The Most Important Castle in Scotland
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 พ.ย. 2024
- Back in 1651, Scotland's Honours, or the Scottish crown jewels, the regalia worn by Scottish kings and queens at their coronation, came very close to being destroyed.
Just two years earlier Oliver Cromwell had destroyed England's regalia, and had indeed beheaded King Charles I.
When Scotland crowned his son, King Charles II, it sent Oliver Cromwell into a somewhat serious huff that saw him send a massive army north to punish and destroy Scotland. Hiding Scotland's Honours was now rather crucial.
After King Charles II had been hastily crowned, Scotland's crown jewels, the sword, sceptre and the very crown itself, could not be returned to Edinburgh Castle, as the castle had now fallen to Cromwell's army.
And so the regalia was sent to what was probably one of the most secure castles in Scotland at the time: Dunnottar.
But with a small garrison of something between 40 and 70 men, Dunnottar Castle had no hope of defending the castle against a huge army, especially when the use of cannon in sieges was now commonplace, and it was only a matter of time before Cromwell's forces gained entry. Something now had to be done to save Scotland's Honours. But what?
Step forward a number of women in the castle, and very brave women at that. It is not clear how the Scottish crown jewels were smuggled out of Dunnottar, whether they were lowered down the rock on ropes and taken away in a boat, or if they were actually smuggled out right under the very nose of the commander of Cromwell's forces. But what is certain is that the regalia was somehow secretly removed from the castle while it was under siege, and taken to Kinneff Church, about 6 miles south of Dunnottar, where it was hidden under the floorboards.
Dunnottar Castle only surrendered to the besieging army when Scotland's Honours were safe.
Scotland's Honours lay buried in Kinneff Church for the next 9 years, and were only returned to Edinburgh when the Stuart Monarchy was restored.
Dunnottar Castle, near Stonehaven, was once the best well-defended castle in Scotland. Without doubt, it remains the most important in Scotland's past, and a must-see for visitors today.
🎉🎉🎉🎉flowers for eddy burns. Excellent video🎉🎉🎉🎉
Hi Ed, great video, a very popular place by the looks of it, and no wonder, look at the location.
thanks Edd
Another wonderful video Ed. Am adding this to my trip in September.
Absolutely worth a visit. Enjoy your trip.
Smashed it again Ed. Brilliant location and very interesting history lesson. I live just up the road from Cromwell "s birthplace, Huntingdon, horrible man. Great stuff Ed, catch you on the next one pal 👍
Cheers Billy.
Excellent as always Ed
Eddie! I absolutely love your videos mate. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do such a grand job editing and composing the music. I live in Paisley and would love to buy you a pint. I was recently in Alnwick at the Tanners Arms to celebrate my birthday and was up at Dunnottar last year in October but you give it a different perspective because you don’t take a car. The build up is so much better. I also lived in fife as a kid so love your videos of the coastal path. In a chaotic world you bring honesty, realism and authenticity. Thank you
Many thanks. Always good to get a nice comment. When in Alnwick I spent a bit of time in the Tanners Arms; lovely pub with a tree in the middle of the room. Alnwick's a lovely place. As is Stonehaven. Take care.
We walked that route to the castle 2 years ago on a motorhome tour, by far our favourite place to visit. Great video again 👍
Thanks. You can't beat a coastal walk. Throw in a castle and... heaven.
Went to Dunnotar Castle a few years ago.Still pretty impressive,considering it is derelict.Must have been some sight in it’s day!
Absolutely.
Well done Ed. Much appreciated.
Thank you. 👍
Happy seeing the page getting bigger Ed love the content
Hello Ed I've just started watching your channel found it tonight which is great love your videos keep up the good work 👍
Many thanks.
When I saw the thumbnail, I thought "Ah, he's at Dunnottar!" I was just there at the end of April. Enjoyed a wonderful three days in Stonehaven and an afternoon wandering around the castle. The day I visited was cold and foggy all day, but it set a great mood, especially seeing the castle in the distance while hiking the trail. Enjoyed your video and will share it with family and friends.
Many thanks. Fog and mist certainly give a great atmosphere for exploring castles.
Another great wee educational video Ed. Nice clear blue sky and all.very interesting indeed. Thanks for sharing
Great video and beautiful views of the castle, and looking across the water. The information about the castle gives a wonderful and charming vision of it’s historical past. Thanks, Lynn in Naples FL 😎
Cheers Lynn. An area of Scotland well worth a visit.
Great video Ed. Your productions just keep getting better and better.
Lynn in Naples FL😎
Thanks 👍
Fantastic.
I lived in Ballater & Banchory for almost 20 years & regularly enjoyed trips to Stonehaven & Donnottar.
Marvellous camera work as always Ed 🫡
Cheers Graham. Stunning area of the country.
Great videos , Dunnottar is one of the most beautiful ,atmospheric and stunning places in Scotland . Glad you got there on a lovely day.
Always nice when the sun's out.
Thank you for your time and effort to give us this video and enduring the trek and unusual Scottish heatwave it would seem 😉👍🏴
Such a beautiful day to be out and about and such an interesting piece of Scotlands history. Thanks for the history lesson Ed.
Thank you. Great spell of weather at the moment, which always helps.
I've never been to Dunnottar Castle. It certainly has a long and interesting history. Great video. 👍
Stunning location and well worth a visit. Many thanks.
Wow very impressed by this castle Ed such a powerful looking entrance, even from a distance you get the impression of ( Don't mess with me)
Scotland should be very proud of Dunnnottar Castle. Thank you for the history, very interesting.
Absolutely. That huge curtain wall built across the only access spot at the small gate - just stunning.
Great video, Ed. Really enjoy your videos. Hoping to visit Carlisle Castle this year as one of my ancestors was in jail there for three years for being a Jacobite. Been to Dunnottar Castle twice in my life and found it to be an amazing place. Watching this brought back some nice memories, thank you for sharing. All the very best, Davey.
Cheers Davey. My own ancestor was a Jacobite supporter, and although not actively involved in any fighting, was forced to go into hiding when redcoats searched the area. When they arrived at the croft his wife refused to tell them where he was, and was apparently mistreated. Terrible things happened back then. Take care.
Great video Ed. Dunnottar is my favourite castle of the ones I have so far visited in Scotland - well worth the effort. Though I personally much prefer the ones in ruin over a Dunrobin or Eilean Donan. Stonehaven is a great town as well!
Many thanks. The location of Dunnottar certainly puts it head and shoulders above many other castles.
Yet another excelent video Ed. You had a superb day for it with perfect lighting to show the setting at it's best. I have intended on visiting this castle for years, just haven't got round to it. I think I will need to do it over the summer this year. Im always impressed with your video quality... You seem to get the exposure spot on.
Thanks for that. I'd love to be able to say there was skill involved on my part, but in fact for much of the time the camera settings are on auto, and with such a bright sunny day it easily settled into an appropriate setting. Often I will edit each individual bit of footage, maybe increase the colour or contrast to perhaps improve the image a bit. As you'll know yourself, what viewers don't get to see is all the footage that, for whatever reason, is so bad that it can't be used (like when the camera decides that some inanimate object in the background is far more interesting than my face and so focuses on it instead of me!).
I hope ye wiped yer boots on the way back up ;)