Summer Hols – 2023 –Tweed Valley, Scottish Borders
On our way to Peebles we stopped at Carlisle for a while. In the Cathedral a plaque honours Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, a co-founder of the National Trust. Our friendly and comfortable hotel has its own golf course and we non-gofers were fascinated by trolleys independently making their way round corners and up slopes.
Our first visit was to the English styled Hopetoun House near Queensferry, built in late C17. A very grand house and grounds, designed by Scottish architect William Bruce and vastly extended by the 2nd Earl of Hopetoun, using Sir William Adam and sons to design the elaborately decorated suite of State Rooms and huge Ballroom (originally for a library but eventually a riding school; later used for military accommodation during WW1). The house was heaving with visitors as scenes filmed in both house and grounds feature in the globally successful time-shifting streaming series Outlander loosely based on the Scottish Clearances.
In 1590 Lord John Maitland of Thirlestane, Chancellor of Scotland to James VI, built the pink 5-storey tower with battlements (thus Thirlestane Castle!). In the 1670s his grandson, a favourite of Charles II, commissioned architect William Bruce to enlarge and create a fashionable residence while retaining the Tower which would be enhanced by an imposing staircase approach. The new area included a splendid suite of state rooms with their exquisite gold plaster ceilings. The only other alteration was In Victorian times when the bachelor 7th Earl added two grey granite wings as he considered the house insufficiently large for entertaining. Abbotsford was an old farmhouse when Sir Walter Scott first moved there with his family but then he started to extend and adapt to display his historical artefacts of highland life. Now it feels more like a shrine to a rather fanciful version of Scottish history, as though his romantic fables of daring do in ancient times had become reality. Very interesting but rather unsettling. Again, the fans of Outlander were drinking it all in.
Traquair House is the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. Built in 1107 as a hunting lodge for kings and queens of Scotland, the unsettled times necessitated its defensive style whose only entry point was on 2nd floor level, accessed by a dropped rope ladder. Below that its thick, walls were filled with rubble. The Stuart family have lived here since 1491 and over the first 200 years extended it up and out but always narrowly. Entry is now from the ground floor which entails many steps. Mary, Queen of Scots, visited with her husband and baby son whose cradle remains. The family’s strong catholic faith necessitated a priest room and escape route so the priest could locally. During gradual restoration work various items such as beautiful mediaeval embroideries, historic charters and early painted beams have been found.
A property where one could almost see money pouring in was Bowhill, home to the Scotts of Buccleugh and principle seat of the Dukes of Buccleugh. Everything was the best there could be – paintings by the old masters, over 1000 miniatures, a solid English silver ornamental piece over 13 kg. Security was extremely tight. Invisible beams marked out no-go areas, linked to a central alarm system that was spoken of as though the clap of doom would be preferable. Several of us received polite but very firm reminders that we were not to stray beyond the invisible line! Originally an occasional summer residence, but many changes by the 4th and then the 5th Duke have increased its front to 133m.
The World Heritage Site of New Lanark model village and cotton spinning mill is the first recorded instance of a works where the employees’ welfare is taken into account. Founded in 1785 by David Dale with a focus on philanthropy then in 1800s bought by his son in law, Robert Owen, who extended the philanthropy to include medical cover, kindergarten until aged six and fulltime education until ten. Our tour through a simulation of the various areas of the mill was by chair lift. A rather damp afternoon at Dawyck Botanic Garden where tree planting was begun by the Veitch family in C17. In 1691 the new owner Sir John Murray Naesmith supported plant hunting expeditions, particularly those of the plant explorer, David Douglas. Although famed for its Spring blossom and Autumn colours, there is a large range of specimen trees to see in the gardens which are now part of the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh. We had a lovely mountain ride back to the hotel.
The journey back home was rounded off with our usual stop for a pleasant evening meal. Lewis, our driver, had ensured we had a comfortable and, where possible, interesting journeys throughout our holiday. Eric and Denise Carson, with Chris Fonteyn, ensured that we had a wide variety of places to visit. Our thanks to them for taking on the task. We are all aware that these things don’t just happen, they need to be organised. If we want the Centre to continue providing interesting visits and holidays we need more people prepared to assist in their organization. Responsibility doesn’t have to be down to one person, two or three friends could do it! Otherwise we are in danger of soon becoming a District Circle that at most provides occasional talks.