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 We asked our many fans if they had ever been and if they could share their pictures in an effort to take a look at some different perspectives of the battlefield and surrounding areas. We couldn’t have been more shocked at the amazing response we had, especially on our Twitter page. Loads of amazing people shared some fantastic images alongside some of their thoughts about the site so we would like to take a little time to share them here and let everyone see how impactful such a site can be for generations to come. Take a look at a few of our favourites below and click on them to see the original post…

We would love to hear your thoughts on this historic site and if you’d like to share any images of your own feel free to email them to info@scotclans.com, and remember this is something we like to do every so often on Facebook and Twitter so make sure you like and follow us so you can keep an eye out and join in!

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Lower Largo

On The Fife coast sits the pretty village of Lower Largo. The village was the Birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration behind the story of Robinson Crusoe and a sign in the village points to the Juan Fernandez Islands, some 7,500 miles away where Selkirk was a castaway. The history of the area goes back much much further though to a time before Scotland as we know even existed.

Outside the village sits Largo Law and around a mile to the North, Norrie’s Law, ancient burial mounds that indicate the great antiquity of the occupation of this area.

It was common among the children of the village to play a game that had a connection to Norrie’s Law. One child would stand before the others and recite a verse; “I’ll tell you a story, Aboot Tammie o Norrie, If ye dinna speak in the middle o’ it, Will ye no?” The object of the game was to lure another child into saving “No” at which point all the others would shout, “The spell is broken, ye hae spoken, Yell never hear the story o’ lang Tarn o Norrie.” Like so many other children games this has a story behind it – a story of the ghost of Norrie’s Law.

In a time long past Largo Law was reputed to be haunted by an earthbound spirit; a ghost sentenced to wander the earth until a spell was broken to release it. To break the spell the ghost had to give up his secret; the hiding place of a hoard of treasure, buried somewhere on Largo Law.

On the nearby farm of Balmain there was a fairly unscrupulous shepherd. Having heard the story he had spent many nights wandering the area around the Law in hope of discovering the treasure. Finally one evening as he walked around the Northern shoulder of the hill he was confronted by a shimmering cloud of smoke. Many others had met this apparition but all had fled in terror. Taken aback at first he gathered all his courage to approached it and asked what it was that kept it bound to this realm. The ghost fixed him with a stare and said:”If Auchendowie cock disnae craw, An the herd o Balmain disnae blaw, I’ll tell ye whar the gold is on Largo Law.” The ghost then quickly ran through the small print of his offer which also included the cut off time of 8 o’clock the following evening.

The shepherd was only concerned about getting his hand on the treasure and cared little of who he had to inconvenience to achieve his ends. He thought of the first part of the ghosts request and scurried off the Auchedowie farm. The next morning the farmer and his wife slept in, never awoken by the crowing of the cockerel. When they went off to investigate they found the cockerel strangled and tossed into a heap of straw by the barn. Phase one complete.

Now for the Herdsman of Balmain. The herdsman was called Tammie O’ Norrie and it was safe to say there was little love lost between him and the shepherd. As Tammie set off to take his cows to pasture the shepherd was waiting. He blocked his path and shouted to Tammie ‘Hey you, Tammie O Norrie, I want a word wae ye”. As Tammie approached the shepherd let his coat slip open to reveal a long knife tucked into his belt. “You had better no blaw yer horn to summon in yon cows the nicht or it will be the worse fur ye”. Tammie was confused; “How no! How will I caw the cows in with nae horn?” The shepherd gripped the handle of his knife; “Ye can use the dugs to round them up – now mind what a said or it will be the worse for ye”. At that he glowered at the herdsman and furtively took off.

Part of the Silver Hoard

With all the plans in place the shepherd made his way back to the north slope of the hill, just before 8:00 the spectre appeared again. As the shepherd approached the ghost the sound of Tam’s horn was heard in the distance. The ghost flew into a rage; “Woe to the man that blew that horn, For out of that spot he shall never be borne.” At that he vanished. The shepherd ran for all he was worth, determined to have it out with the herdsman but when he reached the spot he was met with an awful sight. There in the field stood Tam O Norrie, the horn horn still pressed to his lips but he had turned to stone – petrified literally by the wandering spirit.

The shepherd told no one of his involvement in the events and when the local people discovered what had befell Tam they tried to move him – but some sinister force prevented all attempts, finally they gave up and heaped the earth around him creating another small hill; this came to be known as ‘Norries Law’.

The shepherd never got his prize but many years later a hoard of silver (not gold) was unearthed nearby. It is one of the best silver hoards to be discovered in Scotland. a variation in this tale had been that the law was the burial sight of a viking called Norroway who had been buried on his horse in full armour. However investigation of the find discovered that the pieces were of Pictish rather than Norse origin. Sadly some of the hoard never made it to the protection of the museum, some coins and other pieces were reputed to have been sold off and melted down – we may never know just how extensive this treasure find really was.

‘Will we no’.

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The thistle is the national flower of Scotland, much like the rose is the national flower of England and the United States. Today we’re going to look at two interesting things about this flower, the tale as to why it became the national flower and also the unofficial national anthem it inspired.

There are several different legends that tell how the thistle became Scotland’s symbol, but most date from the reign of Alexander III and in particular the events surrounding the Battle of Largs in 1263.

It is often forgotten, that for hundreds of years much of Scotland was part of the Kingdom of Norway. By 1263 however, Norway seems to have had little interest in their former territory.  That was until King Alexander III proposed to buy back the Western Isles and Kintyre from the Norse King Haakon IV. The thought of relieving King Alexander of some of his riches and territories appears to have re-kindled Norse interest in Scotland.

Late in the summer of 1263 King Haakon of Norway, now intent on conquering the Scots, set off with a sizeable fleet of longships for the Scottish coast. Gales and fierce storms forced some of the ships onto the beach at Largs in Ayrshire, and a Norwegian force was landed.

Legend has it that at some point during the invasion the Norsemen tried to surprise the sleeping Scottish Clansmen. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen removed their footwear. But as they crept barefoot they came across an area of ground covered in thistles and one of Haakon’s men unfortunately stood on one and shrieked out in pain, thus alerting the Clansmen to the advancing Norsemen.

His shout warned the Scots who defeated the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs, thus saving Scotland from invasion. The important role that the thistle had played was recognised and so was chosen as Scotland’s national emblem.

‘Flower of Scotland’ is considered the unofficial national anthem of Scotland.

There are several other songs that have been considered to be the unofficial national anthem of Scotland including; Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave and the more recent Highland Cathedral. Although in July 2006, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted an online poll in which voters could choose a national anthem from one of five candidates.10,000 people took part in the poll in which Flower of Scotland came out the winner.

The lyrics were written by Roy Williamson (1936-90) and the song was performed initially by The Corries, a Scottish folk band, and refers to the victory of the Scots, led by Robert the Bruce, over England’s Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The music is actually somewhat older, and was composed by Peter Dodds McCormick (c1834-1916) who emigrated to Australia as a young man, and also composed the National Anthem of Australia, “Advance Australia Fair”.

The song is also known as Flùr Na H-Alba” in Scottish Gaelic, and “Flouer O Scotland” in Scots.

The title has also been used for a history book: The Flower Of Scotland: A History Of Scottish Monarchy by James J. Sharp, and for the biography of Roy Williamson, which was published by his daughter Karen in 1993.

There also exists a Flower of Scotland tartan which was created in the early 90′s to honour the late Roy Williamson. The design is based on the setting and thread count of the Gunn tartan, as worn by Roy Williamson, using the traditional 18th-century colours of Lichen Green and Lochan Blue although it has no Clan or family affiliation and therefore is available for all to wear.

Thistle Products from ScotClans…

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The Kyle of Tongue

This battle was an internal feud among the men of Clan MacKay but also involved some Sutherland men. A disastrous battle, it led to the loss of many senior members of the clan and most of the belligerents on both sides.

The origins of the battle begin with an ongoing feud between the MacKays and their neighbours the Sutherland Clan. In 1370 the MacKay chief had been murdered by the Sutherlands in Dingwall. This had led to considerable acrimony between both clans as you can imagine and finally in 1426 Angus Du MacKay and his son Neil marched into Sutherland lands to take revenge. They met the Sutherland clan at Harpisdale.

The battle was more or less fought to a stalemate with no clear winner and considerable slaughter on either side. News of the conflict reached James I in Edinburgh. James wasn’t exactly having the easiest of times and frustrated by yet another inter-clan war he rode north to Inverness and demanded that the clan leaders submit to him. Angus duly complied and volunteered his son as a hostage to guarantee his clan’s good behaviour. Neil was taken to the Bass rock. an island prison in the outer Firth of Forth. During his imprisonment he was given the nickname ‘Vass’ a phonetic spelling of ‘Bass’

While this was going on three cousins of Angus Du: the brothers Thomas Mackay, Morgan Mackay, and Neil Neilson Mackay had a dispute with the Laird of Freswick – a man by the name of Mowat. Thomas pursued him to the chapel of St Duffus in the town of Tain. Mowat claimed sanctuary at the chapel but Thomas killed him anyway and burned down the chapel for good measure. As anyone who has followed the fortunes of Robert the Bruce will know murdering someone in a house of worship was a serious breach of etiquette and burning it down was even worse, so once again James I was forced to intervene so he denounced and outlawed Thomas, promising his land and possessions as a reward for his capture dead or alive.

Angus Moray (of Clan Sutherland) apprehended Thomas and handed him over to the law, however there was clear suspicion that Thomas’ own brothers; Morgan and Neil Neilson had assisted Angus Murray for a share of the spoils. Thomas was carted off to Inverness and executed and this apparent betrayal within the clan (made even worse by conspiring with a Sutherland) split the clan.

The Earl of Sutherland – seeing a good opportunity to break the power of the MacKay clan further supported Morgan and Neil Neilson by offering his own daughters in marriage (though they had already married Moray’s daughters). As well as helping them make a bid for the MacKay lands.

Back in Caithness Angus Du and his illegitimate son John Aberach Mackay were in a tight spot. Angus was by now an old man and had no will to fight, preferring to make some sort of settlement with his cousins. He offered all his land apart from Strathnaver but they refused the deal, intending to take all of MacKay lands for themselves. At this point Angus’ illegitimate second son John Aberach Mackay stepped in to advise the elderly chief and offered to defend the MacKay lands or die trying.

Some time between 1427 and 1433 (exact dates are unclear) the two sides met at Drumnacoub (Druim na coub, Drum-ne-coub) a few miles from the coastal village of Tongue on the North East coast.

The battle was a long and terrible one with both sides suffering heavy losses, by the end of the day Neil Mackay, Morgan Mackay and Angus Moray were all dead, John Aberach Mackay was severely wounded (possibly loosing an arm) and lay critical on the battlefield and very few from around 3,000 men (around 1,500 on either side by some estimates) were left standing.

Angus Du in despair asked to be carried to the battlefield to search for his son John but an opportunistic Sutherland archer spotted him and killed him with a well aimed arrow.

Shortly after the battle the remaining MacKay clan had to consider who would succeed as chief. Many supported John despite his illegitimacy but as fortune would have it Neil ‘Vass’ MacKay escaped from imprisonment at the Bass rock and made his way back north (it turned out the governor was married to a MacKay and she possibly helped him break out). John deferred to the legitimate heir and Neil was made chief. John was given lands around Lochnaver.

Neil pursued the Sutherlands who had supported the potential usurpers and a year later took revenge at the Battle of Sandside Chase. The widow of Neil Neilson and his son were given fairly rough treatment at the hands of those loyal to Angus Du’s side and for their own safety the moved to Olrig in Caithness. John dropped the name MacKay and became known as John Bain, progenitor of the Bain Family.

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In the last Watching Scotland blog we took a look at the Scottish Conservative Party, or (from an American point of view) the somewhat unfortunately nicknamed “Tories”. From a right of centre perspective we now swing over and investigate what is going on over on the left with Scotland’s fourth largest political party (out of seven or eight, depending on the moment) – The Scottish Green Party.

The Scottish Greens were founded in 1990 upon the breakup of the UK wide Green Party into decentralized regional bodies. Scottish Greens are entirely politically independent of the other Green parties in the UK but are supportive of those as well as the European Union’s Green equivalent.

Scottish Greens have been represented in the Scottish Parliament since its devolved launch in 1999, but at a fairly low level, dropping from a high of 7 Green MSPs elected in 2003 to the 2 that Scotland has delivered to Holyrood at present. Despite the fall in numbers from the 2003 Parliament there is some reason to believe that the Scottish Greens have turned things around and may again be on the upswing in terms of membership and influence.

That latest STV poll that indicated a clear majority in favor of Scottish independence also had quite a bit to say about the potential future of the Scottish Green Party, all of it encouraging. The poll placed Scottish support for Scottish Greens at 8%, which translates into 8 MSPs in the 2016 Scottish Parliament, up from the current 2.

Further, Scottish Green party co-convenor Patrick Harvie MSP was selected as the most popular leader (highest approval rating) among all from the Holyrood opposition parties. Scottish Greens presently claim a membership of roughly 9,000 which makes it the fourth largest political party in Scotland and easily within reach of growing larger than the Scottish Conservative or Tory Party and overtaking the third position.

Of particular note to those of us in the Diaspora who are interested in preservation of Scotland’s historic built environment and landscape is the fact that the Scottish Green party maintains a handful of local councilors elected mostly in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt, as well as an institutional preference for local control of planning and other decisions. Land development and collateral preservation of historic assets is largely a function of local government in Scotland through its local councils.

In light of the foregoing figures, the Scottish Greens may well be set to increase their political influence in Scottish devolved politics. It is of course important to note that the Scottish Greens are the only party in the Scottish Parliament aside from the SNP that endorsed the Yes Scotland position on Scottish independence. So lets take a look at the Scottish Green position on some issues.

Heritage and Culture. Not much to say here although the Scottish Green 2015 policy document talks more about culture than heritage and the ancestral diaspora, about which it says essentially nothing. Here is the entire entry entitled “Culture”:

Quality of life is a major issue for Greens with culture a significant component in empowering people and strengthening communities. Culture produces positive, creative, inquiring and educated citizens. It also attracts inward tourism. We encourage participation in the arts, both actively and passively.

We encourage the use of Gaelic and Scots.

The arts can help in regeneration and tacking exclusion and we will require Scottish Enterprise to include a cultural remit.

It reads as a bit of a place holder, which is encouraging in that at least Scotland’s native languages rate a clear mention of support. The mention, however, is far from enthusiastic and leaves a gaping hole in support for Scotland’s native cultures and languages, which is disappointing from such an otherwise forward thinking progressive organization.

Aside from culture and heritage one might find just about everything else of political interest in Scotland inside the Scottish Green Party platform. It is a mistake to understand the Greens as a political party that is limited to positions on environmental issues and climate change although they do have those and are able to provide focus in the larger political sphere.

It would also be a mistake to understand the Scottish Green Party as a radical left political force in Scotland as their policies and platforms remain firmly within the conceivable in Scotland, without the need for radical change in institutions – with the one exception that the Scottish Green platform is openly in opposition to hereditary monarchy and supports a republican form of government with a written constitution in Scotland.

Will the fortunes of the Scottish Green party rise in the context of a viable opposition to the growing dominance of the SNP? Just one more thing to keep an eye on in the upcoming Scottish Parliamentary election cycle. Check out the Scottish Green Party website for more info.

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