The Commando Memorial

Ok, it's been a long time since I wrote about my adventures, so I'm sure my memory is going to be a bit fuzzy.  

One thing I noticed on our tour, is that there are a lot of landmarks commemorating events in Scottish History, or perhaps just left over from civilizations past.  On a historical note, one such landmark is the Commando Monument, located at Spean Bridge.  The monument marks the training ground for an elite group of soldiers during World War II.  Three Commandos stare out across the training ground of Achnecarry toward Ben Nevis, Britian's highest peak.  

A typical day of training might include a run to the peak, a mere 18 miles away.  The weather in Scotland changes rapidly, especially in the Highlands and these men were trained to deal with whatever Mother Nature had to offer, day and night.  Live ammunition was used to better prepare the men for battle like conditions, and officers were trained just as hard as enlisted men.  The battles fought by the Commandos were some of the bloodiest of WWII.

We left Oban, Scotland around 8:30 am on Tuesday, March 11. Our primary destination for the day was the Isle of Skye. While on the bus, Rab entertained us with many stories about the Highlands, the Clans, and wee folk. I will try to pass on some of the stories that I heard.

In a previous post I mentioned that King James VI of Scotland was also known as King James I of England. His heir, James VII (James II) was ousted as King of England, and forced to go into exile in France, through a series of a events much too complicated to go into with this post, but much of which centered around religious ideology, William of Orange of the Netherlands was invited by England to keep the throne warm until things were settled in regards to who the rightful heir was. Through an additional series of events, the Scottish Parliament was forced to accept William of Orange’s reign.

Not everyone in Scotland was thrilled Parliament agreed to this arrangement, particularly Scottish Highlanders, and so an uprising was formed to try and restore James to the throne. The Jacobite uprising did not succeed and the clans made their way back to their homes, but not without some mischief along the way. It seems that the MacLains of Glencoe, part of Clan MacDonald, decided to raid the livestock of Clan Campbell. This forced Robert Campbell, already in financial straits, to accept a commission with the British army.

Meanwhile, a declaration went out granting amnesty to any clan who signed allegiance to William by January 1, 1692. Again, this didn’t go over well with many of the Clans who had sworn allegiance to King James and felt they could not change allegiance with out first asking permission of King James. King James, not wanting to risk the lives of his subjects, finally released them of their duties. Unfortunately, that release didn’t happen until mid-December and the winter conditions were terrible. Still, many chieftains began the trek to the nearest magistrate to sign an oath of allegiance on behalf of their clans. However, the Chief of Glencoe, a MacLain, stubbornly waited until December 31 to make his trek to Fort William to take the oath, but was told that the Governor of Fort William was not authorized to witness the oath, and that MacLain would have to travel to Invarary and take the oath under Sir Colin Campbell....

On his trip, despite having a letter from the Governor ensuring his safety, MacLain was detained in Balcardin Castle by Captain Drummond. MacLain arrived 3 days after departing Fort William, but had to wait 3 more days for Sir Campbell to arrive. After reading the letter from the Governor stating that MacLean had reached Fort William in time, Sir Campbell reluctantly accepted the oath of the Chieftain, and MacLean left believing his duty was fulfilled. The crown to which he swore allegiance, had a different viewpoint and decided to make an example of the MacLeans and Clan McDonald.

In the Highlands there was a code of hospitality upheld by every Clan. Simply put, this unspoken code was that no matter how bad the blood was between 2 clans, if hospitality was needed, then it was granted and no clan would attack the host clan during its stay. If there was a problem during the stay, then the visiting clan would leave, come back and fight with honor. In February, during very bad weather, a company men headed by Captain Robert Campbell, requested the hospitality of Clan McDonald, so that they might go about collecting the taxes for the Scottish Parliament. Hospitality was granted and for a week a grand time was had by all, so much so, it seemed that all was forgotten as to why there was bad blood between the Macdonalds and the Campbells to begin with.

Despite the hospitality, before anyone had risen from bed, and with the blessing of the crown, Captain Campbell attacked the MacDonald Clan killing most of the men. The houses were burned to the ground and women and children were forced to escape out into the very cold night. Many died from exposure to the elements.

There is a category of murder, ”murder under trust”, which is considered the most heinous of crimes under Scots’ law. News of the massacre spread quickly throughout Scotland and an investigation was launched. Unfortunately, very little resulted from the investigation and despite the fact that the orders were signed by the king, he could not be implicated...because he was king.

Perhaps if there had been no Campbells involved, the government might have been held more accountable. Sadly though, the massacre came to be seen as a result of the rivalry between the MacDonalds and Campbells and not the government action that it was. Many stories have There is an inn in Glencoe called Clachaig Inn, which used to have a sign above its door that said “No Hawkers, No English, No Campbells.” Now it just says “No Hawkers and No Campbells.” Apparently, a few years back, a Campbell tried to pay for his meal with a credit card, and was simply told to leave the premises.

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and Oban, Scotland

I love the mountains and living in Florida means I don’t see them nearly enough. When living in North Georgia and North Carolina, I would go and lose myself in the peacefulness of the Appalachian Mountains. Way...way....way back through the misty curtains of time, the mountains of the Appalachia and the Scottish Highlands were on the same piece of property.

It will to be difficult to find words to describe the extreme awe and emotion I felt at various times while in the Highlands. The continuous light rain or shower that we were experiencing throughout the trip did little to distract from the magnificence of the scene around us. It wasn’t just the mountains above, but the fact that most of them seemed to go straight down until they met a loch, and then one could only wonder to what depth they continued. Mountains and lochs were everywhere, and it seemed at times there wasn’t any flat land at all. Thinking about the differences in terrain between Florida and Scotland, flat is certainly relative.

Scotland was once covered in forest. Unfortunately like many places where humans set up housekeeping, it was over cut. There is an effort to replant, particularly native species like the Scots Pine, but there is a long way to go before the planting is complete. There are still beautiful forests though, and our first adventure took us to Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, a simply magical place.

I don’t recall any stories that Rab shared specific to this forest, but he did point out a section that looked as if it had a road at some point. That road led to the cabin that was occupied by Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

We got off the bus and took a little walk through the woods that eventually led us around a lake, through more woods and then back to the bus. It wasn’t raining at that point and the wind had died down to almost nothing. The walk was gentle and after my adventure at the Wallace Monument, I was quite happy indeed. With the exception of some very happy birds, the rustling and slurping of the leaves and mud on the path, there was silence. I lost myself in the moment.

There is a Quantum Physicist and Buddhist named Jeremy Hayward, who wrote a book called Letters to Vanessa: On Love, Science and Awareness in the Enchanted World. Dr. Hayward’s book is a collection of letters he wrote to his daughter, explaining his belief that the world around us is enchanted. There is magic all around, some of which we can see, most of which we simply cannot. Why? Because we are taught not to. In the beginning of the book he talks about how as kids, our imagination knew no bounds and things like unicorns, centaurs and fairies, may have been part of our lives. What if they weren’t our imagination? What if we saw them because as children, we were more open to the wonders of the world? What if as we grew older and were taught what was “real” and what was not, we became more jaded and could no longer see the enchanted world? It’s not that it stopped existing, but that our sense of wonder was stifled. According to Hayward, we stopped believing in the magic of the world around us.

I thought of that book as I walked along the path in the forest, I remember thinking it wouldn’t surprise me at all if a unicorn, centaur, or some other magical creature I imagined in my childhood, walked right out in front of me and reintroduced herself. This place brought back a sense of wonder about the world; something that I didn’t realize was gone. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without obligation; the feeling there is always something that has to be done or accomplished. There in the quiet stillness of the forest, there was no obligation other than to be right there, in the moment, step by step. It was the most peaceful and content I had felt in a very long time. That is quite magical indeed.

I could have stayed in that forest for hours, but unfortunately we had to leave. We boarded the bus and headed once again toward Oban, Scotland.

I only remember one other stop between the forest and Oban, and that was at Doune Castle. Doune Castle can be seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (“I fart in your general direction”)

We arrived in Oban around 5:00 pm and settled into the hostel we would be staying at for the evening. Located on the western coast of Scotland, Oban looks like a fishing village. If I were to ever relocate to Scotland, I would definitely consider Oban.

The five of us, Julie, Jennifer, Mary Lee, Linda and I, went to a delightful restaurant, Cuan Mor, which had a view of Oban Bay.....except when a monstrous SUV was parked in front of the picture window. I’m sure you know by now, most dinners were accompanied by a local pint. Those dinners that were not, were followed up by a trip to the local pub....

We still had not heard much from Meg and Maureen, our stranded clan members, but I believe they were still at the Toronto Airport waiting with a million other people for a major snowstorm to pass. They were already 24 hours behind their original arrival.

After dinner, we stopped at a local grocery to purchase some items for breakfast and then Julie, Jennifer and Linda headed for a pub, and Mary Lee and I, went back to the room. I couldn’t find anymore energy for the day. The next morning, we didn’t have much time to explore before we needed to be back on the bus. We ate breakfast and cleaned up our dishes quickly, and then went for a brief walk to try and get some pictures of this beautiful little town.

William Wallace and a Hairy Coo, March 10

The morning the bus tour was to begin, we were experiencing typical Scottish weather for March...wet and cold. Still, we were all excited to get started; the tour was the main reason why we came to Scotland. Haggis was the name of the company providing the Compass Buster Tour that we were taking. It was indeed a compass buster.

As we started out of Edinburgh our driver, Rab, asked us to introduce ourselves. Most of the group, outside of mine, were from Australia or New Zealand, with one from South Africa and another from the states. With the exception of wearing seat belts, Rab explained three rules for the week long bus tour. No smoking/drinking on the bus, no snoggin’ and please no farting.....

Our destination for the day was Oban, Scotland, but our first stop would be the Wallace Monument, in Stirling. Rab was an excellent storyteller, and when we were getting close to our destination, he would say something like: “and now, it’s time to go back through the misty curtains of time....”

On our way there Rab asked us to “go back through the misty curtains of time....” and proceeded to tell us a little about William Wallace. He was the subject of the Mel Gibson film “Braveheart” in which Gibson played Wallace. Wallace is one of Scotland’s greatest heroes and even though there was a movie made about him, there really isn’t much known about him, accept that he was apparently much taller than the average Scot in the 1200s.

As a movie, “Braveheart” is actually pretty good, but if you’re looking at it for historical information, well there are just a few things that are a bit off......

In the film, Wallace is shown wearing a kilt. Because William Wallace was the son of a lowly knight and a Lowlander, he would have worn armor in battle. The love scene at the Battle of Falkirk between Wallace and Isabella of France that resulted in a child....didn’t happen since Isabella was only 3 at the time.

There is a question as to whether William Wallace was the Braveheart, or if Robert the Bruce was. On his deathbed, Robert the Bruce asked that his heart be cut out upon his death and taken into battle against the “infidels” during the crusades. Strangely, it was not uncommon for a request like this to be made, and his request was granted.

It is told that during the battle, the soldiers were told not to fear for their king was with them. They lost the battle anyway. At one point the holder of the heart, Sir James, also known as the Black Douglas, threw Bruce’s heart at the enemy before he died. The heart was retrieved and is supposedly now buried in Melrose Abbey. The rest of Robert the Bruce’s body is buried in Dunfurmline. Ironically, while touring the Palace of Holyroodhouse, I noticed a skull with a placard next to it that claimed the skull to be that of Robert the Bruce.....again, the mind boggles.

We arrived at the William Wallace Monument and Rab told us the first thing we would see is a statue at the bottom of the hill placed there soon after the movie came out, to honor William Wallace. Never mind that the William Wallace monument at the top of the hill had been around since the 1800s; no, another statue was needed to REALLY honor William Wallace, especially since the movie Braveheart introduced the world to Wallace, and well.....you may find this hard to believe, but apparently William Wallace looked EXACTLY like Mel Gibson.....
We began to walk up the hill, which was paved but with very few switchbacks. While I reached my target heart rate in Edinburgh in about 2 minutes, I reached it in about 2 seconds walking this route. I thought I was going to die or at the very least, my knees were going to break. I also thought, if the rest of the walks on this adventure were anything like the first one, I was going to be crawling by the end of the tour.

Earlier, Julie had been talking about the last time she was at the monument, they climbed up the actual monument itself. The steps inside are very steep and narrow, much like the ones at the Camera Obscura. Apparently steps were intentionally built this way as a early security system. It’s very hard to run up steps when they are uneven and narrow. Anyway, at the top of the monument is a sword that is rumored to be the one that William Wallace used in the battles.

As I was walking up the hill, I remember thinking that even though I wanted to see the sword, I was actually kind of glad that we didn’t have enough time to climb the monument. I had to stop a couple of times....my walks in Florida while frequent, did little to prepare me for this jaunt. Julie was gracious enough keep with me....very gracious indeed, and did mention that the last time she was here, they took the shuttle up the hill.....LOL.

We.....I made it to the top....and even though my knees were screaming at me, the view was spectacular. Off in the distance, Stirling Castle could be seen. Lots of history that I don’t know about, happened there.....

Now, it was time to go back down the hill....a much quicker jaunt.....and back on the bus to continue the adventure.

Hamish the Highland Coo
This was our next adventure....this is Hamish....he’s a hairy cow. Kind of sexy, don’t you think?

Back on the bus......and to the Highlands....