Loch Lomond by DJ Sonny

In the little community of Marchmont in Edinburgh, one of the interesting characters you’ll see about the streets is Sonny Fascia, otherwise known as DJ Sonny. I first met Sonny at the cosy pub in the heart of the area The Earl of Marchmont, where he introduced me to his unique brand of Scottish turntablism and hip-hop.

Upon further research into Sonny’s repertoire I discovered his version of the traditional Scottish tune Loch Lomond, which samples American jazz artist Maxine Sullivan’s 1955 recording. The song became a career defining hit for Maxine, and coincidentally was the first and last song she recorded over her 40 year career. Sonny’s version is a distinctly more 21st century affair – mixing jazz, beats and scratch to form an upbeat and contemporary version of the veteran Scottish classic.

Loch Lomond is one of those perennial tunes that has had the ability to stay popular over hundreds of years, through either its infectious melody or the surprisingly dark historical context behind the song. Unfortunately nothing concrete is known about Lomond’s original composer, however the tune’s conception can be traced to sometime between the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and the song’s earliest printed publication in 1841. In John Purser’s monumental 1992 work Scotland’s Music, Purser states that the song is usually attributed to a languishing Jacobite prisoner sentenced to death in a prison at Carlisle around the time of the Rebellion.

Early publication, circa 1880

According to legend, the Government soldiers were rather fickle in the way they decided the fate of the Jacobite prisoners. Some were picked at random to be hung, while others were simply released and told to walk home back to Scotland. The dominant theme of the song is said to refer to the ancient Celtic belief that if you die away from your home country, then your spirit returns home by an underground route called ‘the low road’. However the lack of a definitive connection with the songwriter lends the song open for a multitude of interpretations – with others believing the song was sung by the lover of a captured Jacobite soldier set to be executed in London following a show trial. The heads of the executed soldiers were then set upon pikes and exhibited in all of the towns between London and Edinburgh in a procession along the ‘high road’ (the most important road), while the relatives of the soldiers walked back along the ‘low road’ (the ordinary road traveled by peasants and commoners). In another version dated around 1880, the song’s lyrics have been altered to become a lament between Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie (see image).

Refrain:

O ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road,

An’ I’ll be in Scotland afore ye;

But me and my true love will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks O’ Loch Lomond.

Verse 1:

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,

Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond.

Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae

On the bonnie, bonnie banks O’ Loch Lomond.

Verse 2:

‘Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,

On the steep, steep side O’ Ben Lomon’,

Where in purple hue the Hieland hills we view,

An’ the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’

Sonny’s version of Lomond came about after a fruitless search on the net for hip-hop with a Scottish flavour. He made the song over two days and released it earlier this year online. A regular DJ at clubs around Edinburgh, Sonny produces music through his record label Burgh Records and forms half of the Scottish hip-hop group Perfect Practice. After DJing his way around the world, Sonny returned to Scotland and began producing his own hip-hop gaining him an international following.

The song has been appropriated by artists in many different mediums over the years including Bill Haley & His Comets, Mark Knopfler, Rod Stewart, Runrig and AC/DC. The tune is featured in a song sung by Scottish Terrier Jock in the Disney film Lady and The Tramp, and Scottish poet and folklorist Andrew Lang wrote a poem based on the song in 1876:

There’s an ending o’ the dance, and fair Morag’s safe in France,
And the Clans they hae paid the lawing,
And the wuddy has her ain, and we twa are left alane,
Free o’ Carlisle gaol in the dawing.

(Morag meaning great one in Gaelic, referring to Bonnie Prince Charlie; and wuddy meaning a hangman’s noose).

Whatever the truth of the tune’s origins, the famous song has timeless appeal proved by it’s constant reincarnation in so many endearing ways. Sonny’s 2013 version provides a contemporary connection to Scotland’s history, using an iconic melody bound with a very 21st century way of making music.

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You can download Loch Lomond by DJ Sonny by clicking here, and can check out his other tunes via his Bandcamp page.

Repeated swearing is set to be outlawed during events such as the Tug O’ War

The Scottish Highland Games Association has for the first time published a universal Code of Conduct to be used by competitors and judges. The 15-page document aims to impose identical rules at more than 60 Highland games across Scotland, endeavouring to do away with an alternative form of events and disciplines.

One rule strictly forbids the removal of kilts during competition and states tug o’ war participants may swear only twice before being disqualified.

The guide also states: “The practice of throwing a light caber for distance is not tossing the caber. It should be discontinued.” Over centuries the discipline, which began as a way for clan chieftains to test their warriors, has evolved, with different Highland games issuing their own codes of conduct.

The code also enforces rules that participants must dress traditionally and preserve modesty, stating: “All competitors must appear and compete while wearing a kilt. No competitor will be permitted to dress or undress in the Games arena.”

Cyclists must “present a neat and tidy appearance”, while wrestlers “shall take hold where they please, subject to the following restrictions – the hair, flesh, ears, private parts or clothes”.

Lord Reay 1937-2013

It is with sadness that we announce the death of Hugh William Mackay, 14th Lord Reay, Baron Mackay and Chief of Clan Mackay. A distinguished parliamentarian, Mackay served in the House of Lords, held office for a short time in the Thatcher government and later sat for six years in the European Parliament. Mackay died in London on May 10 2013 aged 75 following a short illness. One of two Scottish elected hereditary peers who survived Blair’s Parliamentary reforms of 1999, Mackay’s death has triggered a rare by-election to appoint his successor in the House of Lords.

Born on July 19 1937 in Edinburgh, Mackay was the only son of Aeneas Alexander Mackay, 13th Lord Reay, and his wife Charlotte (née Younger). Mackay was educated at Eton College and Christ Church in Oxford where his sharp dress sense was first noted. He was living in Holland when his father died in 1963, inheriting the titles of Lord, Chief, Baronet of Farm (a Nova Scotia title originally bestowed on an ancestor by James VI) and the Barony of Ophemert and Zennewijnen (created in 1822 by King William I of Netherlands). With this latter title came the picturesque 16th-century manor house, Ophemert Castle in the Netherlands.

The Chief and his lady Victoria at the Gathering in 2009

Lady Elizabeth Fairbairn, Hugh’s sister and president of the Clan Mackay Society, said her brother spoke with authority on a number of subjects related to the north of Scotland – especially the Highland Clearances. Mackay attended the Clan Gathering in Edinburgh 2009, walking the Royal Mile parade in Mackay tartan, and later spoke enthusiastically at the Mackay tent of the work being done at the Clan Mackay Room at the Strathnaer Museum in Sutherland. He also spoke of his love for Edinburgh, saying: “I have always had a soft spot for Edinburgh, the place of my birth and still managing to hold its place as, in my opinion, the most beautiful city in the United Kingdom. I feel honoured to be amongst you. Clansmen, Clanswomen. I ask you to raise your glasses to Clan Mackay.”

Mackay entered the House of Lords as a cross-bencher and played a prominent role in the abolition of capital punishment in 1965, joining the Liberals soon afterwards. However, disapproving of the party’s standing as a genuinely ‘national’ party he returned to the cross-benchers before joining the Conservatives in 1971. Upon the UK’s entry to the Common Market in 1973, Mackay was one of eight peers nominated to serve in the European Parliament. After the Parliament’s first public election in 1979, he was nominated to the Council of Europe which he served in until 1986. During this time his increasingly hawkish attitude on defence issues attracted the attention of Margaret Thatcher who appointed him as a Lord-in-Waiting or junior whip. Thatcher’s successor John Major appointed Mackay as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), however he decided to leave Parliament less than a year later. He joined the Select Committee on the European Communities, also chairing its food and agriculture subcommittee, until 1999. Mackay stayed a member of the House of Lords until 2013.

During his political career Mackay’s support of environmental issues was mixed – On behalf of the Department of the Environment he had to oppose pressure for the phasing out of CFC gases, however one of his first announcements at the DTI was a package of grants for recycling. As recently as May 2012 Mackay sponsored legislation to define minimum distances between wind turbines and residential premises, however during a debate on renewable energy he dismissed wind power as a pointless gesture towards an economically crippling green ideology. Mackay was also strongly against further EU integration, gay marriage and caused controversy when he suggested that Britain recognised the Dalai Lama as a spiritual (rather than a political) leader only.

Mackay married Annabel Therese Fraser in 1964, youngest daughter of the 17th Lord of Lovat, and had two sons and daughters. They divorced in 1978, and in 1980 Mackay married Victoria Warrender, daughter of the 1st Lord of Bruntsfield, having two daughters. His elder son, Aeneas Simon Mackay – Master of Reay, born in 1965, succeeds the titles including the chieftainship of Clan Mackay. The funeral is likely to be on the 23rd of May in Lancashire with a Memorial Service in London to be held at a later date.

Room With a View…

It’s now Tuesday so Amanda has been on the road (or rather the slightly muddy path) for 4 days now. Last night she reached Inverernan campsite after a gruelling trip through one of the hardest stretches on the way; North from Rowardrennan. This part of the route winds alongside the northern reaches of Loch Lomond, twisting and turning over rocks, fallen trees and through mud. Challenging for most people who would be relaxing in luxurious B&Bs at the end of each day, even more so for Amanda, on her own and carrying a huge pack with, tent and all the associated gear! Yesterday she passed some on leave army servicemen going the other way. There was admiration mixed with incredulity in their voices as they wished her luck (even if they muttered ‘she’s never going to make it’ as they walked on.

Last reported location, Inverernan this morning

Fortunately though she is not COMPLETELY on her own. We’re back at home providing remote support. With additional maps and better internet access and the ability to track her phone signal we can keep tabs and advise on any good looking camping spots on the way ahead. Also she seems to have become a bit of a celebrity on the route and was greeted to cheers and hugs as she made it to her lunchtime objective of the pub at Inversnaid yesterday.

Today she hopes to be getting to a place called Auchtertyre, just to the North West of Crainlarich, this will put her well over halfway and well past the worst of the journey. We will let you know how she gets on…

Mission Control

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Wednesday:

Last night Amanda spent a more comfortable evening at Strathfillan just south of Tyndrum after deciding to take a break from life under canvas and spend the night in one of the Strathfillan campsite’s wooden wigwams. A heater, a mattress – simple luxuries!

Today she will walk through Dalrigh (site of one of Robert the Bruce’s early defeats) The popular stop off village of Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy in the shadow of Ben Dorain. Hopefully getting to Bridge of Oran and the great little wild camping spot near the Inveroran Hotel. Venue for many a post Munro pint or three.

A chilly morning on the road ahead

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Thursday

Yesterday afternoon Amanda reached her objective of the wild camping site a few miles past Bridge of Orchy near the Inveroran Hotel. Today she takes on the bleak but beautiful walk through Rannoch Moor to reach the Kings House Hotel at the entrance to Glencoe where a small camping area will provide a rest stop before the hike over to Kinlochleven, the steepest ascent of the 95 mile route.

Rannoch Moor

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Friday

It’s now been a week since Amanda set off. I had a slightly broken up phone call at lunchtime to say she was descending into Kinlochleven where she plans to spend tonight. Tomorrow she has a fairly long but by all accounts stunning walk from there to Fort William and the end of her 95 mile journey.

So very close to the end…

The Storehouse of Foulis on the banks of the Cromarty Firth

Sitting on the banks of the Cromarty Firth between Evanton and Dingwall, the Storehouse of Foulis is a fully restored 18th Century building that once housed the rent paid in kind from the Munro estate. Once only visited by horse and cart, the Storehouse now sits alongside the busy A9 with cars zipping past on the main road in and out of the Northern Highlands.

Thought to have been completed around 1740, the Storehouse was built for the Munros of Foulis at a time when rent on the estate was largely paid in goods. The area surrounding Foulis provided good growing and farming conditions because of the rich soil and relatively mild temperatures. Oats and barley received from the tenants were stored here before being portioned out to farm workers and household staff as wages. Surplus goods were shipped off to markets further south via ferry. The Storehouse is positioned towards the sea on the gently sloping shore just above high-tide mark so boats could be safely beached to load goods, floating away on the next incoming tide.

Surviving documents show the export of grain and foods such as salt salmon as well as timber sent by sloop to Fort George in 1753. A letter from Sir Hugh Munro to his factor in October 1795 stated that tenants should be given a receipt for grain brought to the storehouse, bringing as much as they conveniently could at one time. On February 3rd 1796 at a time when oatmeal was scarce, a group over 150 people marched on the Storehouse. They believed it to hold stores of oats but, after threatening to break in to the building, a deputation was allowed in by the storekeeper. Finding only barley and wheat they refused to buy saying that they “… lived chiefly by oatmeal and they did not mind tho’ he should send away all the wheat and barley… provided he left the oats.”

A ground floor window

The building is constructed of lime harled sandstone rubble masonry bonded by lime mortar with dressed stone margins around the openings and a Ballachullish slate roof – a fine example of vernacular architecture. All the windows are small with those on the ground floor mere slits to provide necessary ventilation for the grain, and to provide security for the goods stored inside.

By the early 19th Century most rents were being paid in money, but the Storehouse continued to be used to store bulky goods moving in and out of the estate by sea until well into the 20th Century. Today the wooden pillars, capitals and longbeams survive whilst the joists and planking date from the refurbishment in 1998. The building is now a visitor attraction run by Clan Munro, with the store house hosting information about the building’s history, the clan and the area’s wildlife. An accompanying restaurant and farm shop have been built next door, with fresh and local produce for sale. In 2010 Prince Charles visited the Storehouse as part of his role as founder of the North Highland Initiative, which aims to bring together the farm­ing community, local busi­nesses and the tourism industry to promote the economic development by creating and mar­keting a powerful North Highland brand.

You can view a gallery of images from the Storehouse on Tartan Footprint.

The Uncertainty of Identity project maps Great Britain’s most popular surnames by area.

A map of Great Britain’s most popular surnames shows the dominance that clan areas still hold in Scotland, while other areas show the effects of modern-day immigration. Created by experts from three English Universities, Uncertainty of Identity uses surnames listed on the electoral roll to find the three most popular names in each electoral ward.

Mackay and Sutherland are the most popular names in the North Highlands, echoing the ancient territories and stronghold of the clans. Mackenzie, Fraser and Ross are the most popular in the area North of Inverness, while MacLeod and MacDonald dominate the Western Isles – data that directly corresponds with clan territory maps.

In the Northern Isles Halcrow, Drever and Flett survive as the third most common surnames, while Shetland still boasts a diverse mix of Spences, Rendalls and Sinclairs. Carole Hough, professor of onomastics – the study of name origins – at Glasgow University, said the surnames of Orkney and Shetland differ from much of mainland Scotland due to naming traditions.

“Shetland and Orkney are unique in that they have a much higher proportion of surnames from local place names, which makes them quite distinctive. Place names tend to cluster around their 
origin, which is surprising 
given how mobile people are,” she added

The English derived surname Smith is the most dominant across the whole of Great Britain with a considerable stronghold in the lowlands and east of Scotland. Modern-day immigration shows in areas such a Glasgow’s Pollokshield’s East, with Ahmed, Ali and Singh popular surnames. Jones, Davies and Williams dominate in Wales.

Looking to the future, a resurgence in the popularity of traditional Scottish forenames in recent years is likely to combat Anglicisation, said Hough.

“Far more Gaelic and Celtic-derived personal names are being chosen by parents in Scotland, which can be a way of affirming national identity,” she says. “Gaelic-derived forenames that are in the top 100 names in Scotland at the moment include Aiden, Callum and Finlay. Cameron is originally a clan name, and Lewis, Evan and Isla are all place names.”

You can view a map of Scotland’s most popular surnames at Tartan Footprint.

I wanted to find out a little bit about the political system in Scotland, especially when tasked with having a say in the country’s future on such a contentious issue. Feeling a little confused as to how the Scottish Parliament works alongside Westminster, I took a trip to the Scottish Parliament last week to find out more.

The Scottish Parliament is situated in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. On the day I visited a meeting of the Parliament was being held in the debating chamber, where SNP cabinet members for the Environment and Justice were questioned by other parties about their portfolios. This included questions and debates on reducing carbon emissions in Glasgow, amendments to the crofting reform act, assisting farmers affected by the recent cold weather and whether the Government is planning to reduce the number of Police Officers in order to meet budget cuts. An interesting question was also put forward regarding safeguarding the bee population of Scotland, to which much to my delight many bee-puns were given in response, (e.g. “I knew you would sting me with that question…”). The experience was entirely different to my visit to Westminster in November – The House of Commons is about five times smaller than the Scottish debating chamber, with UK MPs decidedly more ruckus.

The Scotland Act of 1998 established the first Parliament in Scotland since 1707. This passed power from Westminster to Holyrood on a range of devolved matters including health, education, housing, justice, the environment, agriculture and the arts. However Westminster still retained powers to make laws for Scotland on certain issues. These issues generally have a UK-wide or international impact and are known as reserved matters. They include things like benefits, immigration, defence, foreign policy, employment, broadcasting, nuclear energy and the Constitution.

The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 elected representatives, who are known as Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The voting system used is a type of proportional representation known as the Additional Member System, which gives each voter two votes in an election. The first vote is the constituency vote, with the candidate winning the largest number of votes gaining the seat. The second vote is for a political party within a larger electoral area called a Scottish Parliament region. In each of the eight regions, parties are allocated seats depending on the number of votes they receive in the regional ballot, and taking into account the number of constituency seats they win in a region. Of the 129 MSPs, 73 are constituency representatives, while 56 represent the eight parliamentary regions. In the last election in 2011, the Scottish National Party won 69 seats – making it a majority government. Previous governments were a minority government or coalition.

Bills passed by the Scottish Parliament don’t have to be approved by the UK Parliament, however royal assent by The Queen must be given before they can come into force. In contrast the UK Parliament can pass laws that affect Scotland on devolved matters. By convention the UK Parliament would normally do this by seeking the consent of the Scottish Parliament through a legislative consent motion proposed by a MSP. It is possible for MSPs to become Members of the UK Parliament simultaneously (called a dual mandate), however the roles are entirely separate. There are 650 MPs in the House of Commons, 59 hailing from Scotland and representing Scotland on reserved matters.

During my afternoon in the debating chamber there was only one mention of the most hotly contested issue in Scotland at the moment – independence. The mention of this word by a SNP cabinet member made the debating chamber erupt into a fully fledged House-Of-Commons style debate, with MSPs from all parties crying out and waving papers and arms in the air when they disagreed. Scotland’s Parliament surely does have an interesting year and a half ahead if the little snippet on independence I saw is anything to go by.

Drum Castle, Aberdeenshire

Drum Castle, ancient seat of Clan Irvine, has received a £700,000 conservation grant from Historic Scotland. The 700-year old castle boasts the oldest keep in Scotland and is the oldest intact building under the care of the trust.

The castle is to undergo specialist works to remove cement pointing, replacing it with traditional, breathable lime mortar to aid in preservation. Scaffolding is currently being erected around the keep in order to begin the painstaking task of chipping away the cement.

Located near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, the castle’s name is derived from the gaelic druim meaning ridge. The keep is said to be the work of medieval architect Richard Cementarius who held the title of King’s Master Mason to King Alexander III of Scotland. In a show of neighbourly love, Robert the Bruce gifted the lands and castle of Drum to his neighbour and armour bearer William de Irwyn (Irvine) in 1323. De Irwyn was appointed by Bruce as the Baron of Drum and charged with overseeing the Royal Forest, parts of which remain standing today. According to legend, the holly on the Irvine badge were awarded after de Irwyn guarded the King while he slept under a holly bush.

During the Covenenting Rebellion of the 17^th century Drum was twice attacked and four times captured by hostile troops. Despite backing the Jacobites during the two uprisings of the 18^th Century, the Irvines bounced back and we able to hold and develop Drum further throughout the 19^th Century. The Castle has been in the care of Historic Scotland since 1975. In 2012 the castle played host to the first ever ‘Ginger Snap’ – a flash mob of ginger haired folk.

The project is being funded by The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, Historic Scotland and an anonymous donor. Work is expected to continue until the end of the year.

Hector Munro outside Foulis Castle

The Highlands in the spring time are a busy, bustling place. Tractors hold up traffic on the A9, lambs dot the earthy-coloured countryside and freshly sown fields of barley await the warmth of summer. A few weeks ago I visited the Highlands for the first time to interview my second Clan Chief, traveling about half an hour north-west of Inverness to Easter Ross to meet Hector Munro of Foulis – Highland farmer and Chief of Clan Munro.

Following unseasonable snowy conditions a week earlier, Hector had been working around the clock to get his Spring barley crop in the ground while the weather was cooperating. “I am really just a land manager who happens for historic reasons to be the head of an enlarged family group known as a Clan. I work for my living like anyone else – that living happens to be farming.” The majority of the Munro farm at Foulis is made up of malting barley, which when harvested goes to a cooperative shared by farmers in the area. The barley is sorted, batched and sold to maltsters to the order of local whisky distilleries including Glen Ord, Glenmorangie, Highland Park and The Macallan.

Perched among the sown-fields of Foulis sits the striking Foulis Castle, seat of Clan Munro for at least 800 years. “We don’t know the very early history of the castle because there was a terrible family row in the mid-1800s and a lot of documents were burnt and destroyed. As far as we can make out a Munro chief acquired Foulis in about 1350 by swapping some land that he already had on the Black Isle. So we know the land has been in the family since then, possibly longer.” Keyhole gun ports were recently discovered in the base of what seems to have been a corner tower on a defensive outer wall of the castle. “They can be positively dated to between 1450 and 1550, so we know there’s been a castle here since at least then.”

The castle suffered a plundering by Jacobites during the 1745 Rising, as the Munros were ardent Presbyterians and Whigs by political persuasion. “One of my fore-bearers attended the Reformation Parliament in Edinburgh in 1560, voting for reformation. The last thing the Munros wanted was a Catholic King on the throne, so we were staunchly anti-Jacobite.” When the rebellion broke out, 200 Munros marched straight to Inverness to provide aid to the besieged General Sir John Cope, later escorting him to Aberdeen and acting as his scouts. The Munros attempted to hold the North for the Government, but in the end were forced to retreat into Sutherland leaving Foulis open for plundering. The chief at the time, Sir Robert Munro, died commanding an English battalion at the Battle of Falkirk, alongside his brother Dr Duncan Munro who was also killed. At the end of the Rising, Robert’s son returned to Foulis to find it a ruin. “Eventually the Government paid compensation, eight years after Culloden, which allowed him to restore the castle. And by that time I think he realised there was no longer the need for a defensive tower so he incorporated the old parts of the castle into what’s really a modern Georgian mansion. So that’s why today it looks more like a mansion then a castle. The sad thing is that no pictures of the castle (before the mid 1800s) survive, as they were destroyed during the family row over succession.”

Foulis Castle in the distance, surrounded by farmland.

Once an estate of 36,000 acres, the lands today have been reduced to 2,500 and is a mixture of let grazing, barley and forestry. “Sadly there’s very, very few clan chiefs who still are lucky enough to have their original property. And I think it’s the fact that very few areas of the highlands are actually economically viable. Tax, death duties and service to the country has bought about the demise of most of the clan seats, so yes I consider myself very lucky that we’re still at Foulis.”

Clan Munro has a very close affiliation with the Seaforth Highlanders, with ties that go back almost two hundred years. During the Second World War, Hector’s father and uncle were captured at St Valery in 1940 while providing cover for the British Expeditionary Force to escape. “I think it was probably 10,000 men from the Highlands who were captured there in one go. They spent the next four years and 11 months in a POW camp, in which time Foulis became thoroughly run down. The Highland soldiers were always considered the crack troops of the British Army, and as a result they tended to be pushed to the front lines to deal with the trouble spots. I think the Scots probably lost more per head of population than any other allied force in the Second World War.”

Hector began running Foulis in 1974, and became chief in 1995 following the death of his father, Captain Patrick Munro. “I don’t think the role of chief twigged properly until much later, I just took it for granted when I was younger. The fact that my Granny lived in a castle that leaked like a sieve; it didn’t really occur to me that there was any significance. The family have always been in the military so there were lots of swords and spears from great uncle so-and-so who brought them back from Africa. Granny used to allow us to play with these swords as kids, and how we never cut each others heads off, I don’t know, but it was great fun. When my father returned from the war first and foremost he had to work the farm, and secondly try and preserve the castle. In 1958 we got a grant from the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland (now Historic Scotland) and they helped with a grant to put a new roof on the castle.”

Foulis Castle as it stands today

Clan Munro gatherings are held at Foulis every 5-10 years, with the next happening in 2014 to coincide with the 700th anniversary of Bannockburn and Homecoming 2014. “There will be all sorts of activities going on, including some for younger people who will be able to climb Ben Wyvis which is the Munro* out the back here.” The last gathering in 2007 was attended by Munros from America, Canada, Australia, England and even a band of French descendents who came from a Munro who escaped the Battle of Worcester in 1651. “At the head of the French branch of the family is a man called Donald Munro. He can’t speak a word of English yet he’s got a Scottish name – 350 years since his fore-bearers left Scotland. The French Munros were all wearing kilts and wearing their Highland bonnets a bit like a beret – so the tradition carries on.”

Hector would like to see the clans used as a tool to promote the Highlands. “Really the clans are about the Highlands, not Edinburgh. People will go to Edinburgh anyway when they come to visit Scotland, but they won’t necessarily go to the Highlands to look for the clans.” Foulis Castle receives around 6-700 visitors per year from all over the world – appointments can be made by getting in touch through the Clan Munro website. “It’s such a unique selling point for Scotland – where else in the world, just by knowing your surname, can you go to a place and know your fore-bearers came from that spot. Clan territories are very distinct like that.”

Hector’s role as clan chief involves chairing Clan Munro Association meetings, upholding the clans history and traditions, meeting with visiting Munros and dealing with inquiries from all over the world. Outside of being a chief three grandchildren occupy his time when he’s not working on the farm (he says his wife would call him a workaholic). “I suppose the role of clan chief is secondary to being a farmer. I think people tend to have this romantic image of the clans for which Sir Walter Scott probably has much to answer for. The truth is however no less interesting and if we can educate people to take excessive tartantry and dreamt up ceremonials with a pinch of salt, and search out the actual historical facts, then that is far healthier.”

Upon leaving Foulis I walked down the hill towards the clan museum at the old Munro Storehouse. Along the way I passed many relics of the clan’s past, including an ancient burial cairn and disused bridge emblazoned with an eagle – the Munro clan badge. How amazing that for over 800 years the Munro family have worked, fought and lived on the same land, carrying on histories and traditions to this very day.

The Munro Bridge near Foulis Castle

Eagle badge on the bridge

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* = A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 ft (914.4 m). Munros are named after Sir Hugh Munro of Clan Munro (1856–1919), who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891.

The widowed queen returned to Scotland the following year, having lived in France since infancy. With secretary John Wood at his shoulder, Stewart, now Earl of Murray (aka Moray), was her chief adviser and John Wood was nominated an extraordinary Lord of Session. On 9th December 1562, John was created a Senator of the College of Justice. In 1566, we find him bearing a letter from Murray to Sir William Cecil, Lord Chancellor of England. When the Roman Catholic Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate her throne in 1567 in favour of her infant son James VI, Protestant Murray became Regent of Scotland. John’s name appears alongside the momentous articles resolved upon by the General Assembly held that same year. John was a frequent visitor to England in the period leading up to the indictment of Mary, and was carrier of the infamous, so-called ‘Casket Letters’ that were claimed to show her complicity in the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley. Conversely, Queen Elizabeth and Cecil (later Lord Burghley) entrusted to his care State papers intended for Scottish eyes. The Regent used him as his mouthpiece at the Assembly which sat in July 1569.

Divided by conflicting ideas and beset with various religious factions struggling violently for supremacy, Scotland was a land in turmoil. The Regent was shot as he passed along a Linlithgow street in January 1570. On 15th April, John Wood was likewise assassinated.

This article was kindly supplied by Nick Wood of the Clan Wood Society