Aigas Field Centre

We went to Aigas Field Centre, Scotland's premier field studies centre, dedicated to nature conservation and environmental education. 

Aigas Field Centre is the family home of founder, Sir John Lister-Kaye and his wife, Lady Lucy Lister-Kaye. 

Sir John is a renowned naturalist, conservationist, author, and educator who founded the Aigas Field Centre in 1977. In addition to their home, Aigas Field Centre is a community, a nature reserve, and a place where individuals from all around the world can meet to learn and enjoy the wildlife, scenery and cultural heritage of the Scottish highlands. 

We heard Sir John and his daughter Herimone talk about the work of the Field Centre and then got a tour of the house before having lunch. 

After lunch, Lady Lucy took us on a tour of some of the 25 acres of gardens that she designed and put in over a 40 year period. 

Both Sir John and Lady Lucy were so inspiring with their dedication to environmental education as well as the hospitality and good food they extended to our group. 

The Battle of Culloden

In 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (better know as Bonnie Prince Charlie) launched an attempt to reclaim the throne for his father that his grandfather, King James VII of Scotland and II of England, lost in 1688. Those who continued to support the exiled James II, Jacobus being the name in Latin, became known as the “Jacobites.”

For any of you who have either read or watched Outlander, you know that the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, the final Jacobite uprising, ended badly for the Jacobites. Today the group went to tour the Culloden Battlefield. We learned more about the fateful decisions that were made which led to a massive defeat for Bonnie Prince Charlie. After defeating the Jacobites, the British government systematically dismantled the Highland Clan system. 

What Greg, Tim, Lynn and I have been talking about is our interest in “Lost Causes” in history and how they develop. This interest stems from our Civil War Study we did in 2020-21 as we learned about the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy.” As we understand it, a “Lost Cause” can develop whenever there is an event in history where there are tremendous losses. Those that are defeated need explanations and stories in which to embed their woe, their losses, and their hatred. But, with time, they conceive a deep mythology about their loss. Over time and with constant repetition, this “selective reinterpretation” of the event takes deep root. Thus a Lost Cause narrative becomes a revival of old values and a tonic against fear. 

Interestingly, following the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, the country was awash with stickers “We are the ‘45.” (The abbreviation of the date of the start of the last Jacobite uprising in 1745). This campaign is an example of the “Lost Cause” narrative that has developed around Bonnie Prince Charlie’s failed campaign to win back the Scottish throne for his father. 

Fast forward to our current political situation in America . . . There are several writers that have likened the Jacobite Uprising to the events that occurred in our own country on January 6, 2021. In fact, there was an interesting Atlantic article by David Graham titled “Trumpists are America’s Jacobites.”

A proverb about history repeating itself:

“Things that have happened in the past will tend to happen again in one way or another.”

The Highland Folk Museum

Our next stop was the Highland Folk Museum, founded by Dr. Isabel Grant, a Scottish historian. Dr. Grant was inspired to created a folk museum about the everyday people in the Highlands after visiting Scandinavia and seeing open-air folk museums there. These museums were devoted to showing the everyday lives of ordinary people. So this stop provided a good contrast to our previous day of visiting the Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace that were inhabited by royalty.  

One of the most interesting displays was about the impact of food rationing in the United Kingdom during World War II. On the table was the amount of food allotted to one adult for an entire week. But what was most shocking to me is that the food rationing didn't end until July 1954 - several months after I was born!

Our final stop before going to our hotel in Strathpeffer was to visit a working sheep farm. We learned that Scotland has about 5 million people and 6 million sheep. So sheep are a very important part of Scotland's economy. 

Neil was born and grew up on the estate that he is employed on as a sheepherder. At a very young age, he was already winning sheep dog contests - he demonstrated how the sheep dogs respond to his commands to move the sheep. 

Here the border collie dogs are herding the sheep to a small area right in front of where we were standing. 

We then watched Neil shear a sheep and we could volunteer to try the shearing.

Afterwards, we could help feed the lambs as well

as Neil's "pet cow." (Pronounced "coo" like moo)

After our visit to the sheep farm, we traveled to Strathpeffer where we will be based the next several days in the Ben Wyvis Hotel that was opened in 1879.

Dunkeld Cathedral

We left Edinburgh and started our journey into the Highlands. Our first stop was in the medieval town of Dunkeld to see the Dunkeld Cathedral. 

The Dunkeld Cathedral is an ancient sacred place. Its

transition over the years reflects how religion and politics have intersected in Scotland's history. Part of this history dates back to 563 AD when Columba founded an important abbey on Iona which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region. Columba was an Irish Abbott and missionary who is credited with spreading Christianity in what is Scotland today.

The early church of Dunkeld was probably started as a Culdee settlement. The Culdees were hermit monks who lived contemplative lives in small communities. In 849 AD, relics of Columba were removed from the abbey on Iona and brought to Dunkeld to protect them from Viking raids. 

Construction of the Dunkeld Cathedral took about 250 years from the mid 1200's until the late 1400's. But desecration of the cathedral came with the Scottish Reformation in 1560 when any symbols of the Catholic faith were destroyed. 

More destruction occurred in 1689 during the first Jacobite uprising in Dunkeld which included the cathedral that was set ablaze. 

Today, the Dunkeld Cathedral still hosts regular Sunday services as well as houses a small museum which information about it storied past. 

The Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace

Last night we met up with our Road Scholar group of 13 (including the four of us). Now the learning about Scottish history begins in earnest!

We began the morning with a short tour of Edinburgh's "New town" and "Old town" before going to the Edinburgh Castle for a tour. We all agreed there are so many intricacies of relationships between Scotland, England and France as well as rivalries between the Catholic and Protestant religions. Layer on the Royal marriages that were arranged to secure land, money, and faith and it all gets pretty complicated!

There a lot of interesting places within the Edinburgh Castle including the Crown Room that holds the "Scottish Honours." The Honours are the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain. Made of gold, silver, and precious gems, the priceless crown, sceptre, and sword of state are objects of immense significance. ( no photographs allowed)

There are amazing views of Edinburgh from the Castle which makes clear why this location was of such strategic importance. 

After we made our way back down to the Royal Mile, we continue to be struck by how many people were there - most likely due in part that this is the last day of the Fringe Festival. 

From the castle, we went to the other end of the Royal Mile to the Holyrood Palace - there we took another audio walking tour which delved into much of the history of the Palace from the 12th century on. Today, the Palace continues to be used by the Royal family. In fact, a year ago when Queen Elizabeth died, she layed in state within the palace walls. 

Surrounding the Palace are beautiful gardens and the whole area is "under" Arthur's Seat. 

We are hoping by the end of our Road Scholar's Program we have a lot more knowledge about the history of this country. 

Fringe Comedy Show and Edinburgh Tattoo

After dinner, we hit one more Fringe Festival performance in a small, intimate venue. We went to see Chloe Radcliffe, a comedian who lives in New York City and actually was a college friend of Tim & Lynn's daughter, Anna. After that experience, we went to a huge venue to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. 

Before we came to Edinburgh, one of our friends mentioned that going to "the Tattoo" had been one of her highlights. None of the four of us had ever heard of the Tattoo before, but it turns out it is a big deal. 

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth, and international military bands and artistic performance bands in front of the Edinburgh Castle during the month of August. 

The name "tattoo" derives from a 17th-century Dutch phrase "doe den tap toe" (turn off the tap), a signal played by the regimen's Corp of Drums, to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers could retire at a reasonable hour. 

The cast includes more than 800 people and features performers from all over the world. 

The Tattoo starts at 9:30 pm in a stadium with 8,000 other people. 

The whole spectacular evening ends with fireworks - such an amazing experience that we "stumbled on" just because someone mentioned it to us as we were planning what to do in Edinburgh. 

We definitely packed it in today - when we got back to our hotel at about midnight, my Fitbit said I had gone 28,572 steps for the day!

Hiking to Salisbury Crags

On Thursday, we decided to do some hiking during the first part of the day so we headed over to Holyrood Park where "Arthur's Seat" over looks the Palace. 

On our way to the park, we passed the Scottish Parliament, so we stopped to learn a little more. 

The architecture of the building was spectacular and there was a very moving photography exhibit from World Photo in the lobby. The photo exhibit had entries from all over the world on the power of a photograph to "tell a story" that might not be popular. Photos from Afghanistans and the war in Ukraine were just a few of the photos that demonstrated the power of a photo to speak to truth. 

When we finally made it to Holyrood Park, we decided we didn't have enough time to go all the way up to the top of Arthur's Seat, an ancient volcano which is the main peak of the hills surrounding Edinburgh. The name, Arthur's Seat, is said to have come from the legends surrounding King Arthur. 

So we settled on climbing up to Salisbury Crags which offered wonderful views of Edinburgh, the Holyrood Palace, and the Firth of Forth, an arm of the North Sea.

After our hike, we headed back down and explored the whole of the "Royal Mile" which continued to bustle with artists, street performers, and musicians with the Fringe Festival. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful day and the energy of the crowds!