Hold Fast...

I am going to start this post by letting you know that this day is packed with stuff and each main stop will have its own post.

 

I have included this map so that you can get an idea of the road that I took. I had three major stops for the full day that I was able to spend on the Isle of Skye. You can see where my B&B was located, at Kyleakin. When I arrived and after I checked in I went from Kyleakin to Armadale. The next morning my first stop was Dunvegan Castle, the stronghold of the chiefs of the MacLeod for nearly 800 years. I left the B&B early and started on my way up. I drove on the A863 up through Bracadale and then on to Dunvegan and I did as I had done the entire trip and stopped along the way and took a ton of pictures.

This was a very common scene, the Scottish goat

 



It was amazing to me that the landscape was so different on just this tiny Isle.  Every time I stopped, it was to take a picture of a totally different version of the beauty that was all around me.  I was constantly amazed. 

This is my Highland house

 

This next set of pictures was to show the change in the weather that always seemed to be just around the corner.

 

It took about two hours (mainly because of all my stopping to take pictures) but I finally arrived at my destination

 

Dunvegan Castle

 

Dunvegan is the only stronghold in the Highlands that has been continuously owned and except for the 80 years after the potato famine, occupied by the MacLeod family.  They have lived in this part of the Isle of Skye for the past 8 centuries and the castle itself contains the work of at least ten building periods.

 According to the stories, Dunvegan and the MacLeods became intertwined in the 13th century through the marriage of Leod and the heiress of the Macarailts.  Leod was the son of Olaf the Black, King of the Isle of Man and he and his wife had two sons, Tomod and Torquil.  This was the time that we started to see the term MacLeod as the word "Mac" means "son of".  Tomod became the Chief over the MacLeods of Dunvegan, Harris and Glenelg and Torquil became the Chief over the MacLeod's of Lewis.

 

These are the two tartan colors warn by the MacLeod clan.  The first is known as the MacLeod dress, and the second is known as the MacLeod hunting.

 

One other interesting thing I learned was about the MacCrimmon Pipes.  The bagpipes are associated with the MacCrimmons, hereditary pipers to the MacLeod for 13 generations.  On the farm that the Chief gave them, they started the celebrated Piping College and the finest pipers in Scotland would come to learn from the MacCrimmons.  Even today, Dunvegan remains a place of great renown in the world of piping and each year there is a recital, in honour of the ancient tradition of the Chanter upon which the Fairy Lady assured the first MacCrimmon that he would play the finest music in the world.

 

I had to collect pictures of the interior from the Internet as I was not able to take any pictures as I walked through the castle.  The tour was amazing because you could walk into any room except the library.  I was able to get close to the furniture, pictures, heirlooms and the history of the castle. 

 

                                                                        The Library

 

                           

                      The Front Hall

                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                     The Dinning Room

     
                   The Drawing Room 

 Gaelic became the language of the the Highlands after 1263 and continued to be until the latter part of the 19th century. The Chief was known as the "father" of the clan, the judge of all, the leader in battle and the patron of the arts. During the 18th century the Chief of MacLeod had an entourage that included fighting men, bards, musicians, entertainers, doctors and lawyers. The clan system was carefully organised but because the way of life was misunderstood by those that lived outside the system, it was feared and the central government in Edinburgh was constantly trying to establish authority over the clans in the Highlands.

 

 

It was after the Jacobite rebellion in 1745 when life changed forever and the power of the Chiefs was broken. They were no longer the rulers over their clan, but reduced to Anglo-Saxon style landowners. In 1609 it became a crime to speak the Gaelic language and the sons of the chiefs were educated in the Lowlands of Scotland or in England.   

 

 

Today the clan lands of the MacLeods are now confined to the Isle of Skye and include Dunvegan, the lands immediately surrounding the castle and the great range of the Cuillin mountains further to the South of Skye.

 

I found two interesting stories surrounding the clan MacLeod.  The first has to do with the motto - "Hold Fast". 

This originates from Malcolm the third chief (1296-1370) who while returning from a clandestine visit to the wife of Fraser of Glenelg, was confronted by a mad bull in Glenelg. Armed only with a 'Dirk' he slew the beast. As a souvenir of his prowess he retained one of the Bull's Horns. This horn is on display in the castle today. It is a great clan treasure, indeed to this day, each male heir has to prove his manhood by successfully draining this horn filled with Claret.  The horn holds a bottle and a half of claret, which must be drained at one draft, without setting down or falling down. Finishing this feat in under 2 minutes, the present chief has maintained the honor of his family.   (http://www.dunvegancastle.com/content/default.asp?page=s2_2  )

 

 

The other story has to do with the "fairy flag". 

The most treasured relic of the clan is the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan, called in Gaelic "am BratachSith".  There are many stories surrounding the "fairy flag", the most logical is that it was brought back from the Crusades.  However, analysis shows that it is silk from the Middle East and thought to have been dyed yellow.  It has also been dated between the 4th and 7th centuries A.D. (400 years before the first Crusades).  Because of questions surrounding the origin of the flag, there are many stories but this is the one I liked the best.

The story behind the flag is one of the greatest romantic tales in all the highlands...

A great young Chief of the clan MacLeod fell in love with a fairy princess, a bean sidhe, one of the Shining Folk. The pair were determined to marry but the King of the fairies forbade the union. Such was the young fairy princesses distress that he finally relented and agreed to a period of 'Handfasting'. This was a form of trial marriage which traditionally would last for a year and day and was common in the highlands at the time. however The king demanded that at the end of the handfasting the princess must return to her own folk and take nothing human with her.

The couple lived in harmony and soon a young son was born to them. Alas the time sped by and soon the handfasting was over. The couple parted with great sorry at the famous fairy bridge and the princess returned to the fairy kingdom. As she left she made her husband, the chief promise that her son would be cared for well and never allowed to cry for the sound of his cries would cause her untold grief even in the far away fairy realm. The Chief kept his promise and the young MacLeod was never left unattended and never allowed to cry.

However the young chief grieved terribly for the loss of his wife and the other clansfolk decided that they should organise a great party in the Castle of Dunvegan on the occasion if his birthday to take his mind away from his grief. The birthday celebration ran long into the night with high spirits and the young nursemaid assigned to watch over the infant crept from the room to watch the revelries. As she watch enraptured by the celebrations she did not hear the baby kick off his covers and begin to cry. The Child's mother heard the cries from her fairy realm and suddenly appeared by his side. She took up the young baby and cradled him back to sleep, covering him in a fairy shawl. She sang to the child and was still singing when the maid returned. The maid could hear the lullaby but not see where it was coming from. She immediately took the baby with the shawl she did not recognise to the chief and told him what happened.

Many years later when the child grew into a young man he recounted a tale to his father that the shawl was a great talisman for the clan and that should they ever find themselves in mortal danger they could wave the flag three times and the fairy legions would come to their aid. however this talisman could only be used three times whereupon it would return to where it had come form taking the flag waver with it. The Chief instantly realised the young man was telling the truth and the flag was kept safe.

The Flag has since been used twice; Once when the Macleod's were vastly outnumbered by their bitter enemies the MacDonald's. The chief took the flag from its case and waved it three times, at which point the battle suddenly turned in favour of the MacLeod's. A second time the land was blighted by a plague on the cattle and the clan kinsmen were dying of starvation. The chief again raised the flag and the Fairies returned to bring the cattle back to life. This may seem like a fanciful tale but many MacLeod's believe wholeheartedly in the legend. So much so that during world War II many Macleod servicemen carried a picture of the flag in their wallets. It is said that of the Macleod airmen who defended these shores during the Battle of Britain not one who carried the picture was lost and indeed the Chief of the clan offered to bring the flag to Dover to wave at the Germans should they attempt to invade. http://www.scotclans.com/scottish_myths/symbolic_scotland/flag_denvegan.html


Thoughout Dunvegan's history the MacLeod Chief's have wanted to improve the quality of life.  Initially the direction was towards the production of vegetables and the squared walled gardens were created with that purpose in mind.

It is believe that the 25th Chief, Norman, created this round garden.

 

Because of the Potato Famine however, serious gardening was no longer an option and the grounds became a "romantic wilderness"
 

 

In 1974, the 29th Chief decided that he would attempt a restoration and his perseverance paid off with the Dunvegan gardens becoming one of the "most interesting orticultural experiences in Scotland".

I know this was a really long post, but it was life long dream and I wanted to do the experience justice.  Thanks for hanging in.