Friday 17 March – A museum, a canal, a statue of a cat, a dovecote, a palace, a church, a castle – a good day all round!

 Another dreich day, but a bit warmer again .  We wandered next door to the Linlithgow Museum; well laid out, with the mandatory statue of Mary Queen of Scots and, surprisingly, some of John’s old tools of trade.  

Then a short walk (and quite a few steps) to Linlithgow Canal Basin, part of the canal that runs from Edinburgh to Glasgow, opened in 1822 – quite a feat of engineering (The Falkirk Wheel is on this canal system).  Pleasure trips along the canal can be taken in summer. 

Opposite is a small park with a bronze statue of Dudley the Cat (Linlithgow’s answer to Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Bobby) and a 16th century dovecote, containing 370 nesting boxes.  Part of the 17th century town wall can also be seen here.

Then back down to the High Street and up the ramp to the now-gutted Linlithgow palace, past the wall with the names and life spans kings and queens dating back several centuries.  Built in the early 15th century for King James I, the palace was the principal residence of Scottish kings and queens in the 15th and 16th centuries, however it was accidentally gutted by fire when occupied by troops in 1746.   Mary was born here (and baptised in our next stop, the adjacent Church of St Michael).  The palace is currently under restoration so we only had an outside view.

Next door to St Michael’s Parish Church.  Built on the site of an older church, it was consecrated in 1242 and was favoured by the kings and queens when they were staying next door.  The palace and the church were occupied by Cromwell’s troops from 1650 to 1659 and the church was used as a stable for their horses (and scars can still be seen on the internal pillars where soldiers sharpened their swords).  Obviously, extensive restoration was required after the troops left.  The church contains some beautiful stained glass, although that has been installed only during the past couple of centuries.

Below the church is a statue of John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, one-time Governor of Victoria and first Governor-General of Australia.  He had a somewhat tense relationship with Prime Minister Andrew Barton and was at times accused of interference in government affairs.

Then a bit of a drive out of town to Bo’ness, and after a brief look around, continued on to Blackness for lunch at the Lobster Pot, a quirky restaurant adorned inside and out with all things nautical. Refreshed, on to Blackness Castle, shaped somewhat like a boat and known as “the boat that never sailed”.  It was used in key Outlander scenes as the HQ for Black Jack Randall.  It is here that Jamie was flogged and that he rescued Claire by jumping from the battlements.  As a 15th century fortress it is largely intact but empty of any furnishings.

To end the day we had a drive through the countryside, encountering a couple of very heavy showers.  We have really liked the compact and pretty town of Linlithgow.