5 Fort George and Brodie Castle
Part 6 Lanark, New and Old