Pontcysyllte and Chirk: Dee Valley Part 1

A Thomas Telford Aqueduct and a Much Changed Medieval Castle

Where are we Going, and Why are we Going There?

Wales

Wrexham

I am unsure if Lynne has entirely lost her Welsh accent, she certainly sounded Welsh when we first met, but 1974 was a long time ago. In those days I sounded noticeably London (or, more precisely, Slough), but that has faded after five decades in the English Midlands.

Despite long absence, our roots are in Wales. At 15, Lynne left Cardiff for Solihull when her father relocated from Cardiff to his employer's Birmingham Office. I left Porthcawl for Southampton before my third birthday when my father went to work at Fawley Oil Refinery. He moved to head office in London in 1955, settling the family in Iver in Buckinghamshire, which accounted for my London twang - which survived an expensive education.

The reason for this pre-amble is that tomorrow is Lynne’s birthday, and to celebrate we are heading (not for the first time) for a short break in the Principality. It was not a long trek, our first stop, at Trevor, is only 35 miles from home, as the crow flies, about 70 minutes as the car drives - the roads are not fast, and the route is not straight.

The County Borough of Wrexham and its position in Wales
Map by Nilfanian (with additions) includes ordinance survey data (crown copyright) reproduced under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Trevor

Trevor is a compact village of some 1,440 people within the County Borough of Wrexham but separated by green fields (for the moment, at least) from the urban sprawl south of the city - Wrexham was awarded city status in September 2022.

Sitting on the edge of the Dee Valley, some way above the river, Trevor has strategic importance. Offa’s Dyke, the 82-mile-long earthwork built by King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-786) to keep out the marauding Welsh runs past Trevor, as does the Llangollen Canal built just over a thousand years later to link together those whom Offa was so keen to keep apart.

Trevor canal basin

Originally just a branch of the Shropshire Union canal, the Llangollen Canal runs from Nantwich in Cheshire to just west of Llangollen. As the commercial value of the Shropshire Union waned, the touristic vale of the Llangollen Canal waxed. 11 miles of the canal, from Chirk to Llangollen form a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the main reason for that starts (or finishes) at Trevor.

Pontcysyllte

Building the short northbound section between Chirk and Trevor involved crossing two rivers. The Ceiriog just outside Chirk required a small aqueduct, while the much deeper Dee Valley required more thought. Various work-arounds were considered, but in the end Chief Engineer William Jessop decided to grasp the nettle and attempt one long, tall aqueduct. He asked Thomas Telford, the greatest road and canal engineer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries to make it happen.

The foundation stone of what was to become the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was laid in 1795 and by 1805, using only the strength and power of men and horses, it was finished. By walking to the end of the Trevor canal basin anyone could survey one of the greatest engineering feats of the age. Indeed, anyone still can, so we did.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

They put the canal in a cast iron trough, 1007 feet long, 11 ft 10 ins wide and 3 ft 3 ins deep. And that (307m x 3.6m x 1.0m in proper units) was just big enough for the standard narrowboats that plied the canals 200+ years ago, and still do today.

A narrow boat completes the crossing, Pontcysyllte

Behind the narrowboat, like ducklings following their mother, was a flotilla of kayaks.

Followed by a flotilla of kayaks.

19th century, narrowboats did not move themselves, they and their one or two barges had to be pulled by a horse, so a towpath was required for Dobbin to plod along. Obviously, traffic across Pontcysyllte was one way at a time, so only one tow path was required – and it now provides a walk way for tourists.

Lynne sets out along the towpath

The aqueduct has 18 piers, and at river level they are 126 feet (38 metres) high - not including the ironwork. The view from a boat is more dramatic, there being no railings and your feet may possibly be above what little parapet there is. From the safety of the towpath, however, the Dee is a delightful river, winding its way through verdant woodland…

The River Dee winding through verdant woodland

…but like all such rivers it has short stretches of turbulence.

Turbulence on the River Dee

Horses never had to pass each other on the towpath, but humans do, which can be a careful process for those whom age has rendered less confident of their balance – and on a working day, after schools have re-started, such people may be in the majority.

There are no passing places on the towpath

As we discovered 11 years ago in Myanmar, once you have reached the end of U Bein's magnificent teak bridge, there is nothing to do but turn round and come back. And so it was here

Once you have reached far end, there is nothing to do but turn round and come back

The Llangollen Canal, Failure and Success

Despite Telford’s genius, the Llangollen branch was not a success. The plan was to continue north to industrial Wrexham where a new reservoir would keep it topped up, but that never happened. Canals were creatures of the industrial revolution, they could move fuel, raw materials or finished products in bulk cheaper, faster and safer than horses and carts, but they cost money to build, and sometimes the money ran out. The canals modern success with tourists would have bemused the industrialists of Ruabon and Brymbo who profited little from their investment, but perhaps Thomas Telford should be pleased his work is still appreciated.

At Trevor the canal turns west following the line of the Dee to Llangollen. Although no longer navigable, it continues westwards until meeting the river at the Horseshoe Falls, which keep it topped up. We would visit the falls on Thursday, but this is the appropriate place for the photograph. The falls are well signed, but it is unclear why, the word ‘underwhelming’ hardly does them justice.

The Horseshoe Falls at Niagara are a little bigger

All surviving canals are leisure facilities, but they still attract interesting feats of engineering. As an imaginative – and perhaps over-elaborate - solution to an old problem, The Falkirk Wheel – see the Falkirk post – takes some beating.

Pronouncing Pontcysyllte

The word looks forbidding and is not easy on a tongue tuned only to English. English readers will (or should) spot the problems immediately, Americans, (this blog’s largest group of visitors) might, not unreasonably, feel bewildered. Syllables one and three are stressed and the pronunciation is roughly PONT–kih-SILL-ter. Simple, except the double LL, is a ‘voiceless lateral fricative.’ And if that means as little to you as it does to me, go to Google Translate, write We arrived at Pontcysyllte, translate into Welsh and listen.

Pontcysyllte to Chirk

On the short journey to Chirk (pronounced: Chirk) we crossed the bridge over the Dee shown in one of aqueduct photos, and enjoyed the view from the valley bottom.

Pontcysyllte from the River Dee bridge

Chirk (Y Waun in Welsh) is a border town of some 4,500 people 3 miles south of Trevor. It was a colliery town, until the last pit closed in 1949.

Chirk Castle

We did not visit Chirk, but went straight to Chirk Castle a mile to the west.

Chirk Castle History

Lovely vistas abound around Chirk and its castle. Unfortunately, after walking up from the main car park, the visitor’s first proper views of the castle involves a lot of bins.

Chirk Castle waste disposal area

Fortunately, better views are not hard to find.

Chirk Castle

Fyvie Castle, started 1211

Is Chirk a medieval castle transformed into a country house, like Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire, or a country house like Castle Drogo in Devon, made to resemble a castle on a whim of a rich man? As most English castles were slighted after the Civil War ended (1651), it could well be the latter, but the location tells another story. The castle is half a mile from the English/Welsh border a fault line that much occupied King Edward I. The first Chirk Castle castle was built in 1295 on Edward’s instructions and became the administrative centre for the Marcher Lordship of Chirkland.

Castle Drogo, started 1910

Whether there was ever a keep or a curtain wall, I do not know, but it does not seem to have seen action.

Border problems became history and in 1593, the castle was bought by Sir Thomas Myddelton, a wealthy self-made merchant who wished to turn the castle into a family home. To that end, he inserted the first mullioned and transomed windows, thus acknowledging the castle was no longer a military stronghold.

His son, another Thomas supported Parliament in the Civil War, but became a Royalist in 1659 in plenty of time for the Restoration of the Monarchy, when he was allowed to repair the Civil War damage.

The castle remained in the Myddelton family until ownership was transferred to the National Trust in 1981.

Inside Chirk Castle

Inside the walls is a large courtyard, partly occupied in part by the café. The rooms of the castle surround the courtyard and the visit starts in the Cromwell Room. They are proud of their collection of Civil War muskets….

The Cromwell Room, Chirk Castle

… but there are also leather bottles…

Leather bottle, Cromwell Room, Chirk Castle

…and hats which have more peaceful uses.

Hats, Cromwell Room, Chirk Castle

We ascended the stairs….

The stairs, Chirk Castle

… and mounted at the top is what appears to be a hollow log.

Part of London's first clean water supply

The plaque underneath informed us that this is a relic of London’s first clean water supply. Between 1609 and 1613 the New River Company built a 61km pipeline to London from springs in Hertfordshire and this section of piping was unearthed at Clerkenwell in 1895. The project engineer had been Sir Hugh Myddelton.

Next door is a drawing room which looks supremely elegant. Unfortunately, it does not look supremely comfortable, nor supremely warm in the winter, nor particularly light when the sun sets…

Elegant drawing room, Chirk Castle

…but that was 18th century life for the rich – it was much worse for the poor, and they could never gaze up at a ceiling like this.

Sumptuous ceiling, Chirk Castle

We went through to the long gallery. Every house had to have a long gallery in the 17th and 18th centuries, and this one is as long as most.

Long Gallery, Chirk Castle

It is also full of treasures, none finer than the King’s Box, a gift from Charles II after the Restoration. It is made of ebony with inlays of tortoiseshell and ivory.

The King's Box, Chirk Castle long gallery

In 1631, Sir Thomas Myddelton handed the castle over to his son. Back downstairs we saw the room described at the time as Sir Thomas Myddelton, his owne room.

It looks Spartan to the 21st century eye, but it was well furnished at the time and included Sir Thomas’ ‘Great Bedstead.’ With its curtaines valance and curtaine Rods, featherbed, bolster, I pillowe, 1 Blankett. one Tapestrie covering. It was valued at 3 pounds, 10 shillings, maybe £1,000 now.

Thomas Myddelton, his owne room

Next door, the stucco in the Magistrates Court is the only surviving pre-Civil War decoration. It was never a courtroom, but derives its name from the plaster figure over the fireplace, presumed to be a personification of Justice.

Pre-Civil War representation of Justice (maybe), Magistrates Court

Outside the Castle

Outside there is a formal garden, which has changed since 1920, but is still recognisable…

Formal Garden, Chirk Castle, photographed 1920

…and beyond drifts of flowers and views into the green Welsh hinterland.

Informal garden, Chirk Castle

Leaving Chirk we headed for Llangollen.

Llangollen

Denbighshire

Llangollen is a town of almost 4,000, 3½ miles up the Dee from Pontcysyllte. It is the main feature of the next post, so here I will only observe that it has two of those testing double ells. Best bet for the uninitiated is to pronounce ‘ll’ as if it were ‘thl’ (this does not work for Pontcysyllte because it lacks a vowel after the ‘ll’). An evenly stressed Thlan-goth-len is an acceptable approximation to Llangollen.

We checked into our hotel and then walked beside the Dee, a popular place on a September evening pretending to be still summer.

The Dee at Llangollen

Dining in Llangollen

We intended to eat at the Corn Mill as it had been recommended by a neighbour for its food and its open-air riverside dining space. Perhaps predictably, it was fully booked. A nearby alternative had a sign on the bar saying ‘Cash Only.’ Amazed that such a place should exist in 2023, we set out to find an ATM or another restaurant, whichever came first. For a moment I feared a re-run of last year’s Newtown debacle, but Llangollen, though smaller, receives many more visitors and has many more restaurants.

Fauzi’s Café Bar and Pizzeria was a brightly lit café just across Castle Street. Lynne chose scampi and chips, because sometimes she feels nostalgia for the 1970s. Her only regret was that it had not been served in a basket.

Scampi, Fauzi's, Llangollen

I had smoked haddock and prawn risotto, the poached fish sitting on a poached egg atop a well-made risotto with a rich seafood flavour. I liked it a lot.

Haddock and Prawn Risotto, Fauzi's, Llangollen

We drank an inexpensive but robust Italian white and felt pleased with our choices, and our day

Lynne's Birthday Jaunts

2018: Harrogate

Harrogate and Knaresborough

2019: Forest of Dean

Part 1: Into the Dean, Goodrich and The Speech House
Part 2:Coleford and Around
Part 3:Puzzlewood and The Kymin

2021: Liverpool

Part1: Castle Street and the Catholic Cathedral
Part 2: The Waterfront, The Cavern Club and St George's Quarter
Part 3: Ferry 'Cross the Mersey and the Anglican Cathedral

2022: Newtown

Newtown, Powys

2023: Dee Valley

Part 1: Pontcysyllte and Chirk
Part 2: Llangollen

2024: Caernafon

Caernafon and Seguntium (coming soon)

A Rainy Day in Dumfries (2) Caerlaverock Castle: Scotland 23 Part 6

A Triangular Castle and a Tapas Dinner

A Brief Recap

Scotland

Dumfries & Galloway

On the 21st of July we had driven 260 miles south from Findochty to Dumfries (for the many American visitors to this blog that is pronounced Dum-freece). For much of his life, Dumfries was the home of Robert Burns, Scotland’s (unofficial) national poet. On the morning of the 22nd we set out to walk the town’s Burns Trail. It involved so many interesting places, not all connected with Burns, that by lunch time I had reached my self-imposed limit on the length of a blog post. That post became A Rainy Day in Dumfries Part 1 and this post tidies up the afternoon and evening.

Findochty, Dumfries and the Dumfries & Galloway District

The River Nith

After a sandwich and a cup of tea in the town centre, we returned to our hotel, picked up the car and drove the 11km south-east to Caerlaverock Castle, following the River Nith almost to the Solway Firth. I finished the previous post with Burn's ode ‘The Banks o’ Nith’ but I do not think it was this bit of the Nith he was eulogising. For its final few kilometres, the river is tidal. At low tide it is a narrow stream running between wide muddy banks while at high tide inflow exceeds outflow, and for an hour or so the Nith becomes more a lake than a river.

The River Nith when the tide is in

Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle was built in the 13th century as a stronghold for Clan Maxwell. At the time, I presume, it overlooked the river mouth but that is now hidden behind Castle Wood. The area had previously accommodated a Roman Camp and then a Brittonic hill fort

Scotland has a wealth of wonderful place names that roll off the tongue and entice the imagination, but Caerlaverock is not one of them, it just feels wrong.

What’s in a Name?

13th century Dumfries was linguistically diverse but Gaelic and Norse were in decline, Norman French was confined to the nobility and Early Scots was emerging as the dominant language – though whether Scots is a language or an English dialect can become a heated debate. Laverock is Scots for ‘skylark,’ but what warlord in his right mind would invoke the power of a skylark?

‘Caer’ means 'fort', not in Gaelic (that would be dùn – as in Dumfries) but in Welsh, where it is a common prefix in place names - Caerdydd (Cardiff), Caernafon (Carnavon). Llafar (a single ‘f’ is pronounced as ‘v’ in Welsh) means ‘talking’ and there is more than one Afon Llafar in Wales – like a babbling brook - but with alliteration only in the second syllable. -Og, meaning ‘having the quality of’ is a suffix in Welsh place names like Ffestiniog.

Having translated the implausible Caerlaverock to the plausible Caerllafarog, we appear to have a Welsh place name in Scotland. So that needs explaining

Some History

When the Romans arrived, the island they called Britannia was occupied by a patchwork of tribes speaking various Brittonic dialects and living in peace with their neighbours, except when they quarrelled or felt like some raiding. The Romans introduced order, law and peace. Some tribal leaders bought into this, adopting Roman names and Roman lifestyles but few did as well as King Tiberius Claudius Togidubnus of the Atrebates in what is now Sussex. His huge palace with baths, underfloor heating and mosaic floors, was rediscovered in 1960 and visited by us in in in 2008.

In 410 the Romans went home, taking the rule of law with them. Petty kingdoms sprouted and withered. Their inhabitants did not write much, and what is known comes largely from oral history written down in the 11th and 12th centuries

In 537 King Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio was defeated and killed by King Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde at the Battle of Arfderydd, Gwenddoleu’s bard, Myrddin Wyllt, reportedly went mad and ran into the forest. Arfderydd was near Caerlaverock and all the names are Welsh. Myrddin the bard may even have featured in the Arthurian legends (other claimants exist).

Britain in 800 CE

Later Angles, Jutes and Saxons began to arrive. When I was at school, I was taught the incoming invaders butchered the Ancient Britons pushing the survivors into Wales and Cornwall. DNA analysis now suggests that did not happen, they were migrants rather than invaders and quietly merged with local inhabitants. What did get pushed west was the Brittonic, Old Welsh, language.

By 800 the petty kingdoms of what is now England (more or less) had been reduced to seven as shown on the map.

The problem with the map (apart from labelling Wales  'North Wales' and Cornwall ‘West Wales’) is that it makes no distinction between two very different Brittonic languages. The Kingdom of Dalriada, just north of Strathclyde was the land occupied by the Scoti when they migrated from Ireland (late 4th/early 5th centuries), bringing the Gaelic tongue with them. The Picts disappeared, probably merging with the Scoti, leaving some enigmatic stone carvings, but little more. The Gaelic language was very different from the Old Welsh used in Strathclyde, Wales and Cornwall.

Gaelic became the dominant language in the north of what is now Scotland, while by the 11th century English had become dominant in what would become southern Scotland and Cumbria. It is, however, very possible that some anglicised versions of Old Welsh names survive - like Caerlaverock.

Enough of this, Back to the Castle

Castles are usually highly visible, that is the point of them, but Caerlaverock remains hidden from a distance, being being built in a slight dip.

It is also triangular. The apex facing inland is truncated, with two round towers merging to form a gatehouse

Caerlaverock Castle

A closer view shows the moat is still present, but the drawbridge has been replaced by a fixed bridge.

A fixed bridge where once was a drawbridge, Caerlaverock Castle

Above the door, in carved sandstone is the crest of the Clan Maxwell, ‘a stag couchant under a holly bush.’ The inevitable erosion of softish stone means the bush is barely recognisable as holly.

The Clan Maxwell crest over the gate

Sadly, the gate is currently locked and visitors are not allowed inside. Scottish Heritage own Caerlaverock, and many other piles of old stone, and after a recent rockfall they have temporarily closed several ruins so they can be surveyed and, if necessary, made safe. I have no desire to be crushed by tumbling rocks, and there was no charge for the visit, so I cannot complain.

The photo of the gate rather foreshortens the castle, and loses its triangularity. A drone would be useful here. I do not have one, but Simon Ledingham does and he has kindly donated the photo below to Wikipedia. I reproduce it here under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Simon Ledingham's aerial view of Caerlaverock Castle. It really is triangular!
The cuboid building with nine windows, looks out of place in a medieval castle. It is the Nithsdale Lodgings - see later

Caerlaverock in the First Scottish War of Independence

The First Scottish War of Independence lasted from 1296 to 1328, which make it sound worse than it was. Some years there were summer campaigns by one protagonist or another, some years nothing happened.

Scotland had a succession problem, and rather foolishly had asked Edward I of England to choose their new king. He wanted to answer ‘ME!’ but instead appointed John Baliol, a man so pliable Edward could have used him as a glove puppet. Edward was a first-class war lord – not a quality I admire, but he was good at it and would probably have ruled Scotland but for his death from dysentery while marching north in 1302. His son Edward II was very different and after losing to Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314 it was all over bar the shouting – which lasted 14 years.

The important battles, Stirling Bridge (1297) and Bannockburn were fought in or near Stirling. We visited both sites in 2022, and there is more about this war in my Stirling post.

The eastern Gatehouse Tower and East Range

Sir Herbert Maxwell and his garrison were besieged in Caerlaverock in 1300 by Edward I with a force of 3,000 well-armed men. After two days spirited defence Maxwell surrendered. Finding the castle was garrisoned by only 50 men. Edward was impressed they had held out so long.

In 1312 Sir Eustace Maxwell (Herbert had died) swapped sides and the castle was returned. Edward II even paid to upgrade the fortifications.

He then promptly swapped sides again. This led to a second English siege which was repulsed, but Sir Eustace part dismantled his own castle to prevent the English gaining such an important stronghold. Robert the Bruce paid him for this service.

Caerlaverock in the Second Scottish War of Independence 1332-57

King Robert I (the Bruce) died in 1329 aged 54. His son King David II was aged two, so Edward Baliol (son of John) saw an opportunity. Aided, and sometimes hindered by Edward III (son of Edward II) he fought a series of regents for the crown. Edward was distracted by French threats of invasion and in 1336 decided to invade France himself and press his claim to be the King of France. Much of the latter part of the war involved David raiding in England in support of France. He was captured, spent time in the Tower of London, was eventually ransomed and became undisputed King of Scotland on Edward Baliol’s death in 1364.

Caerlaverock Castle 1832, JMW Turner
Original in Aberdeen Art Gallery

By 1337 the castle was rebuilt and Sir Eustace declared for Edward Baliol. Some years passed, but inevitably, it was taken by forces loyal to David II, and part dismantled.

In the late 14th century, Caerlaverock was regained by the Maxwells and Sir Robert Maxwell did much rebuilding from from 1373. Some decades later another Robert, now styled 2nd Lord Maxwell reconstructed the gatehouse, among other improvements.

The Reformation

In 1567 Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate. The Catholic Maxwells took up her cause and in 1570 Caerlaverock was besieged by an English Protestant force. It was, yet again, partly demolished and the gatehouse was blown up with gunpowder.

In 1619 Robert, 10th Lord Maxwell was in favour with James VI (by then also James I of England). He was appointed to the Scottish Privy Council and made Earl of Nithsdale. To reflect his new status, he started building the ‘Nithsdale Lodging.’

Looking into the castle through the demolished South Range towards the Nithsdale Lodgings

Judging the great days of castles to be over, the Nithsdale Lodgings were an attempt to turn a medieval castle into a comfortable 17th country house. They were too soon, the Gordon family made the same mistake at Huntly in Aberdeenshire, but got it right at nearby Fyvie (see Huntly and Fyvie)

Close up of the The Nithsdale Lodgings

In the dark local stone, the Nithsdale Lodgings look forbidding rather than welcoming. The semi-circles above each window have carvings of family arms, scenes of divine and earthly love and episodes from Greek mythology. Their attempt to evoke the Italian Renaissance, now better evokes the Scottish weather.

Being a Catholic in a Scotland now gripped with Protestant fervour was not easy. Six years after the Nithsdale Lodgings were completed, Caerlaverock was besieged by a Protestant Covenanter army and forced to surrender after 13 weeks. The Earl and Countess of Nithsdale and their page were allowed to leave, but the 40 defenders were put to the sword. The south wall and tower were demolished, and the castle was abandoned.

A Tapas Dinner

We too abandoned Caerlaverock, and returned to Dumfries aware that we had neglected to organise dinner. Chips shops are always available, but a seat in a restaurant in Dumfries on Saturday night, requires booking.

Our affable hosts at the Hill Hotel (which I recommend) had provided us with a list of possibilities yesterday and we started phoning. We eventually found a berth in The Bank Bar and Tapas Restaurant, a newish restaurant and a newish idea for Dumfries.

We walked into town – after relenting at Caerlaverock, the drizzle had returned – and found the Bank to be a large modern building stuffed with drinkers and diners. It was loud – Scottish bars are often louder than English bars – and that was not helped by the Hen Party in the corner. They became quieter when the serious eating started and we had left before the serious drinking begun.

The Spanish tend to eat their main meal at lunchtime (2.30ish). Those choosing to eat out in the evening normally arrive at restaurants around 10pm, thus leaving an early spot for bars selling drinks and snacks on small plates. The first Tapas bars in this country followed the Spanish template, but our earlier dining time means they have morphed into restaurants selling full meals, but on multiple small plates – three per average dinner. They have also forgotten their Spanish roots, our six plates had origins spread across Europe, Asia and the Caribbean; some were meaty, some fishy, some veggie, some spicy, some not.  Each plate was a complete dish, the variety was fascinating and we enjoyed the experience far more than we had anticipated.

The next day we drove home to Staffordshire.

Scotland 2023

Part 1 Falkirk
Part 2 Banff and Macduff
Part 3 Pitmedden Gardens and Haddo House
Part 4 Lossiemouth to Elgin
Part 5 A Rainy Day in Dumfries (1) Robert Burns
Part 6 A Rainy Day in Dumfries (2) Caerlaverock Castle

A Rainy Day in Dumfries (1) Robert Burns Scotland '23 Part 5

Robert Burns and a Few Others

21-Jul-2023

Scotland

Dumfries & Galloway

Our ‘rainy day’ was actually 36 hours, and if it did not quite rain in every one of those hours, it was not for lack of trying.

Driving down from Findochty to Dumfries on Friday – a tiring 260 miles – we saw more sunshine than any other day for a week, but the dark clouds returned as our journey ended.

Dumfries, with a population of 45,000, is the largest town and administrative centre of Dumfries & Galloway, the third largest of Scotland’s 32 Council Districts and the third least densely populated mainland district

Findochty, Dumfries and the Dumfries & Galloway District

We checked in to the Hill Hotel and sought restaurant advice from our friendly landlady. Unlike some Scottish towns, Dumfries apparently offers a wide choice, but it was Friday night and Scotland has more diners than restaurant seats, so we went where we could get a table. After several phone calls we found a 7.30 niche at a large pub/restaurant in the town centre.

The 12-minute walk (dry on the way down, drizzle on the return) was welcome exercise after our long sit, and provided some orientation. The Cavens Arms offered a typical pub menu at reasonable prices, the food was well-cooked and the young, friendly staff worked hard ensuring the right plates and drinks arrived in timely manner on the right tables.

22-Jul-2023

The Robert (Rabbie) Burns Walking Trail

Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, spent the last few years of his short life in and around Dumfries. Although born and brought up in Ayrshire, Burns is a co-opted ‘Doonhamer’ (Dumfries people call themselves Doonhamers because they live so far south that every journey ends with a return ‘down home’). Perversely, we joined the town’s Burns Walking Trail, at a site with no Burns connection.

The Dumfries Fountain

In 1832 a cholera epidemic struck Dumfries, the mass grave in St Michael's Churchyard names 400 victims, though there may have been many more. Cholera returned, with equal devastation, in 1848. Although it was six years before John Snow proved the connection between Cholera and contaminated water, many in Dumfries believed that a clean water supply could solve their recurring problem.

A pipeline was built from nearby Loch Rutton, water started flowing in October 1851 and a fountain was erected in the High Street to celebrate the event.

Dumfries Fountain - the 1882 version

That fountain was replaced by something much grander in 1882. It has recently been refurbished, and the boys who seem to be squeezing water out of dolphins laid over their knees or between their thighs (yes, it does look a bit odd) have been re-gilded.

The Midsteeple

In England it would be unusual, maybe impossible, to find a steeple unattached to a church, but this is the second free-standing, non-religious steeple of this brief Scottish sojourn. Every burgh must have a tolbooth, and in 1707 Dumfries decided to replace theirs with something more impressive, and this is it.

The Midsteeple in Dumfries' rain-dampened High street

Designed by Tobias Bachop in ‘Scottish Renaissance’ style it stands a short step along the High Street from the fountain. It once held the borough council chamber, and in July 1796 Robert Burns' body lay here prior to his burial. It is now a ‘ticket office and meeting place'.

The Robert Burns Statue

The other side of the Midsteeple is a marble statue of Robert Burns. Designed by Amelia Paton Hill and made by Italian craftsmen in Carrara, it was unveiled in 1882. Burns is accompanied by his Scots Collie, Luath, though the depiction suggests the Scots Collie was an unknown breed in Italy.

Burns Statue, Dumfries

Like all such works, Burns head provides a convenient perch for a seagull, when this photo was taken, though there was probably a pigeon next in the queue.

The Friary and Friar’s Vennel

The Greyfriars (Franciscan) Friary was dissolved in 1569 and later demolished, but it played a part in Scottish History.

King Alexander III of Scotland died in 1286 and his only heir, his 7-year-old granddaughter, died 3 years later.

Robert the Bruce and his Queen
Forman Armorial (1562) so maybe no at exact likeness

This power vacuum triggered 25 years of instability as various Scottish nobles advanced their own causes, while Edward I of England saw an opportunity to considerably enlarge his personal fiefdom.

The instability is known as the First Scottish War of Independence, the winner was Robert the Bruce. Two events, one in Dumfries in 1306, the other in 1307 contributed to his success.

By 1306, natural selection had whittled down the Scottish claimants to two, John Comyn and Robert the Bruce. They met to discuss their differences in the chapel of Greyfriars monastery, roughly where the Burns statue now stands. Robert the Bruce comprehensively won the argument by pulling out a knife and stabbing Comyn to death.

The Death of Comyn by Philippoteaux
The tartans and kilts are 300 hundred years too early

The Bruce thus became an insecure King Robert I. Fortunately for him Edward I of England died the next year. His son, Edward II lacked his father’s military and leadership skills and his Scottish ambitions were destroyed by Robert I at Bannockburn in 1314.

Although the friary is long gone, the lane leading from the Burns Statue to the River Nith is still known as Friar’s Vennel (vennel is a Scottish word for a narrow lane).

Friar's Vennel, Dumfries

Mr Rain-jacket stepped past me as I pressed the shutter. I cursed quietly and took several more shots without him. To my surprise the best was the first, his rain-jacket making a clear statement.

The Devorgilla Bridge

Friars Vennel reaches the river at the Devorgilla Bridge.

Alan, Lord of Galloway, died in 1234 without legitimate male issue and his daughter Devorgilla (a Latinization of the Gaelic ‘Dearbhfhorghaill’) succeeded him as Lady of Galloway. She funded Dumfries' Franciscan Friary, and also the first bridge on this site (c1270). That wooden structure was replaced by the current stone bridge in 1432. One of four Nith footbridges in Dumfries it remains in use and still bears her name.

The Devorgilla Bridge, Dumfries

Lady Devorgilla married into the Balliol family of Barnard Castle in County Durham. Her husband founded Balliol College, Oxford as penance after losing a land dispute with the Bishop of Durham. Being much richer, Lady Devorgilla provided the endowment. The list of Balliol College Alumni embraces a staggering array of the Great and the Good (four Nobel laureates and the King of Norway, among them). It also includes Boris Johnson.

The misty River Nith from the Devorgilla Bridge, Dumfries

Descended from Kings of Scotland, Devorgilla might have been a contender for the throne had she not died (aged 80ish) only months before the Maid of Norway. As it was, her son John Balliol did briefly become King, unfortunately, the Toon Tabard (Empty Coat) as he was known, lacked her fibre.

The Old Bridge House

At the other end of the bridge is the Old Bridge House Museum. The house was built in 1660, making it the oldest house in Dumfries though it is 200 years younger than the bridge.

The Old Bridge House Museum, Dumfries

In the early 1900s the council became the landlords and divided the house into two 3-room apartments. John and Annie Black moved into the upper flat in 1910. There was no electricity, running water or sanitation but they managed to raise six children here. John Black was a decorator who died when he fell and cracked his head (he liked a drink, perhaps a little too much). Annie, aka Granny Black was well known locally as an (unqualified) midwife and layer out of the dead. There is a photograph of her in her parlour, alongside that of her son John who joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers in World War I and died in France in 1917.

Granny Black and her son John

Granny Black lived here until her death in 1955. Much of the information about her comes from her grandson James Murray. Born in nearby Moffat, he is now 93 and during an illustrious career was professor of Applied Mathematics at the Universities of Oxford and Washington, quite a journey from the Old Bridge House in two generations.

The other rooms contain period clothes and furniture…

Old Bridge House Museum, Dumfries

…though one downstairs room houses the equipment of a 19th century Dumfries dental surgery. The foot-powered drill scares me.

19th century dentist's equipment, Dumfries

The Robert Burns Centre

200m along the riverbank, strategically close to the weir, is the town’s old mill. It is now the Robert Burns Centre. It is not a particularly remarkable building, but that is not my excuse for having no photograph. If only I had an excuse!

Downstairs we were greeted by two helpful and knowledgably staff members, and one of them accompanied us to the collection upstairs. ‘What do you know about Robert Burns?’ she asked as she she set the short film. ‘Very little,’ I replied.

Robert Burns by Alexander Naysmyth (1787) Scottish National Gallery 

This is what I did know. Burns born in the 18th century in Ayrshire, He was a farmer and exciseman, and became Scotland’s national poet. I know Burn’s night is the 25th of January and Lynne and I celebrate it every year, not, I am sorry to say out of veneration for Burns but because a) it is the only time haggis is widely available in Staffordshire, and b) it is an excuse for a night off from ‘dry January’. I can also mumble something about a wee tim'rous beastie, occasionally (mis)quote O wad some Power the giftie gie us, To see oursels as ithers see us! and sing a verse of Old Land Syne.

And this is what I learned. Burns died in 1796, aged only 37 probably from a rheumatic heart condition, aggravated by the long rides in all weathers required by working as an exciseman.

He saw himself as a songwriter more than a poet. The centre had recordings of forty or so songs and Lynne chose to play ‘Charlie is my Darling.’ She used to sing it at junior school and was amused to discover they had sung only the first and last verse - much of the rest being 'unsuitable'. Several (maybe all) the many volumes of The Complete Songs of Robert Burns are on YouTube. This link is to Volume 1

He was born in near poverty in 1759. His father was a farmer who needed his labour on the farm from a young age, but did not neglect his education.

In 1784 his father died, Burns first child was born in 1785 to his mother’s servant, but before the birth he was involved with Jean Armour, the daughter of a respectable stonemason who gave birth to twins in 1786. At the insistence of her father, they went through a traditional form of marriage.

Jean Armour, portrait from Burns cottage by John Alexander Gillfillan 1822
Burns died young, his portraits show a young man but the only portrait of the 'Belle of Mauchline' show her much later in life

The following year he was involved with a Mary Campbell and then accepted a job on a Jamaican sugar plantation. To raise funds for the voyage he published his first book of poems, which sold well enough for him to give up the Jamaican enterprise and go to Edinburgh. How his poetry and reputation would have changed had he spent several years working for slave owners is a matter of conjecture.

After a tumultuous four years he married Jean Armour (who by now had born him a second set of twins) properly in 1788 and moved to a farm at Ellisland near Dumfries. The farmland was poor and Burns worked as an excise man in addition to farming and writing to support his family. They quit the farm in 1791 and moved to the house in Dumfries we will visit later. Burns died there in 1799.

The sword carried by Burns as an exciseman, and his 'exciseman's trunk'

He continued to stray from the marital bed, though always returning to Jean Armour (as she seems to be known, not Mrs Burns). Burns acknowledged three illegitimate children while Jean bore him 9 - three surviving to adulthood. She took in in his last illegitimate daughter after his death, raising her as her own.

John Laurie’s House

A further 200m along the river is a short terrace of sturdy stone houses. No 1 Welldale Terrace was the childhood home of John Laurie. Born here in 1897 he attended Dumfries Academy and studied architecture before army service in World War I. On returning home he trained as an actor and enjoyed a long and busy career, becoming a household name in his later years as Private Frazer in the long running and still much repeated BBC sitcom Dad’s Army. He died in 1980, because, as Private Frazer would have said, ‘We're doomed! We're all doomed!’

John Laurie's childhood home, Welldale Terrace, Dumfries

The Burns Mausoleum

A suspension footbridge crosses the Nith outside John Laurie’s house.

Dumfries suspension bridge

St Michael’s church is near the other end. This version was built in the 1740s, but there has been a church on this site for over a thousand years.

St Michael's Dumfries

Robert Burns died 227 years and one day before our visit. All Dumfries came out to say farewell - except his wife, she was busy giving birth to their ninth child. His coffin was carried through crowded streets and he was laid to rest in the north west corner of St Michael’s churchyard.

The original site of Burns' grave

The churchyard looks full. The large slabs jostling for position are mostly memorials to the well-heeled of the 18th and 19th centuries. No doubt, they were all outstanding citizens, but when every memorial strives to be outstanding, none stand out, so William and Dorothy Wordsworth had great difficulty in finding Burns’ grave when they visited in 1803.

Money was raised for a larger memorial and in 1815 he was dug up and moved to a new mausoleum designed by James Wyatt. It is not great, but it would look less awful if it was not so out of place in a Scottish churchyard.

The Burn's Mausoleum, St Michael's Dumfries

In 1834 Jean Armour died and Burns was dug up again so she could be interred with him. On this occasion they made a plaster cast of his skull, now kept in the Burns centre. Weird or what?

Burns House

Between the church and Burns’ house is a statue of Jean Armour. She stood by him more steadfastly than he deserved, and showed remarkable compassion to his ‘irregular’ offspring. She deserves a statue and it is a shame it came as late as 2004.

Jean Armour, opposite St Michael's Church

Their house had six rooms and was comfortable, as 18th century houses go, but was not large – poetry does not pay, even for the national poet. Burns lived here from 1791 to his death in 1798, Jean Amour stayed on until her own death, 38 years later.

Burns' House, Dumfries

The parlour looks convincing….

Burns' parlour

…as does the kitchen...

Kitchen, Burns House, Dumfries

...but the furniture is of the right period but not Burns’ originals. An earlier drawing of the room in which Burns died, suggests this is the right room, but wrong bed.

The room where Burns died

The desk in his tiny writing room is one he used, though never in this house. The diamond tipped stylus with which he signed his name on the window is still here, as is his signature.

Burns writing room

Farewell to Robert Burns

That finished the Burns Trail, so we found a café for a belated sandwich and cup of tea. It would be perverse to leave Burns without an example of his work, and as we were still near the river, I offer you this poem:-

The Banks O’Nith (1789)

The Thames flows proudly to the sea,
Where royal cities stately stand;
But sweeter flows the Nith to me,
Where Comyns ance had high command.
When shall I see that honour'd land,
That winding stream I love so dear!
Must wayward Fortune's adverse hand
For ever, ever keep me here!

How lovely, Nith, thy fruitful vales,
Where bounding hawthorns gaily bloom;
And sweetly spread thy sloping dales,
Where lambkins wanton through the broom.
Tho' wandering now must be my doom,
Far from thy bonie banks and braes,
May there my latest hours consume,
Amang the friends of early days!

Scotland 2023

Part 1 Falkirk
Part 2 Banff and Macduff
Part 3 Pitmedden Gardens and Haddo House
Part 4 Lossiemouth to Elgin
Part 5 A Rainy Day in Dumfries (1) Robert Burns
Part 6 A Rainy Day in Dumfries (2) Caerlaverock Castle