Glamis Castle 5

As you can see from my blog header, I'm partial to a nice sundial. This, however has to be the mother of all sundials. According to the website www.scottishsundials.co.uk ( a prime example that there's a website for everything under the sun....... pardon the pun!) this is one of the finest sundials in the world. A polyhedron design of 80 dials is supported by four rampant lions, each of which bears a shield with separate dials in their forepaws. It is thought to have been constructed around 1670 and its base is carved with the equation of time.

I'm not entirely sure what it is about sundials that fascinates me, perhaps it's the idea of an era when time wasn't transportable the way it is now. Our lives are dominated by time or the lack of it, and it's everywhere you look. On our wrists, on the walls, on TV, on our computers, we can't escape it. Whereas in those days if you wanted to know the time, you had to seek out a sundial! And if it was cloudy then time stood still........ perfect in Scotland.

Glamis Castle 4

King James VI and I

Rampant Lion

Coat of Arms

Glamis Castle probably has more myths and legends surrounding it than any other British castle. The chapel is apparently haunted by the Grey Lady. She was Lady Janet Douglas, wife of the 6th Earl of Glamis. Following the Earls death in 1528, King JamesV decided to exact revenge on the Douglas clan by accusing Lady Janet of witchcraft. She was imprisoned in a dungeon in Edinburgh Castle and although she was of impeccable character, the king extracted false testimony from her servants by stretching them on the rack. She was eventually burned at the stake in Edinburgh in 1537. The ghost of Lady Janet has haunted the chapel and the clock tower ever since.

Glamis is the home of Macbeth in Shakespeare's play, although this is historically inaccurate. King Macbeth of Scotland died in 1057 and was never connected to the castle.

Legend also has it that during the reign of James II, Earl Beardie was staying at the castle as a guest. One Sunday whilst partaking of large quantities of bevvy, he demanded to play cards. Now being the Sabbath, no one was happy to oblige, so he cursed them and claimed he would play with the Devil himself. Right on cue, a stranger appeared at the front door and said he'd come to play cards with Earl Beardie. These 14th century bods knew how to tell a good story eh?

So the legend goes that they retired to a room to play and the curses and screaming attracted servants to the room. One of them peered through the keyhole and was blinded by a flash of light. To this day the sound of rattling dice and screams can be heard as the Earl still plays cards with the Devil for eternity. That's what you get for playing cards on the Sabbath in Scotland.

The secret room is another legend which supposedly contains the bones of a horribly malformed child, born to the family in 1821. Guests have hung towels from every room in the castle in an effort to discover the whereabouts of this room. The secret is supposedly handed down to each generation of the family on their 21st birthday. Nice present!

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Glamis Castle 3

The bottom picture shows the standard flapping merrily in the breeze, I tried for ages to catch the flag fully unfurled and eventually gave up, this was the best I could do. The first family of visitors were given the dubious honour of raising it. Actually it was their little girl who did it, so I'm sure it made her day. If you click and enlarge you'll see that the clock is dated 1811, and it was showing the correct time, which got me to thinking, how come 200 years ago they could make things which would keep going for that length of time when with all our technological brilliance we can't make washing machines which last for five years?.......but then of course if we all had washing machines which lasted, we'd only ever buy one.....and Hoover would be no more, Zanussi no more, Indesit no more........Lochaber no more! (apologies to Craig and Charlie).

The middle pic shows the East Wing which I think was added in the 17th century, with the Dutch garden in front. Looking a touch dead at this time of year.

The top pic shows what they used to use on visitors who never paid their £8.50!

Glamis Castle 2

Glamis Castle was given to the Strathmore family in 1372 by Robert the Bruce. They have resided here since then. The estate covers 14,000 acres and includes the village of Glamis, where I once had the misfortune of living for a couple of years. It really is an odd place, still steeped in deference to the Landowner. I suppose it's understandable in a way, given that the Earl owns the village lock, stock and barrel, but it's strange nonetheless.

It has a long way to go before it kicks and screams its way into the 20th century, let alone the 21st.

It has to be said that's a pretty impressive front door though....... nice knocker too!

Glamis Castle

This is the first in a series of photos of Glamis Castle. It lies about five miles to the east of Forfar. I took a drive out there last Sunday on the off chance that it was open and it turned out to be the first day of the season, so I timed it perfectly. The castle is the home of the Earl of Strathmore but is probably most famous for being the birthplace of the Queen Mother. I should perhaps point out at this stage that I am by no means a Royalist or an admirer of our landed gentry, however I do like a good castle and whilst I may despise what goes on in and around them, I'm not about to let a little thing like that get in the way of a good photo opportunity.

Over the next wee while, I'll be posting more pics and try to give a flavour of the castle and its environs.

The bottom pic shows the 'drive', a tiny bit grander perhaps than the drives us mere mortals are used to. I reckon it must be over half a mile long. Put it this way, I don't fancy doing the round trip in my baffies to pick up the milk and papers every morning. If you click and enlarge you can see the castle in the distance.

The top picture shows what you arrive at after the stroll down the drive. God knows who put that stupid bloody marquee there, ruins a good pic.

They charge unsuspecting tourists £8.50 to get in, but being a local I claim aristocratic immunity and I just drove down and parked my clapped out Peugeot at the front door. I figure that the £8.50 is better of in my pocket than the Earls...... he'd just drink it anyway!

Saltire in the Sky

The vapour trails of two planes create a gigantic Scottish flag in the sky.

Spidery trees

I was driving from Arbroath to Carmyllie in Angus today on my way to see a client and I stopped to snap these trees which fascinate me. I have no idea what type they are, so if anyone can enlighten me I'd be really grateful. I love the spidery effect and that kind of bonsai shape they have. This is the only row of them I've noticed by a roadside. 

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