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General Object of the
Appendix; List of Guide-Books for the Lowlands, footnote, 1.
I. THE TWEED; THE BORDER
COUNTRY; THE FOREST (SELKIRK and ETTRICK), and CLYDESDALE—General Features,
2.—Outline of Tour to these Districts, 3.—Edinburgh to Melrose: Dalkeith;
Lasswade;.Hawthornden and Roslin, footnote; Borthwick and Crichton Castles;
Currie Wood; The Gala Water, 4.—Galashiels; Bridge-end; Darnick; Skirmish
between Bucclench and Angus, 5.—Melrose Abbey, 6.—General Character of the
Tweed, 7.—Old Melrose; The Cowdenknowes; Earlstoun, 8.—Dryburgh; St.
Boswell's; Littledean Tower; Smailholme Tower, 2.—Kelso and Abbey; Roxburgh
Castle; Fleurs; Home Castle; Ednam — Kelso to Berwick: Flodden; Hollywell
Haugh; Norham Castle; Halidon Hill; Berwick, footnote, 10.—Kelso to Jedburgh:
Penielheugh; Vale of the Jed; Bonjedward; Jedburgh Abbey; Ferniehurst., 11.—Jedburgh
to Hawick: Minto House; Monteviot; Denholm; Battle of Ancrum Moor, 12—Hawick;
Bransholm; Goldieland Tower; Harden Castle; The Cheviot Hills; Langholm;
Gilnockie Tower; The Esk; Netherby Hall; Longtown; Liddesdale; Hermitage
Castle; Hawick to Melrose: Mangerton Tower, footnote, 13.—Melrose Abbotsford
and Selkirk: Abbotsford, 14; Selkirk; Ettrick Forest; Philipbaugh; Oakwood
Tower; Tushielaw; Thirlstane Castle; Ettrick Churchyard and Village, 15.—Moffat
Wells—Moffat to Selkirk, by Yarrow: Loch Skene; The Grey Mare's Tail,
16.—The Covenanters; St. Mary's Loch; Henderland Tower; Dryhope Tower; The
Yarrow; Altrive; Mount Benger; Blackhouse Tower; Upright Stones near Manse
of Yarrow; Newark Castle; Sweet Bowhill; Carterhaugh, 17. Selkirk to
Peebles: Ashiestiel; Elibank Tower; Inverleithen; Traguair; Horsburgh
Castle; Border Peels along the Tweed; Peebles, 18.—Peebles to Lanark;
Nidpath Castle; Drummelzier; Biggar; Carnwath; Cowdaily Castle; Wilsontown
Iron-Works; Edinburgh and Glasgow Forks of Caledonian Railway, 19.-Lanark;
Falls of Clyde; Cartland Crags-Lanark to Hamilton: Craigncthan Castle;
Battle of Drumclog; Cad-cow Castle; Wild Cattle, 20.-Hamilton
Palace-Hamilton to Glasgow: Battle of Bothwell Brig; Bothwell Castle;
Blantyre Priory; Rnthcrglen; Battle of Langside, 21.
II - EDINBURGH TO GLASGOW AND
AYR, AND THE LAND OF BURNS, THE COASTS of GALLOWAY AND DUMFRIES. - Most
Striking Points on Glasgow Railway Line; Viaduct over the Almond; Niddry
Castle, 22.-Linlithgow Palace and Church, 23.-Falkirk; Diverging Railway
Lines, 24.-Country from Glasgow to Ayr; Lochwinnoch and Ailbirnie Loch;
Crookston Castle; Paisley; Elderslie; Branch to Kilmarnock; Kilwinning;
Ardrossan; Eglintoun Castle, 25.-Ayr; Burns' Monument and Birthplace, and
other Localities connected with his Name and Works, 26.-The Carrick Shore;
Colzgn and Turnberry Castles; Maybole Parish, 27.-Coasts of Galloway:
Dundrennan Abbey; Balcarry Shore; Colvend; Sweetheart Abbey, 28.-Dumfries:
Lincluden Abbey; Caerlaverock Castle; Lochmaben and Castle; Dumfriesshire,
29.
III - MAIN RAILWAY LINES
THROUGH SCOTLAND.--(1.) Berwick to Edinburgh: General Features of the
Country; Spots of Interest; Battles of Preston-pans and Pinkie; Conference
at Carberry Hill, 3O.-Dunbar and Castle; Church; Works on the Line; Holly
Hedges at Tyningham ; Coldin-ham Priory; Fast Castle, 31.-North Berwick;
Tantallan Castle; The Bass Tock; Haddington; Abbey, 32.-(2.) Caledonian
Railway, 33.--(3.) The Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway-Grange House;
Kirkcaldy; Falkland Palace; Wilkie's Birth-Place, 34.-St. Andrews;
Cathedral; Tower and Chapel of St. Regulus, 33.-Perth Branch-Lindores Abbey;
Round Tower at Abernethy; Moncrieffe Hill, 36.-(4.) The Scottish Central
Railway-General Course, 37. The adjoining Scenery of the Devon; Alva Glen;
Dollar; Castle Campbell; The Caldron Linn; The Rumbling Bridge, and the
Devil's Mill, 38.-Dunfermline; Malcolm's Tower; Abbey Church; Palace;
Clackmannan and Alloa Towers, 39.-Bridge of Allan; Kipperness Sycamore Tree;
Dunblane; Cathedral; Archbishop Leighton's Walk and Library; Battle of
Sheriffmuir; Forteviot; Tunnel at Moncrieffe Hill, 40.-(6.) The Perth and
Dundee; Dundee and Arbroath; Scottish Midland Junction, and Arbroath and
Forfar Railways: Carse of Gourie; Dundee; Glammis Castle; Arbroath; Abbey of
Aberbrothock, 41.- (6.) The Aberdeen Railway: Montrose; Brechin; Church and
Round Tower; Dunnotar Castle, 42.
1. Whit a view of supplying
such information as we hope may suffice to enable the tourist to make his
way to the more interesting portions of the Lowlands of Scotland, we have
been induced to throw together a concise epitome of the routes most worthy
of the stranger's attention, with brief sketches of the railway lines,
without pretending to supersede reference to the more copious descriptions
in the guide books, professedly of the whole of Scotland, or of the many
serviceable local treatises, and the railway sheets which are now to be had
at a small cost, [We may particularize Black's Tourist of Scotland, and
Economical Tourist of Scotland; Black's Guides through Edinburgh and
Glasgow; the Scottish Tourist's Abbotsford Tour; Falls of Clyde and Western
Tour; an the Land of Burns' Tour; M'Phun's Scottish Land and Steam-boat
Tourists' Guides; Jeffrey's Guide to the Border; Sylvan's Pictorial
hand-book to the Clyde and to Land of Burns; The Tourist's Companion through
Stirling, &c.; Murray's Hand-books for River and Firth of Clyde, Clydesdale
and Hamilton Palace, Arran and Atlas Craig; Lizars' Guides to the Railways
in sheets; Murray's Railway Record; and Bradshaw's Descriptive Guide to the
Caledonian Railway.] and without attempting to trace out all the lines of
road through the south of Scotland, but leaving necessarily untouched,
several, yet not many, objects of interest and places of importance.
2. Of all districts south of
the Grampians, there is no difficulty in selecting for pre-eminence in all
that attracts the foot of the tourist—the Tweed and Border country, with the
adjoining reaches of Clydesdale—scenery the richest and most beautiful that
cultivation and woodland, embellished with many a princely structure,
watered by noble rivers and delightful streams, lined with gentle slopes and
swelling hills and craggy heights, and passing in the uplands into smiling
pastoral vales and verdant hill tracts, can present—is combined with objects
of antiquarian interest innumerable and varied, while the whole region is
intensely marked with historical association, and much of it is familiarly
known by name in Scottish Song and Border Story, while in our own days the
Tweed, the Ettrick, and the Yarrow, are sort of consecrated names to all,
for of the magician of Abbotsford, and the Ettrick shepherd, all have heard.
The splendid ecclesiastical fanes of Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso, and Jedburgh,
alone are worthy of a pilgrimage. But in addition are scattered all over the
country, the ruins of many a noble stronghold and sturdy Border peel, each
with its tales of love and war. The whole Border and contiguous country was
for centuries a battle-field, and its annals are written in blood. It is
consequently studded over with fortalices, and nowhere in our country is the
happy transition from strife to peace more strongly indicated than by the
frequent memorials of Border chivalry in contrast with the waving fields and
quiet pastures, dotted with fleecy flocks; of the present day.
The lines of railway from
Edinburgh to Melrose, and thence to Hawick, and also to Kelso, and projected
to Berwick; and again from Edinburgh and Glasgow to the sources of the
Clyde, have rendered all the districts in question of peculiarly easy
access. 3. We will
suppose the tourist at Edinburgh, [We cannot, in our limited space, attempt
any description of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and must refer the reader to
Black's Guides to these cities.] and the tour we would chalk out for him in
order to an acquaintance with the districts in question, is by railway to
Galashiels, Melrose, and Kelso—thence to Jedburgh—from Jedburgh to Hawick;
then back by rail, to Melrose—thence by Abbotsford to Selkirk—from Selkirk
up the Ettrick as far as Moffat, and back by the Loch of the Lowes and St.
Mary's Loch, and down the Yarrow to Selkirk—from Selkirk by Inverleithen to
Peebles—from Peebles by Carnwath or Biggar to Lanark and the Falls of Clyde,
Hamilton, Bothwell Castle, and Glasgow. The detour by Jedburgh and Hawick,
and again along the Ettrick and Yarrow, can be omitted; while, on the other
hand again, the tour can be prolonged by a run from Kelso to Berwick, or
from Hawick to Langbolm and Longtown by Branxholm, and back by Liddesdale.
EDLNBURGH TO MELROSE.
4. The Edinburgh and Hawick railway diverges
from the east coast line at Portobello. On the way to Dalkeith, [From
Dalkeith may be visited the wooded rock-girt liaw-thornden, and the
architectural bijou Reslin chapel. But a better way is to take the coach
from 10 Princes Street to Lssswade, distinguished for its paper works and
velvet carpet manufactories. Admission to Hawthornden grounds is restricted
to the south side of the Esk, and that only on Wednesdays, and the egress is
at Roslin. Any conveyance has then to be sent round by Lasswade to Roslin to
meet its freight there, or the visitor, by a walk from Roslin to Loanhead,
can meet the Lasswade coach on its return. Below the chapel Rollin Castle
forms a fine ruin. On Rosslyn moor, a celebrated battle was fought on 24th
February 1302, when the Regent Comyn and Sir Simon Fraser on the same day
routed three divisions of the English army. Near Lasswade is Melville
Castle, the seat of Viscount Melville.] where is Dalkeith Palace, the
heavy-looking seat of the Duke of I3uccleuch, we pass the ruins of
Craigmillar Castle, frequently used as a royal residence, particularly by
James V. and Queen Mary.
Beyond Dalkeith, pass Newbattle Abbey, a seat of
the Marquis of Lothian; and Dalhousie, the seat of the Earl of Dalhousie.
Near Gore-bridge station, Arniston House, the seat of the family of Dundas
of Arniston, of judicial eminence. Beyond Fushie Bridge station, we pass the
ruins of the old Castle of Catcune, and of Borthwvick Castle, the largest
and finest specimen of the square tower style of Scottish castles. Here
Queen Mary and Bothwell sojourned for a brief space after their marriage,
and from hence she had to flee in the disguise of a page, and shortly after
the conference at Carberry Hill sealed her ill-starred destiny. Borthwick
Manse was the birth-place of Dr. Robertson the historian.
A short way north-east of
Borthwick, stands the noble ruin of Crichton Castle, 12 miles from
Edinburgh, admirably described in Marmion. In its descent to the Tweed, the
railway repeatedly crosses and recrosses the Gala Water.
5. Galashiels and Hawick are now the most
important woollen manufacturing towns in the south of Scotland; the former,
in particular, distinguished for its fine fabric called Tweeds.
Following the line to the eastward, we find it
cross the Tweed at Bridgend, and passing the village and ruined tower of
Darnick, we soon reach Melrose, at the foot of the "triple-capped" Eildon
Hills, 36 miles from Edinburgh, 14 from Kelso, and 12 from Jedburgh.
Close by Bridgend, the Tweed is joined from the
south by the Allan water, famed in Scottish Song, and now as the Glendearg
of the Monastery. Between Bridgend and Darnick, Buccleuch intercepted
Archibald, Earl of Douglas and Angus, returning with the youthful James V.
from an expedition in 1528 against the Armstrongs, and endeavoured to rescue
him from the Earl's power, but was defeated, the followers of Lords Home and
Ker having come up and reinforced the royal forces.
6. MELROSE ABBEY
of St. Mary's, is altogether the finest specimen
of middle-pointed, or indeed any age of architecture, which Scotland has
produced. It was built by David I. The monks were of the Cistertian order.
The choir and transepts are smaller, but the nave larger than those of
Drybnrgh and Jedburgh. Melrose and the neighbouring religions structures did
not escape from their share of the rapine and violence which so often
devastated all around, when marauding inroads and reprisals formed the great
business of the Border—Scotch and English. Sir Walter's gorgeous imagery has
cast into the shade the earlier history of Melrose, when, borrowing the pure
light of truth from Iona, it served to reflect it on the adjoining English
provinces. The original shrine stood on a different site from the present
edifice. Considerable portions of the buttressed walls of Melrose Abbey are
standing, and still form a most beautiful edifice: all parts are richly
figured with exquisite tracery, and statuary distinguished for
expressiveness, the chiselling and sculpturing being to this day quite fresh
and sharp. Alexander II. is buried at Melrose; and the wizard Michael Scott,
to open whose tomb at dead of night came William of Deloraine. Many, also,
of the great family of Douglas are interred here; and here also is entombed
the heart of Robert the Bruce.
7. The scenery between Melrose and Kelso is
exceedingly beautiful. Generally the whole valley of the Tweed is open, and
the bordering verdant hills rounded into smooth summits. The ranges are of
some elevation, sloping gradually from the haugh grounds along the river. At
times they hem in the latter more closely, and rise more suddenly, but are
not much broken by rocky faces or precipitous acclivities; frequently
intersected, however, by lateral winding hollows or hopes as they are
styled, each with its tributary rivulet. The channel of the river is but
little depressed, and it flows limpid and steadily over its pebbly bed.
Mingled rich wood, corn, and pasture land, gladden the eye and engage the
attention, more by the general tone and complexion, so to speak (except for
some miles below Melrose, where the Eildon and other eminences diversify the
general character), and by individual accessories and embellishments, than
by form and feature in the extended landscape. In the latter part of the
course of the Tweed, the country beyond its banks assumes a fine champaign
character. 8. At Old
Melrose, there was a Culdee establishment (afterwards removed to Coldingham),
said to have been founded by Aidan, a monk of Iona, who had been selected,
on the application of Oswald King of Northumbria, for the work of
evangelising his subjects, and who took up his episcopal residence at
Lindisfarne about the year 635.
The Tweed is joined on the opposite side by the
Leader, issuing from a beautiful wooded vale. On this, the North Road,
though longer, to Dryburgh, some of the finest views are to be obtained.
On the east bank of the Leader, and about a mile
and a-half from where it joins the Tweed, is Cowdenknowes, a name well known
to every lover of Scottish song; and, a mile further up the Leader, the
village of Earlstoun, or Ercildoune, close by which are the remains of the
tower in which lived the famous "Thomas the Rhymer," author of the metrical
romance of "Sir Tristrem," and reputed utterer of many popular prophecies.
9. DRYBURGH
is situated on the haugh land on the north side,
about four miles from Melrose, contiguous to the mansion of the Buchan
family, and completely embosomed amid rich foliage. Of the Abbey, except
some of the terminal walls, little remains, but forming altogether a highly
picturesque group,
"Where Ruin greenly dwells."
Dryburgh was also founded by the pious King
David in 1150. A heightened interest now attaches to Dryburgh, as the last
resting-place of the remains of Sir Walter Scott.
Returning to the public road, about four miles
from Melrose is the village of St. Boswells, or Lessuden, where the
principal cattle and sheep fair in the south of Scotland is held on the 18th
of July. This village, in the sixteenth century, contained sixteen strong
bastel, or fortified houses—a curious exemplification of the then disturbed
state of this part of Scotland.
Littledean Tower, somewhat more than two miles
below St. Boswells, was the residence of a family of the Kerrs.
Several beautiful residences come in sight in
our progress; but the tourist will be most interested to know that, within
about four miles of Kelso, a view is obtained of the Tower of Smailhome, or
Sandy' Knowe Tower, about two miles north of the river, in the close
vicinity of which Sir Walter resided in his childhood with his paternal
grandmother, and imbibed in great measure the impressions which aroused and
gave a bias to his genius. It is described in the "Eve of St. John."
KELSO.
10. Kelso, a handsome town, situated on the north margin of the Tweed, with
the remains of the ancient castle of Roxburgh, the 3farche dun, as it was
called—on a low eminence, near the junction of the Tweed and Teviot, above
the town, and on the further side of the river, and opposite, the splendid
ducal palace and rich woods of Flenrs—combine to form pictures of the most
exquisite beauty. Roxburgh Castle was a principal residence of the kings of
Scotland, but little of it now remains. The most prominent object in the
town is the Abbey, a tall massive structure, one of the most ancient
edifices in the kingdom. The style is purest Saxon, but the arches which
support the tower are Early English Gothic. Of the choir, only two arches,
with the superstructure, remain. James III. was crowned in Kelso Abbey in
1460, in the seventh year of his age. A holly tree, opposite Roxburgh
Castle, marks the spot where his father, James II., was killed, during the
siege of the castle, by the bursting of a cannon.
About five miles north of Kelso are the ruins of
Home Castle, once an important Border fortress, and two miles north-east of
Kelso is the village of Ednam, the birth-place of the author of "The
Seasons," to whom a conspicuous monument has been erected on a rising ground
at about a mile's distance from Ednam.
11. FROM KELSO TO JEDBURGH.
The road to Jedburgh and Hawick, which latter is
20 miles from Kelso, ascends the course of the Teviot, but Jedburgh lies
about a couple of miles up the river Jed, which falls into the Teviot from
the south. [KELSO TO
BERWICK The principal
objects of interest on the way to Berwick, twenty-three miles distant from
Kelso, are the following :—The ruins of lI ark Castle, about six miles from
Kelso, of which frequent mention is made in the wars between the two
kingdoms. About thirteen nines from Kelso, and four below Coldstream, the
old brid0e by which the English crossed the Till before the battle of
Flodden, of which tie fatal field lies on the English side of the Border,
between the Till and Norham Castle. The ruins of Norham Castle, immortalised
in the paces of Marmion, overhang the Tweed about seven miles above Berwick.
Above it is Holywell Haugh, where Edward I. met the Scottish nobility, who
had referred to his arbitration the claims of the different competitors to
the crown, on the death of Alexander III., and where lie first advanced his
pretensions as Lord Paramount, which led to so protracted and desolating
wars. Here, at the ford of Ladykirk, the English and Scottish armies used
chiefly to cross before the bridge of Berwick was erected. About five miles
above Berwick is the Union Chain Bridge, designed by Captain Brown, and
erected in 1810—the first suspension bridge in Great Britain fitted for
loaded carriages. Before entering Berwick, which is fortified by a rampart
and double walls, with five bastions, we pass Halidon Hill the scene of a
battle, 1333, in which the Scots were defeated.]
Teviotdale is eminently beautiful, and
particularly picturesque where the Cayle joins the Teviot.' A monument, in
commemoration of Waterloo, has been erected on the top of Penielheugh, on
the opposite side of the Teviot, at the confluence of the Jed, from which
the view of Merse, Teviotdale, and Tweeddale, with their numerous abbeys,
castles, and towns, is very beautiful, and extends to Berwick and the German
Ocean. The vale of the
Jed, rendered classic ground by the pen of Thomson, is more confined, but
its serpentine windings present a great variety of beautiful landscape.
Shortly after crossing the Jed, we pass Bonjedward where there was a Roman
station, and celebrated in the ballad of Redswire—a Border conflict in 1575,
in which Sir George Heron was killed, and Sir John Foster, warden of the
marches, and others, made prisoners. Jedburgh is delightfully situated amid
a profusion of trees and garden and orchard ground. The town retains an
antique air in many of its houses. No traces remain of its once important
castle. The abbey is a magnificent Saxo-Gothic pile. The south transept is
almost entirely gone, as also the whole of the aisles and portions of the
choir. There are two tiers of arches—those in the second tier subdivided by
central shafts, and above these a third storey—in the nave, four lancet
windows above each set of arches, forming the upper corridor into an elegant
arcade. The nave, in being converted into a parish church, has been
shockingly defaced. There is a door of Saxon architecture in the south wall,
unrivalled in Scotland for elegance of workmanship, and symmetry of
proportions. The tower, crowned with turrets and pinnacles, is about 120
feet high, and the view from the top is quite magnificent. The proportions
of this fine edifice are considered peculiarly pure. Jedburgh Abbey was
enlarged, or perhaps rebuilt by David I., and appropriated to Canons Regular
of the order of St. Austin.
The burghers of Jedburgh often signalized their
warlike propensities, and the shoemakers carefully preserve an English penon,
a trophy of their prowess at Bannockburn.
The ruins of Ferniehirst, the ancient seat of
the Kerrs, lie a short distance from the town. Beside it there is a
well-known oak tree of great size, called the "Capon Tree," and about a mile
from the castle, another, called the "King of the Wood." The impervious
forest of Jed was the scene of many of the most gallant exploits of the
Douglas. JEDBURGH TO
HAWICK. 12. Numerous
mansions occupy the Vale of Teviot to Hawick, a distance of about ten miles,
of which the principal is Minto House, the seat of the Earl of Minto, and
the scenery along the river is diversified by Minto Crags, rising from the
bed of the Teviot. The village of Denholm, nearly opposite Minto House, was
the birth-place of Dr. John Leyden. From Penielheugh, at the base of which
is Monteviot, the residence of the Marquis of Lothian, and to the west,
Ancrum house, the seat of Sir William Scott, we may look down upon Ancrum
Moor or Lilliard's Edge, where, in 1545, a victory was obtained over the
English by the Earl of Angus-
" Where fierce Latour and savage Evers fell,"
and
" \Where Scott and Douglas led the Border spear."
The spot is marked by a monument to the fair
maiden Lilliard, who fell here fighting on the side of the Scots.
13. HAWICK,
on the right bank of the Slittrig, hemmed in by
hilly ground on all sides, is sweetly situated. The town is singularly
deficient in public buildings, but carries on extensive woollen
manufactures. Within three miles is
BRANXHOLM CASTLE,
formerly a place of great extent and strength,
and at one titne the residence of the Scotts of Buccleuch, now occupied by
the Duke's chamberlains.
[Nearer Hawick, and opposite the junction of the
Bortha'ick with the Teviot, stands Goldielands Tower, and in the narrow
vallcy formed by the Borthwick, Harden Castle, another of the old Border
strengths, and which both belonged to members of the clan Scott.
SAWICK co LANGHOLM AND LONGTOWN.
The continuation of the same line of road (the
usual Carlisle and Edinburgh coach road), through the Cheviot Rills to
Langholm, a distance of 23 miles from Hawick, presents little of interest.
The whole of this, as of the adjoining pastoral districts, exhibits a
continued series of smooth, green, rounded eminences appropriated to sheep.
Langholm is very beautifully situated. About three miles below Langholm is
Gilnockie Tower, which belonged to the famous Johnnie Armstrong, who was
treacherously hanged by James N. At the small village of Canobie, the
scenery is also beautiful, ana the winding stream of the Esk to Longtown,
nine miles from Langholm, presents a succession of very pleasing landscapes.
Three miles before reaching Longtown, where English ground commences, on the
opposite side of the Esk, is Net herby hall, the fine seat of Sir James
Graham. The route from Hawick to Langholm, by Liddesdale, possesses more of
interest for the pedestrian or horseman than that by Branxholm. Liddesdale
is made frequent mention of in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, and is
also distinguished as the scene of Dandie Dinmont's home. Far the most
interesting object in Liddesdale is Hermitage Castle, which was one of the
strongest of the Border fortresses. It was built by Lord de Soulis in 1243,
and afterwards became the stronghold of the great family of Douglas. It now
belongs to the Duke of Buccicuch, and is kept in good preservation. Near
Ettleton Church are the remains of the Castle of Jock o' the Stile, and
farther down the ruins of 3fangerton Tower, a stronghold of the Armstrongs.
Longtown is within a very short distance of
Gretna Green, which everybody has heard of.]
HAWICK TO MELROSE.
The line of railway to Melrose (16 miles) passes
through some pretty dean scenery—that is, small dells or ravines, watered by
rivulets—and to the west of the Dlinto Crags, and of Minto House, and of
Antrum Moor, and crosses the Ale Water, which is overhung by rugged and
partially wooded rocks.
MELROSE TO ABBOTSFORD AND SELKIRK.
14. Abbotsford is about 2j miles from Melrose.
The house, a pet creation of Sir Walter's, was designated by himself "a
romance in stone and lime," being a congeries "borrowing outlines and
ornaments from every part of Scotland." The grounds and plantations have
also been fashioned by the same great hand, of which it may well be said-
"Nihil tetigit quod non ornavit."
A large collection of rare and curious
antiquities, and many costly and interesting articles presented to the late
owner by persons of rank and note, and the valuable library, also contained
in a magnificent room 50 feet by 60, and comprising about 20,000 volumes,
will gratify the visitor. But the most affecting objects are the body
clothes of the gifted dead, worn by him previous to his decease, and the
closet or study in which he used to forge his glowing conceptions. The
library, museum, plate, and furniture, were presented to Sir Walter as a
free gift by his creditors, and have been entailed as an heirloom in the
family. Abbotsford is open to the public on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 2
till 5. 13. SELKIRK
lies about three miles up, and on the east side
of the Ettrick, and about four miles from Abbotsford.
Selkirk and Peebles, being out-of-the-way
burghs, retain a good deal of the air of old Scottish towns. In the
triangular market-place of Selkirk, there is a fine monument and statue of
Sir Walter Scott. The citizens of Selkirk distinguished themselves at the
battle of Flodden, and the loss sustained by them gave rise to the beautiful
ballad of "The Flowers of the Forest;" and a standard taken by them is still
in possession of the Corporation of Weavers.
ETTRICK FOREST.
The field of Philiphaugh, where Montrose was
surprised by General Leslie, and lost all the fruits of his previous
victories, lies on the opposite side, below the junction of the Ettrick and
Yarrow. These two streams run nearly parallel, with an intervening ridge of
hills, till they almost meet near Moffat Water, which flows in an opposite
direction into the Annan river. The whole of Ettrick is now one extensive
sheep-walk. Advancing up the Ettrick, we pass, in succession, Oakwood
Tower—said to have been the residence of the wizard Michael Scott—and, in
the upper part of the glen, Tushielaw, the fortress of the famous Adam
Scott—called "The King of the Border"—who was hung on an ash tree beside his
own gate (still to the fore, and called the Gallows Tree) by James V. In
this memorable expedition, in 1528, the king was accompanied by about 12,000
men, whom noblemen and gentlemen, especially of the Highlands, assembled in
obedience to his proclamation, "to danton the thieves of Teviotdale,
Annandale, Liddesdale, and others." A road leads from Tushielaw to the
Yarrow, below St. Mary's Lake. Near Tushielaw there is a comfortable inn,
and thereafter we reach the ruins of Thirlstane Castle, and the modern
mansion of Lord Napier. In the churchyard of Ettrick, still further up,
there is a monument to the well-known Rev. Thomas Boston, author of " The
Fourfold State ;" and one of the few houses in the village was the
birth-place of Hogg the Ettrick Shepherd. The road we are now pursuing joins
that up the Yarrow, at the farm of Bodsbeck, in Moffatdale, which has given
a name to one of Hogg's tales.
MOFFAT.
16. Descending Moffatdale, we soon reach the
fashionable watering-place of Moffat, which is about 35 miles from Selkirk,
and within two miles of the Beatock Station, on the Caledonian Railway,
which is 601 miles from Edinburgh, and 39- from Carlisle—Edinburgh, by road,
being distant from Moffat 61 miles, and Dumfries 21. It is pleasantly
situated in the upper vale of Annan. In the immediate vicinity are the
highest hills south of the Forth, affording a great variety of blended
Highland and Lowland scenery. The views from Hartfell and the white Coomb of
Polmoody are most commanding. There are mineral baths, a bowling green, and
promenade, attached to the pump-room, and there are both sulphurated
hydrogen and chalybeate wells.
MOFFAT TO SELKIRK BY YARROW.
Reascending now the Moffat Water, and deflecting
from the Yarrow road, a few miles up a small glen, to the north, about nine
or ten miles from Moffat, it will be found to issue from the dark Loch Skene,
a sequestered and desolate spot; about a mile below which the stream forms a
magnificent waterfall, called "The Gray Mare's Tail," falling into a wild
gully, and computed to be about 300 feet in height, and certainly one of the
most striking natural objects in the south of Scotland. It is well worthy of
a visit from the vicinity of Moffat.
17. Opposite the door of Birkhill, a small house
eleven miles from Moffat, at the highest part of the road between Moffatdale
and Yarrow, four Covenanters were shot by Claverbouse, and the adjoining
district witnessed many of the sufferings of the persecuted remnant. On the
"Watch Hill," opposite Birkhill, they had always an outlook, and a cave at
Dobb's Linn, below, was a favourite place of retreat. The small loch of the
Lowes is next reached, with Chapelhope at the head, a name met with in the
history of the Covenanters, and the scene of the tale of the Brownie of
Bodsbeck. St. Mary's Loch succeeds, on which
"The swan
Floats double—swan and shadow."
In the Vale of Meggat, on the north, are the
ruins of Henderland, the residence of another Border freebooter of the name
of Cockburn, who was also hung over his own gate by James V. " The Lament of
the Border Widow," a truly pathetic ballad, has reference to this
occurrence. At the east end of the loch is Dryhope Tower, the birth-place of
Mary Scott " The Flower of Yarrow;" and about a mile to the west, by the
loch side, the cemetery of St. Mary's Chapel, east of which is the grave of
the sacrilegious John Birnam, a priest of the chaplainry
"That wizard priest whose bones are thrust
From company of holy dust.
The Yarrow, which flows from St. Mary's Loch,
though the theme of many a poem and song, is perhaps most familiarly known
by Hamilton of Bangour's song
"Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bonny bride."
South of the east end of the loch is Altrice,
the last residence and scene of the death of the Ettrick Shepherd, and to
which a road leads from the Gordon Arms Inn, about thirteen miles from
Selkirk. Again, three miles below the lake, is Mount Benger, at one time
also occupied by him. A wild glen on the Douglas Water, to the north, is
said to be the scene of the "Douglas Tragedy," and belonged to the
Douglasses so early as the reign of Malcolm Caenmore, and of whose very old
peel-house, Blackhouse Tower, there are still some remains. Near the church
and manse of Yarrow, three miles below Mount Benger, two huge masses of
upright stone are said to commemorate one of the tragic Border duels, but
which is matter of dispute. It forms the subject of the old song of the "Dowie
Dens of Yarrow," and of a modern ballad of Hogg's, and it is also
commemorated in Wordsworth's Poems on Yarrow. This or other early tragedy
seems to have given a key-note of plaintiveness to the muse of each
succeeding poet who has made the Yarrow a theme of lofty rhyme. An air of
plaintive sadness, it is fancied, also accompanies the stillness and silence
of the upper vale of Yarrow—the result we take it of association rather than
of any peculiarity from other sequestered pastoral scenes.
By and by the glen begins to merge its pastoral
in a wooded character, and four miles below the church are the ruing of
Newark Castle; and previously on the way, near the village of Yarrowford,
the ruins of Hangingshaw Castle, the scene of the song of "The Outlaw
Murray." Newark, a
hunting-seat built by James II., and now belonging to the Buccleuch family,
is the place where the last minstrel is supposed to pour forth his lay to
Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth. Here, on "The Slain Man's Lee,"
Leslie, after the Battle of Philiphangh, caused a number of his prisoners to
be massacred in cold blood. Nearly opposite is Fowlshiels, where Mango I'ark
was born and resided. A mile below Newark is "The Sweet Bowhill," a summer
residence of the Duke of Buccleuch. Descending to the extremity of Yarrow
vale, at the junction of the Ettrick and Yarrow, we come to Carterhaugh, the
supposed scene of the fairy ballad of "Tamlane."
Instead of the route we have traced, the tourist
may prefer to reverse it, or he may choose to confine himself to the Yarrow,
and instead of returning from Moffat, find his way on direct from thence to
the Falls of Clyde or elsewhere.
SELKIRK TO PEEBLES AND LANARK.
18. Directing our course now from Selkirk to
Peebles, and thence across to the Clyde at Lanark, the road crossing and
descending the Ettrick, also directly passes to the further side of the
Tweed at Yair Bridge. As we ascend the Tweed, the scenery becomes more
pastoral. On the south
side is Ashiestiel, at one time the residence of Sir Walter Scott, and the
ruins of Elibank Tower. About fifteen miles from Selkirk, and six from
Peebles, we reach the watering place of Innerleithen, the St. Ronan's Well
of the Waverley Novels. Nearly opposite is Traquair House, and on the hill
side may still be seen some fine thorn trees, the survivors of the famous
thicket, the "Bush aboon Traquair." On the way to Peebles are the remains of
several other Border strengths, as Cardrona, Nether Horsburgh, and Horsburgh
Castle. And here we may observe, that the whole course of the Tweed had been
at one time lined on both sides alternately, at intervals of almost every
mile, with square towers, keeps, or peels, while numerous rinks, or dry
stone circular forts, occupied the heights. Between Thanes' Castle, the most
westerly of the square keeps, and Peebles, a distance of ten miles, there
were eight such fortalices. They served as points for beacon-fires and
places of temporary security for cattle.
PEEBLES,
distant twenty-two miles from Edinburgh, and
twenty-one miles from Selkirk, is a very old town, and is the scene of James
I.'s celebrated poem of "Peblis to the Play."
PEEBLES TO LANARK.
19. Half a mile west of the town, stands Nidpath
Castle one of the most entire of the castles alluded to, and having walls of
great thickness. It belonged at one time to the Frasers of Tweeddale, and is
now the property of the Earl of Wemyss. On the way to Biggar, Drummelzier
Castle, the ancient seat of the Tweedies, now belonging to the Hays, is
passed. Biggar is a neat little town, about fifteen miles from Peebles, and
twelve from Lanark; and the Bog of Biggar is supposed to have been the scene
of one of Wallace's victories. South of the town are the remains of Boghall
Castle, formerly pertaining to the Earls of Wigton. Nothing particular
presents itself to notice on the way from Biggar to Lanark. The country is
monotonous, and the tourist had best find his way to the Caledonian Railway,
about four miles off. To the south-west lies the lofty hill of Tinto,
verdant to the top, and "facile princeps" among the adjoining hills. The way
from Peebles by Carnwath is two or three miles shorter than that by Biggar.
Near the village are the ruins of Cowdaily Castle, a seat of the Somervilles,
and also an extensive iron-foundry at Wilsontown. The district about the
sources of the Clyde and Tweed is rich in coal and minerals.
The Glasgow and Edinburgh forks of the
Caledonian Railway here form a junction by a large triangle, and one of the
most remarkable embankments on the line occurs at Carnwath—an embankment of
sand, forty feet wide, twenty feet deep, and 2½ miles in length, well
consolidated, and displacing the fluid moss through which the line advances.
20. LANARK,
Twenty-five miles from Glasgow and thirty-two
from Edinburgh, is distinguished as the scene of Wallace's first exploits,
and the neighbouring localities have attached to them numberless traditions
connected with his life. About a quarter of a mile from the town are the
remains of a fine very old church; and between the town and the river lies
Owen's celebrated cotton manufacturing establishment of New Lanark; but
Lanark is chiefly famous for its proximity to the
FALLS OF CLYDE.
If we except the river Beauly, the falls of
which are not of any consequence in point of height, though eminently
distinguished by the great beauty of the river scenery, there is none of our
larger rivers which displays the phenomenon of waterfalls. Those on the Dee
are near its source, before it has attained much volume. On the Clyde we
have no less than-three fine falls, all within the compass of a few miles.
For several miles below, and for a couple of miles or so above Lanark, the
channel of the river is closely confined by high rocky banks. These, indeed,
in some places, approach within a few feet of each other, but again
diverging so as to afford a fine breadth to the river, and beautiful and
romantic reaches. The two upper falls, Bonniton and Corra Linn, are within
half a mile of each other, and the former two miles distant from Lanark. The
fall of Stonebyres is about three miles farther down, and also about two
miles from Lanark. Of these the uppermost (Bonniton) is about thirty, Corra
eighty-four, and Stonebyres perhaps sixty feet in height. It is advisable to
visit the uppermost first. The falls can be visited from either side of the
river, there being a bridge between the second and third falls. The summits
and ledges of the rocks throughout are embellished with trees and coppice.
At Corra Linn the rocks form a fine amphitheatre, and they are set off by
the ruins of the old castle of Corra on the western brink; and the whole
series and intervening river course are exceedingly beautiful and
gratifying. The tourist
ought not to omit to visit Gartland Crags on the Mouse, about a mile from
Lanark, where the stream flows through a narrow chasm between rocky wooded
banks about 400 feet in height, and where a bridge of three arches has been,
thrown across the ravine of the very great height of 146 feet.
LANARK TO HAMILTON.
The road to Hamilton crosses to the west side of
the Clyde, and conducts through a district deservedly termed " The Orchard
of Scotland," from the wealth of rich fruit trees, now whitened with
blossom, again bowed down with generous fruit. The scenery is gladsome,
charming, and heart and eye filling, in no common degree.
On a rock overhanging the Nethan stands the
ruins of Craignethan Castle, which furnished the model for Tillietudlem in
Old Mortality.
Approaching Hamilton, we cross the Avon, which presents a dell of like
character with that of Roslin and Hawthornden. Drumclog lies towards the
source of this stream, famous for the defeat of Claverhouse by a body of
Covenanters, on the first Sunday of June 1679, as so vividly described in
the above work. On the
west bank of the Avon are the ivy clad, wood embosomed ruins of Cadzow
Castle, the ancient baronial residence of the family of Hamilton. Some of
the most gigantic and oldest oaks in Scotland are to be found here; and in
the forest are preserved herds of the famous breed of Scottish wild cattle,
milk-white, with muzzles, horns, and hoofs of jet.
HAMILTON TOWN AND PALACE.
21. Hamilton, as its chief attraction, has to
boast of the magnificent ducal palace, standing on a plain between it and
the river. Since the extensive recent additions (designed by Hamilton), this
is altogether about the most superb private edifice in Scotland; and it is
surrounded by a princely park of about 1400 acres of valuable land,
comprising a great meadow of some 500 acres. The front facade is a splendid
specimen of the Corinthian order, taken from the temple of Jupiter Stator at
Rome. It has a central and two terminal projections. In front of the central
compartments is a noble double portico of columns of thirty feet high, each
of a single stone, and weighing twenty-six tons, with rich entablature and
pediment. The portico is peculiarly striking, and the harmony and just
proportions of the whole elicit universal admiration. Nor is the splendour
and costliness of the interior less worthy of note. But its peculiar charm
is the great celebrity of several of the masterpieces in painting,
especially "Daniel in the Lion's Den," Rubens' finest picture, "the glory of
Hamilton," as it has been well called, and, among others, the "Two Misers,"
by Mastys; "The Marriage Feast," by Paul Veronese; and the best of Vandyke's
portraits, that of "William Viscount Fielding, First Earl of Denbigh." All
this opulence of art is, with a noble liberality, open to every respectable
person, without any special application.
The South Calder water in the neighbourhood will
be found to possess beautiful natural scenery, in combination with a great
number of fine country seats.
HAMILTON TO GLASGOW.
The attractions of the Clyde, apart from its
peculiar features below Glasgow, are not yet exhausted. About a mile and a
half from Hamilton we cross the river by the identical bridge—though now
much widened—which witnessed the battle of Bothwell Brig, for the details of
which we must refer our readers to the panes of Old Mortality. The only
struggle was by a brave band posted at the bridge. The holm by the river
side belonged to "fierce but injured Bothwellhaugh," who shot the Regent
Murray at Linlithgow. The old Gothic church, and the tower of the new church
of Bothwell, give a finely featured character to the otherwise pretty
village. A mile and a half further on are the magnificent ruins of the
massive towers and lofty walls of Bothwell Castle, a noble specimen of the
first class of Scottish strongholds. This imposing edifice crowns a bank in
a fine sweep of the Clyde, whose course is here highly banked and richly
wooded. On the opposite side the picturesque ruins of Blantyre Priory, on
the edge of a precipitous rock, add to the fine effect of the whole. The
castle has repeatedly changed owners, and is now, for the second time, the
property of the Douglas family.
The most pleasant road to Glasgow Iies on the
north side of the river, but near the ruins of Cathcart Castle, in the
neighbourhood of Rutherglen, on the other side, is the battle-field of
Langside, so fatal to Queen Mary's fortunes. At Rutherglen it was that
Monteith agreed to betray Wallace to the English.
Ten and a half miles from Hamilton the tourist
reaches the prosperous capital of the West of Scotland. |
