Thursday 16 March – One for the Callendar; and a pineapple folly.

 

Och a ‘dreich’ day indeed, but no snow and a wee bit warmer.  After checking out of our delightful Falkirk digs we drove the short distance out to Callendar Park, a 170 acre estate and the site of (predictably) Callendar House, a stately palace-like mansion built in the 16^th century (in much of its present form, although it was redesigned and extended in the 19^th century). Occupation of the estate land dates back to the 2^nd century CE Antonine Wall, built by the Romans as a replacement for Hadrian’s Wall.  The beginnings of Callendar House date to the 14th century tower house built on the site.  It has been the seat of Scottish aristocracy, particularly the Callendars and the Livingstons (both of which had close ties to royalty, especially Mary Queen of Scots, although they fell in and out of favour) and the Forbes family who flourished after the industrial revolution. Bonnie Prince Charles stayed here in 1725.

The displays, dioramas and narratives provided were excellent – we came away with a much better understanding of the history and identities of the region.

From there we took a (relatively) long drive to Airth , through villages and then a walk – in the rain – to see an oversized pineapple sitting atop a long wall enclosing a garden.  Built in 1761 as a summer house and appropriately bearing the description “folly”, it has been described as the “most bizarre building in Scotland”.  In some cultures the pineapple is seen as a symbol of wealth, in others as a sign of welcome and warmth.  Out in the middle of nowhere (literally), we subscribe to the description of “bizarre” for this one.

We then continued on to Linlithgow, where we will stay for the next two nights in the upmarket The Court Residence, the converted County Courthouse building.  A late lunch again, then a walk around the town and Loch Linlithgow, where we spotted a grey squirrel and some black ducks. In the centre of town there is a well built in 1807 on the site of the 1628 well.  We also encountered a statue of the Black Bitch, which commemorates a greyhound dog who swam across the lagoon to Linlithgow Island each day to carry food to her master, who had been chained to a tree on the island and left to starve to death.  Unfortunately the authorities caught on to this and chained the dog there as well, with the inevitable result for both of them.  The dog now appears on the Linlithgow coat of arms.

This is a small town, with many of the attractions centrally located, so tomorrow we might be able to get around on foot for much of the day.