Finally, Tuesday dawned damply and I was trapped inside the soggy lump I laughingly describe as a tent until, about eightish, I think, the sun came out and my besiegers, who had somehow got hold of a trebuchet, all slinked off to their midgie cellars. So I packed everything up and hurtled off to Tyndrum for an all-day-breakfast (9 till 11)
On the way home, I paid a brief visit to Traprain Law, which is just off the A1 near (ish) to Dunbar (might have set some speed cameras off on the A1 by the way (dhuhhhh)
Anyway, Traprain Law is a large volcanic plug sitting in some very lush farming country. As is the way with volcanic plugs, it has very steep and rocky sides.
These two things, and, probably, the fact that you can get a very nice view of a large slice of coast from the top, could well have been the reason why the local British tribe, the Votadini, chose it for a capital. These Votadini were allied to Rome and kept this fortress well into the 5th century, at which point, it would appear that they moved to Edinburgh – probably just that bigger rock and just that bit further away from the naughty Northumbrians. They weren’t particularly friendly with the folks over at Trimontium, as it happens (remember them?) I expect that when the roman men they go house, there could have been some friction with the chaps at Melrose…..
The legend of St Mungo who is linked to Traprain Law is here http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/mno/saintmungo.html
Anyway, it’s a cracking place to fill half an hour if you’re going up or down the A1.
There’s probably just about a mile of walking and a couple of hundred feet climbing to get on the top.
This is the end of the Glen Etive thing. There will be no more Scottish stuff for a while. I have socks to wash.
On the way home, I paid a brief visit to Traprain Law, which is just off the A1 near (ish) to Dunbar (might have set some speed cameras off on the A1 by the way (dhuhhhh)
Anyway, Traprain Law is a large volcanic plug sitting in some very lush farming country. As is the way with volcanic plugs, it has very steep and rocky sides.
These two things, and, probably, the fact that you can get a very nice view of a large slice of coast from the top, could well have been the reason why the local British tribe, the Votadini, chose it for a capital. These Votadini were allied to Rome and kept this fortress well into the 5th century, at which point, it would appear that they moved to Edinburgh – probably just that bigger rock and just that bit further away from the naughty Northumbrians. They weren’t particularly friendly with the folks over at Trimontium, as it happens (remember them?) I expect that when the roman men they go house, there could have been some friction with the chaps at Melrose…..
The legend of St Mungo who is linked to Traprain Law is here http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/mno/saintmungo.html
Anyway, it’s a cracking place to fill half an hour if you’re going up or down the A1.
There’s probably just about a mile of walking and a couple of hundred feet climbing to get on the top.
This is the end of the Glen Etive thing. There will be no more Scottish stuff for a while. I have socks to wash.
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