It was our second morning in Inverness and we headed Southeast to the Cairngorms and the north end of the National Park. Therein lies the lands of the Clan Grant.
It turns out, after my sister's genealogy research, that both sides of my family have Grants. My dad's mother's family goes back to a line of Grants and my mom's side is absolutely littered with them! It's kind of fun that we can all wear the same Grant tartan!
Carrbridge, Scotland
and
The Packhorse Bridge
1717
Carrbridge is a village in Badenoch and Strathspey with the most charming bridge you ever did see! It is only about a half hour drive from Inverness so we made that our first stop!
Above is the famous old Packhorse Bridge over the River Dulnain, which meets up with the larger and more famous River Spey. The bridge was commissioned by the Chief of Clan Grant, Alexander Grant, in 1717 and paid for by stipends from the Parish of Duthil which you will see farther down in the post.
First, music to listen to for this post! Written by a Grant (originally in Gaelic) in the 1700s!
Above is the famous old Packhorse Bridge over the River Dulnain, which meets up with the larger and more famous River Spey. The bridge was commissioned by the Chief of Clan Grant, Alexander Grant, in 1717 and paid for by stipends from the Parish of Duthil which you will see farther down in the post.
First, music to listen to for this post! Written by a Grant (originally in Gaelic) in the 1700s!
I took ridiculous amounts of photos of the bridge but I'll move on!
The town was having a dedication ceremony for a new sculpture in the park but we moved along ...
First, here's my travel journal entry of the old Packhorse Bridge. Part of its beauty is in what looks to be its fragility. It was damaged in the 1800s but they left it in that state and I'm glad they did! It's so delicate and beautiful! I'm pretty sure it's going to have to be a subject for an oil painting. It is, after all, the oldest bridge in the Scottish Highlands.
Duthil Kirk
present building, 1826
Duthil Kirk, the home of the Clan Grant Centre.
They open it for the big yearly gathering of the Clan Grant during the summer but unfortunately we missed it by a couple of weeks, or so. I still wanted to go to the Kirk (church) and the cemetery where so many of the clan chiefs were buried. It is also right next door to the home of the current chief of Clan Grant, The Rt. Hon Sir James Grant of Grant, The 6th Lord Strathspey, Baronet of Nova Scotia, 33rd Chief of Grant.
From the Clan Grant website:
"In its early days the church was in the diocese of Elgin Cathedral. The first Presbyterian minister was Andrew Henderson who was ordained in 1625. The present building was erected in 1826. The last sermon in public worship in the church was made by one of our Past Members, the Rev. G.V.R. (Jim) Grant MA. In the church grounds are two mausolea where some of the Clan Chiefs are buried.
The building is set in the midst of the Clan territories and there is some reason to suppose it may have been founded by our Patriarch Olav Hemingsson himself, probably shortly after 1060. The original dedication is to St Peter and the name Duthil for the area may well refer to St Dubhthac (to whom also the chapel at Rothiemurchus is dedicated).
It was a landmark day in 1986 for the Clan Grant Society when the then owner, Gerald Brandon-Bravo from Whitebridge, gave Duthil Church to the Clan Grant Society."
It was lush and beautiful but not surprising it started to drizzle.
The view from the churchyard was so pretty!
Below, the home of the current Chief. Aina Grant, who I met at the Costa Mesa Highland Games in Southern California said to stop in. Another gentleman on the grounds said the same. "If his car is there, knock on his door!" Alas, no car. Dashed were my hopes of having a scotch with the Chief but I do like this photo looking through some Grant Headstones to the adorable cottage!
I love this Celtic Cross!
This map was from a photo album I saw at that Highland Games in Costa Mesa. I'd gone to the games with family and of course stopped at the booth of Clan Grant! Thanks to Aina Grant and her husband Stephen for all their help and information about the area and where to go! I took a photo of their map to have with me on the trip.
In the middle of the map you see Grantown on Spey and that is where we were headed next!
Grantown on Spey
founded 1765
founded 1765
"Grantown On Spey along with Castle Grant a mile to the north east is the historical heart Clan Grant. The area has seen settlements dating back thousands of years, in particular at Castle Grant itself and at Cromdale a mile to the east.
Grantown On Spey dating from 1766 is recognised as one of the best examples of a planned town in the Highlands of Scotlands. It was The Good Sir James Grant the 8th Baronet at Grant Castle who saw the need to create not just housing but new industry for his clan while Scotland was in the grip of the Highland Clearances."
~From the Clan Grant Visitors Guide website
For a moment, driving into town, there was sun. And then it was gone! We headed straight for the little Grantown Museum and took cover from the rain. It had what we were looking for ... All things Grant and more!
The Cromdale Brooch, 1600s
brass with engraved wildcats
The Cromdale Brooch, 1600s
brass with engraved wildcats
"You can find out about the Scottish enlightenment, some histories of the Grant clan chiefs, how logs were floated down the River Spey, Queen Victoria’s visit to Grantown, a champion fisherman, even a Cuban gunfight; see our object of the month and much more."
In case it's difficult to read the photo above ...
In the eighteenth century, Clan Grant was one of the most powerful families in the North of Scotland. The clan controlled an area of five hundred square miles with its headland of the central part of Strathspey.
The Highland clan was a male hierarchy with the chief at the top and his immediate family below him. Below them were the farmers and tacks men, downwards through the ranks of joint-tenants, crofters, sub-tenants and cotters ...
These people were bound by ties of kinship. Few were related directly by blood to the Chief, but many expressed their allegiance by adopting his surname.
Lady Caroline Henrietta Ogilvy-Grant,
Dowager Countess of Seafield (1830-1911)
Check out these old wooden skies!
Sir Archibald Grant of Manymusk (1697-1778)
Oil on canvas, 1715
Richard Waitt
During our visit there was an exhibition of Grant portraits all by the same artist.
"No other family in Scotland,
or in Europe for that matter,
commissioned a similar group of portraits of their clan-
family, retainers and kinsmen
- and it is as a group, rather than as individual paintings,
that Waitt's portraits of Clan Grant should be judged."
~ James Holloway, 1989
Grace Macpherson-Grant
(c.1712-1749)
Oil on canvas 1726
The lairds of Grant employed musicians, poets and warrior Servants at Castle Grant. Alastair Grant Mor was in charge of floating the Clan Chief's valuable timber down the River Spey.
With my parents in the museum wearing my Clan Grant scarf! They had clothes you could put on for photos but we just went with some groovy vintage hats. I'm now feeling like I might need a good top hat!
Castle Grant
(sort of)
This is some sort of beautiful gatehouse or caretaker's building. So pretty, right?
Up on the turret is the Clan Grant motto "Stand Fast!"
A typical Scottish view!
From the Clan Grant Visitors Guide~
Castle Grant is situated a mile north of Grantown-on-Spey and sits upon a rise or hill known as Freuchie-hillock, and is the former ancestral seat of the Clan Grant chiefs of Strathspey in Highlands, Scotland.
Castle Grant’s tower has been carbon-dated to the 11th century while the castle itself was built during the beginning of the 15th century and was originally called Freuchie Castle, Freuchie meaning ‘Heathery Place’. The castle was renamed Castle Grant in 1694 and became the ancestral seat of Clan Grant.
They have surveillance cameras and there were cars out front so this was as close as we could get. Lots of beautiful trees give the new owners plenty of privacy.
The lands were so green and lush!
My dad was laughing at my mom and I photographing the cows. "How many cow pictures do you guys need?" A lot apparently. I deleted dozens. I may not have gotten the castle but I got some cows!
Leaving through the big gate at the other end of the road. I'm thinking maybe it was a private road and not exactly where we were supposed to be. In my defense, I need photos for a future art project. Hmmm, maybe not the best defense in the world but there you have it. Artists are sometimes rule breakers.
After that little Grant ancestry adventure we headed to Glenlivet for our first distillery tour! I'll do a scotch tasting post at a later date but someone at the distillery mentioned a beautiful double packhorse bridge that we should go see.
The Old Bridge of Livet
Glenlivet, Scotland
early 1700s
How lovely is this? It's the oldest surviving structure crossing the River Livet, and like the one at Carrbridge, it's a Packhorse Bridge. Originally there were three arches but the third was lost in the floods of 1829. If you are in the area, it's only 1.2 miles from the distillery!
Like I said, it is very close to the Glenlivet Distillery but it is also a bit hidden. The location is at B9008 a few hundred metres east of the B9136 junction, G.R.: NJ 197301
Below, with Aina Grant at the Highland Games in Costa Mesa, California. Thanks again for the help Aina and Stephen!
We are both in Grant tartan colors. Her skirt is in the Grant modern colors and my scarf is in the ancient tartan colors. Fun to have a variety of different choices! The "weathered colors" are beautiful too. :)
links
One more thing! Grantown on Spey turned 250 and the town came out and made this video together. Doesn't it make you want to live there? So cute!
Next up? The Battlefield of Culloden and the standing stones that inspired Craig na Dun in Outlander!
Blessings and light!
5 comments:
A nice way to spend Sunday. You'd be a great travel guide.
I agree with Donna - you WOULD be a great travel guide! Love, love,love those bridges!
I'm for hire! Haha! With food and flight! ;)
And thanks! :)
Hey! I simply want to give a huge thumbs up for the nice data you may have right here on this post. I shall be coming again to your weblog for more soon. casino blackjack
Post a Comment