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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 3:40:05 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 4:02:11 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 4:54:48 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 21, 2012 5:00:39 GMT
What a beautiful place! Even with the old houses and the quiet lanes, it doesn't seem quaint at all, but very much a real place with a very long history. Any idea about the reason for the very steep roofs on all the buildings? I love the cemetery, which almost has an Easter Island feel, with the tombstones gazing toward the horizon waiting for something. Is that an old ruined church in the 2nd cemetery picture? The beach is gorgeous and you really captured the pearly light. The pic looking back up to the church is wonderful as well. Is the very bright yellow section a field of rape? I'm looking forward to the castle. How do you pronounce "Ecclesgreig"? A very warm welcome to you and thank you for bringing this great "introductory gift".  amended to say that we simul-posted and ooooooo, the wildflowers! |
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 5:06:28 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 5:18:25 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 5:45:13 GMT
What a beautiful place! Even with the old houses and the quiet lanes, it doesn't seem quaint at all, but very much a real place with a very long history. Any idea about the reason for the very steep roofs on all the buildings? I love the cemetery, which almost has an Easter Island feel, with the tombstones gazing toward the horizon waiting for something. Is that an old ruined church in the 2nd cemetery picture? The beach is gorgeous and you really captured the pearly light. The pic looking back up to the church is wonderful as well. Is the very bright yellow section a field of rape? I'm looking forward to the castle. How do you pronounce "Ecclesgreig"? A very warm welcome to you and thank you for bringing this great "introductory gift". amended to say that we simul-posted and ooooooo, the wildflowers! Hi bixa! I'm not sure about the roofs, although I suspect it has to do with the weather- it prevents snow or rain from accumulating on top. The area around Aberdeen really reminded me of Canada, both in look and "feel", and now that I think about it steep roofs are quite common here in older buildings. We noticed the ruin in the graveyard but were too timid to go check it out- we didn't want to go trudging through the gravestones in case it wasn't allowed. I think Ecclesgreig is more or less pronounced as it looks "ek-els-craig" although perhaps someone who knows better can correct me. Thanks for the welcome! |
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 6:10:15 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 6:19:01 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 6:24:56 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 6:30:27 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 6:53:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2012 6:59:51 GMT
What a great report, apres! One of the things that strikes me the most about the village and the whole setting is how perfectly it corresponds to the descriptions of Scottish villages in literature. (Duh, why wouldn't it?  ) The sturdy low houses, the pub, the cemetery that gets wrapped in mist on moonless nights, the colourlful yet discreet vegetation all along the way down to the beach... And bravo to Mr. George Ross for making that perfect path! The beach looks like such a perfect walking beach -- I can't really imagine anyone spreading out some towels on the sand and going for a dip, though. But perhaps the summer visitors are hardier people than I. Since most of the gardens around the houses seem pretty small, I can imagine what a joy it must be for some of the villagers to have the grounds of the abandoned manor to work on. The gardening gene that people from the British Isles are born with must make them itch terribly when they can't give their hoes or their pruning shears a proper workout! Anyway, thank you for taking the time to post this, because it is really a perfect view of the place. What brought you to that specific village? Is it in the guidebooks or did you throw darts at the map? |
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 7:10:39 GMT
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 7:29:17 GMT
What a great report, apres! One of the things that strikes me the most about the village and the whole setting is how perfectly it corresponds to the descriptions of Scottish villages in literature. (Duh, why wouldn't it? ) The sturdy low houses, the pub, the cemetery that gets wrapped in mist on moonless nights, the colourlful yet discreet vegetation all along the way down to the beach... And bravo to Mr. George Ross for making that perfect path! The beach looks like such a perfect walking beach -- I can't really imagine anyone spreading out some towels on the sand and going for a dip, though. But perhaps the summer visitors are hardier people than I. Since most of the gardens around the houses seem pretty small, I can imagine what a joy it must be for some of the villagers to have the grounds of the abandoned manor to work on. The gardening gene that people from the British Isles are born with must make them itch terribly when they can't give their hoes or their pruning shears a proper workout! Anyway, thank you for taking the time to post this, because it is really a perfect view of the place. What brought you to that specific village? Is it in the guidebooks are did you throw darts at the map? Hi kerouac, thank you! No sunbathing or swimming, I don't think, because it's a protected nature reserve. I could be wrong on that, but the fact it's protected has certainly kept it commercial free. We were astounded by it's pristine condition. As for why St Cyrus, it was a bit of an ancestral pilgrimage. It appears I'm descended from the family that built the estate- through an illegitimate or disinherited son- the "castle" was actually the subject of a family legend passed down from my great-grandparents. To make a long story short, I tagged along with my parents who had researched the trip, and we actually got to meet up with an extremely distant cousin, several times removed no doubt! |
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Post by apres on Mar 21, 2012 7:38:31 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Mar 21, 2012 9:54:25 GMT
Well done Apres - What a fine first attempt at a photo essay! I loved the castle!! We went to Scotland in 2008 and stayed on the Isle of Mull for three nights. Why am I telling you this? Well, because it is from CALGARY BAY on the Isle of Mull that Calgary Alberta was born. I had the good fortune to visit Calgary in Alberta two years ago! Until the visit to Scotland I had no idea there was a link to Canada. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary,_Mull Thank you so much for the fantastic photos! |
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Post by liga on Mar 21, 2012 10:09:57 GMT
wonderful beach! can you find any fossils there?
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Post by mich64 on Mar 21, 2012 12:50:14 GMT
Wonderful photo essay apres! I think because the area meant something to you and your parents comes through in the photos, it instilled a sense of pride in being able to trace back into your family history. My favourite photo is the photo "the trail leading back to the village". It feels like your were in a tunnel of foliage.
Cheers!
Mich
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Post by bjd on Mar 21, 2012 14:30:36 GMT
No need to apologize for posting such nice photographs. What a fine introduction to a new member of the forum.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 21, 2012 19:39:30 GMT
I'm in love with the landscapes there! Apres, it looks as though your ancestor had Turrets Syndrome!  That's really the epitome of the Victorian fascination with the gothic, isn't it? I feel you should research further in order to find out that you're the heir -- of course with some nice money to fix the place up. Of course the grounds are so absolutely wonderful, just having a little hut within them would be delightful. As for: I really didn't think I'd end up posting so many pictures, sorry for the bombardment! On Any Port in a Storm, let "feed the greed" be your motto in posting pics. I think everyone will agree that's what we're here for! Fabulous report. Thanks so much! |
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Post by apres on Mar 22, 2012 0:00:34 GMT
Thanks everyone! These were really not very organized at all, and I'm definitely not a photographer, but since the "castle" is an off the beaten path ruin and so extremely Victorian, I thought I might be fun to share. tod, I did not know that about Calgary, but it makes sense! liga, there were no fossilised rocks on the beach, but there were lots of shells and quite a few little crabs and shellfish, and lots of very smooth rocks. I tried to take a couple of rocks home with me, but they got confiscated by security at Aberdeen airport! mich, I liked the tunnels of foliage too, it was really fun walking through those paths, very much like a fairytale! bjd, thanks for the welcome  and bixa, the money is all long gone ;D The estate hasn't been in the original family's possession for decades, it's been owned by various people and companies over the years. I have no idea who owns it now. I'm not even sure if we were technically allowed to be tramping around on the grounds like that, but the gardener was there and we spoke to him and he said it was okay, so we took his word for it |
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Post by mich64 on Mar 22, 2012 1:08:19 GMT
apres, fairytale indeed...
When we visited Juno Beach we did bring a rock back from the beach. It is placed on a shelf in my dining room credenza. I would have been sad if they took it from me.
They did however take some very expensive wine that was a gift from our family. We did not want to put it in our luggage because we were afraid it would be taken, it got taken anyway. I am sure someone took it home with them, you do not pour that down the drain. We were not thinking about not being able to take liquids on board.
Outside of our city is a small town named Callander, also named by its founding families from Scotland.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 22, 2012 4:53:52 GMT
Lovely, lovely report. Thank you.
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Post by BigIain on Mar 23, 2012 9:32:33 GMT
Really nice to see your report and pics. Odd though, that its only about an hour from here and I feel like a tourist. The comments about the steep pitch of the roofs made me chuckle because of course they all look perfectly normal to me!
The Church, graveyard and houses are very typical East Coast Scotland. The beaches up there are truly fantastic but we don't often get the weather to make the most of them unless well wrapped up for a bracing walk.
Bixa, the style of stately home is Scots Baronial. Lots of turrets and glass.
The pronunciation for the locals would be pretty much as you said; eck-uls-greg.
And tod2... check out The Highland Clearances on wiki if you haven't done so already. Its a fascinating and brutal phase of Scottish History
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Post by apres on Mar 24, 2012 15:01:22 GMT
Thanks fumobici!
BigIain, I didn't notice the steep roofs either, I think they are one of things that made that part of Scotland feel quite similar to Canada. The style of the church is very common here in southern Ontario as well.
Scotland is much further north than southern Ontario though, and one thing I really noticed being so far north, was that the sky felt so low- almost like you could just reach up and touch the clouds.
It's such a beautiful country, I really hope I can return someday.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 25, 2012 15:53:17 GMT
Thanks, Iain & Apres for the roof comments. That's something I always enjoy on this forum -- how something completely remarkable to one person is commonplace to another. And so much variety that, as Iain points out, you can feel like a tourist less than a hundred miles from home. And thanks for the architectural detail, Iain. The house was so very different to my eyes, that I thought it was an eccentric design by the original owner. Interesting remark about Scotland being so much further north than southern Ontario, Apres. Even though I know that intellectually, every time it's brought up, it surprises me anew. I knew that Madrid, Spain was on approximately the same latitude as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the US (sunny spain!), but did not know that Aberdeen, Scotland was roughly on the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska: Knowing the latitude of a place is a help in estimating the likely temperature there. In general, the lower the latitude, the hotter it will be. But the continent of Europe forms an exception to this rule. Warmed by the North Atlantic Drift, a huge movement of warm water originating in the Gulf of Mexico, things are warmer in Europe than they should be. So Aberdeen, Scotland is quite habitable, despite being almost at the same latitude as Juneau, the capital of Alaska. SourceApres, you captured those "low skies" beautifully and I hope you get a chance to see them again. |
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 25, 2012 19:37:20 GMT
Terrific photos! Ecclesgreig Castle looks lovely, and it's really neat you got to learn about your ancestry on trip.
I'm curious about the yellow patch in your second photo, also in the graveyard photos. Bixa thought maybe it was rape, but it also kinda looks like saffron. Do you know what it is? Anyway, it's beautiful.
Thanks for posting this, and welcome to the board!
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Post by apres on Mar 26, 2012 1:38:44 GMT
I'm not sure what the yellow wild flowers are- but it looks almost identical to what we call "golden rod" in Ontario, and I assumed that's was it was. I don't know much about plants, though. Hopefully someone who knows the answer will chime in.
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Post by BigIain on Mar 26, 2012 7:12:39 GMT
Re the flowers; the patch of yellow in the church pic will be a field of rapeseed. It is a very, very common crop here but has only been introduced in the last 20 years really. Back then there was a large subsidy that came with growing rapeseed so it caught on. Also because it ripens (not the correct word, I fear?) quickly, the farmer is able to get another grain planted and harvested in the same field for a second harvest every year.
The yellow plants on the cliff are called gorse here. Devilishly thorny and very resilient!
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) The sturdy low houses, the pub, the cemetery that gets wrapped in mist on moonless nights, the colourlful yet discreet vegetation all along the way down to the beach... And bravo to Mr. George Ross for making that perfect path!
