Scotland Peter Irvine’s the best
Follow in the footsteps of Mary, Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Robert the Bruce
Dundrennan Abbey
Near Auchencairn. There are innumerable places where Mary spent the night. This was where she spent her last on Scottish soil, leaving next day from Port Mary (nothing to see there but a beach, a mile along the road skirting the MOD range) The Cistercian abbey (established 1142) which harboured her on her last night is now a tranquil ruin. “In my end is my beginning,” she said, facing her execution 19 years later.
Prince Charlie’s Bay
The quietly beautiful Eriskay beach where Charlie first landed to begin the Jacobite Rebellion. Nothing much has changed (except the pier for Barra ferry is adjacent) and this crescent of sand with soft machair and a turquoise sea is still a special place. Half a mile from township heading south; best
approach from township, not the ferry road – it’s a small beach along from the harbour.
Glenfinnan
Here Charlie raised his standard to rally the clans to the Jacobite cause. For a while on that day in August 1745 it looked as if few were coming. Then pipes were heard and 600 Camerons came marching from the valley (where the viaduct now spans). That must have been one helluva moment. It’s thought he actually stood on the higher ground but there is a powerful sense of history here. The visitor centre has an excellent map of Charlie’s path through Scotland – he touched all the most alluring places! Climb the tower or take the long view from Loch Shiel.
Bannockburn
The climactic battle in 1314, when Robert the Bruce decisively whipped the English and secured the kingdom (though Scotland was not legally recognised as independent until 1329). The scale and even the excitement of the skirmish can be visualised in the fancy visitor centre.
Peter Irvine is the author of the essential travel guide Scotland the Best published by Collins, priced £15.99