A dose of wintery weather (Thursday, Sept. 24)

Today we revisited a number of the places Jimmy introduced us to yesterday. Smoky wanted to get a few more photos of some, and others we learned about but didn't take time to see until today.

Low hanging clouds!

The day started with an overcast sky, but because there were a few spots of blue showing through the clouds, we had hopes that it would turn out like yesterday, in spite of the prediction for more rain.

By the time we left the B&B, the cloud ceiling had dropped and a light drizzle had begun. No worries... we had not expected perfect weather every day! Besides, driving on Bute is simple compared with any of the other locations we have been. The whole pace of the island is slower. No one cares if you stop on the roadside to admire the view. So a little bad weather was no big problem.

And you can tell from the photos below that the weather changed for the better!

One of the original Mcc land holdings; of all the grants to
Mcc families, this one was retained by Mcc the longest.

Another Mcc land holding, right on the water! What a view.

Cottage on second holding with kitchen garden protected by wind breaks.
After today's winds, we could understand why these are here.

We revisited a couple of the farms that had belonged to Mcc families in the 1600s, and then we drove further south on the island to St. Blane's Church, on the site of a monastery that dates back to around 600AD. Jimmy told us about the church and its graveyard where he thought some early Mcc people were buried. He had taken us to the car park for the church and told us to follow the path along the stone wall that went up to the top of the hill. 

Path up hill to St. Blane's Church.

The approach was pretty steep, but the rain had stopped, and we had a period of clear skies with strong winds. Toward the top, the path turned behind a rocky outcropping, which offered shelter from the wind. At this point we could see the path to the church and grounds around it, but only the outer wall was visible. Much of this wall was still intact after all these years. 

This property is in the hands of Historic Scotland, an organization that does an outstanding job of caring for the amazing remains of Scotland's historic past. Some of the more well-preserved sites have staff on hand and guided tours, but others, especially those in a more advanced state of ruin, have only signs that explain what the site might have been like when it was being used. Always, the grounds are well taken care of. Even though this is a reasonably remote site, six to eight people and quite a few sheep visited while we were there!

Remains of St. Blane's Church, a truly special place.

Closeup of beautiful stone work at St. Blane's Church.

The original St. Blane's Church didn't survive through the Viking incursions that started around 790, but this area has a powerful spiritual energy, and it reemerged as a Christian site in the 1100s (the remains we saw today), serving as the parish church for the whole island for a while. Read more of the church's history at the Historic Scotland website.

We walked around the inner wall and then up the steps into the courtyard where a number of gravestones still remain. We found several markers for people from the Mcc family in the 1700s. To us this was significant because it indicated that at least some of Smoky's ancestors remained on Bute longer than we had thought.

On one tombstone, best we can tell, is this interesting inscription. Letters inside the parens mean that the letter was inserted above the rest of the word. Line breaks and spelling below are what appeared on the stone. Sara, our B&B host, has a friend who may be able to interpret this one correctly. If so, we'll update.

Interesting Mcc tombstone, late 1700s.

Here lies the corps of Iams 
Hyndman late tenant in Land
alsorad who departed this life 
in May 1774 Aged 62 year(s)
and also his spous Mary Mc
Connochy who departed thi(s)
life 5th June 1772 aged 52
years

The remains of the church building itself is stone, and the stone work is lovely. I was struck by how different it was from most of the stone castles around Scotland that we have visited. The stone was cut into blocks of uniform size. It has an ordered, stately, solid feel to it. Granted, some parts are different, but I'm guessing that these may have been repairs to damaged sections of the building.

We were reluctant to leave, even though the weather had already moved in and out of one rainstorm while we were there, and another storm was threatening. As we started down the path, the sun popped out and lit the church with this amazing light. We both took that as a sign that we should stay just a little longer. So Smoky sat down on a bench in front of the inner wall for a short period of contemplation and meditation.

Smoky in front of outer wall, sits in contemplation.

We both considered this opportunity to visit St. Blane's Church as a highlight of our trip to Scotland. We came here hoping to find a connection to some of Smoky's ancestors, and today we also experienced a connection to the place of worship where some of those ancestors must have worshipped as well. What an amazing experience.

By the time we got down the hill and to the car, we decided it was time for lunch. It was raining off and on. We were already in the Kingarth area and Smoky remembered the Kingarth Hotel and Smiddy Pub we passed yesterday. In a few minutes we saw the sign we were looking for: "Food Served All Day, Every Day"! Inside, warm and inviting; outside, chilly and windy! So we joined an almost full house and had a delightful lunch. My choice was mac and cheese with mushrooms, which was served with a beautiful green salad; Smoky's choice was a chicken salad plate, which contained grilled chicken, the same lovely green salad, potato salad (which I traded part of my mac and cheese for), and homemade slaw. Both of these came with crusty bread. Just what we needed!

During lunch, it rained at least twice, one of those was sideways rain! After lunch, once the rain had stopped, we headed to a nearby cemetery where we found several more Mcc tombstones.

One tombstone in this cemetery had the name spelled this way: Mary Maconechy, 1831. Another stated that Margaret McConechy had placed the stone for her father James McConechy, who died 1849, of Kilchattan Bay. Her mother was a Duncan. Anne McConechy (same spelling) also had a stone. And another marker was for Margaret Maconechy, who died in 1842 at age 62 years.

Greylag geese near Ettric Bay.

The geese took off, honking all the way!

Heading north on the island now, we drove toward Ettrick Bay, which has a lovely beach. Today we discovered there is also a marshy area in which a number of wading birds were feeding. Several looked similar to species we have at home. Smoky looked them up in a great bird book called The Birds of Bute, A Bird Atlas and Local Avifauna, published by the Buteshire Natural History Society and printed in Scotland.

Double rainbow appeared as we returned to town.

By this time, the sun was low in the horizon, and we headed for the B&B. Tomorrow we get on a ferry to go back to the mainland and then drive to Peebles for one night.

--Shann