Cambuskenneth Abbey Stirling

I enjoy visiting ancient historic sites. The United Kingdom is rich in such buildings....castles....abbeys....churches....forts...houses and homes.

I have lost count of the number I have visited in my journeys around Britain.

For such a small country, it is truly amazing that so much History took place, and that so much remains to be seen from times long past.

I enjoyed my visit to Cambuskenneth. I have learned about King james III who is buried here along with his wife, Margaret, Princess of Denmark.

If you are visiting Stirling, the abbey lies in the shadow of the famous Wallace Monument as you look towards Stirling castle...which too is well worth a visit.

Latin Mass at Cambuskenneth Abbey Stirling

This morning we made our way to Stirling, to the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey.
There, Una Voce had organised a Mass in the Old Rite in the Bell Tower, the only interior part of the Abbey still remaining.

The Abbey stands at the edge of Stirling, and in the shadow of the wallace Monument.

The abbey is also the burial place of King James III of Scotland, and his wife Margaret Princess of Denmark.

There were about 20 or so folk who gathered for this special Mass. Fr Emerson celebrated the Mass, and Monsignor Boyle was also present in his purple robes.

It was a solemn and dignified celebration, accompanied by the choir who attend the Una Voce Masses. All who attended were uplifted by the Mass.

In a fornight's time, there will be another Old Rite Mass, this time at Torpichen Priory, a Church with connections to the Knights' Templar.

We were planting fruit trees in the garden this afternoon.

It has been sunny and seasonably warm. Early this morning I was over at the Airport. Then it was misty and only 4C.

Tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh to see son John in the Royal Lyceum's production of Confessions of A Justified Sinner. We'll have some drinks at the after show reception.

I'm posting some more pics from Yorkshire.

Whitby by Moonlight

The Yorkshire Mooors

Guisborough Abbey

Helmsley Castle.

Interestingly, Guisborough was begun by one Sir Robert De Bruus, an ancestor of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.

Whitby

Whitby is a pleasant little fishing town. It is very popular with tourists. There are lots of shops, the well known chain stores, but also little curio shops with those queer little momentoes to take away....t shirts..hats...shells...souvenirs of all sorts for all sorts of folk.

There are lots of fish and chip shops as you would expect, and some really nice coffee shops.

There are narrow streets to stroll along across the swing bridge in the Shambles area. When the bridge opens for boats, the town comes to a standstill.

There are the Abbey ruins towering over the town, where Dracula was broght when his ship foundered. Lots of photo opportunties...which I took.

Here are some.

Piercebridge Roman Fort

We are just back from a week long break in Yorkshire. We stayed in a little village called Hinderwell, 8 miles from Whitby. The cottage was small, with no phone, no mobile signal and no internet, so were well away from any distractions.

We stopped overnight on the way down at the George Hotel in Piercebridge. I hadn't relaised on booking that the hotel stood in fron of the ruins of a Roman fort and river Bridge. So we checked that out on Saturday morning before heading to Whitby.

Over the next few days I'll write about the Whitby week.