Historical Connections on a Scottish Bike Ride

As it was a nice day, 55 degrees, windy and mostly sunny, and all of my email was caught up, so I decided to go for a bike ride to a place not far from the Dalkeith house called "Queen Mary's Mount." This seems like a straight forward endeavor, but because Scottish history is such that one cannot touch one aspect of it without sending implication shock waves reverberating through time, it is not.


I'll try to explain how it is that even an innocent ride to a hill in the next woods over can bring the long history of this nation out into the open once again, and because it is everywhere, it is not always trumpeted the way our country, with it's shorter European history, often does.


Passing over one of the old bridges over the south fork of the River Esk, which is making its way to the sea via Musselburgh, I make my way off "The Estate," past some fields, and the hill called St.Mary's Mount can easily be seen in the distance.  It's only a few miles away.

The river Esk

St. Mary's Mount in the distance

After passing by a meadow or two with cattle grazing, the trail begins to lead up the hill.

Your standard perfect, massive oak in a meadow 



Past the meadow and into the woods



Trail leading up.



It's steeper than it looks from a distance, so giving up the pedals and just walking the bike in spots is the way to go for this old guy.  As I climbed I thought about what I knew about this place.  It is the place where Mary Queen of Scots gave herself up to the English Army - without a fight, even though she did have armed men at her disposal.

You see, Mary was in trouble because of her religion and her marriages, and because of where she was born and religious uprisings and her relationship to Queen Elizabeth...

Oh I can't keep it all strait! Cue the Web page! http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/

Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace on 7th December 1542, the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Six days after her birth her father died, and she became Queen of Scotland. From her infancy, Scotland's rival pro-English and pro-French factions plotted to gain control of Mary. Her French mother was chosen as regent, and she sent Mary to France in 1548.  Mary lived as part of the French royal family.

In April 1558 she married the Dauphin Francis; she secretly agreed to bequeath Scotland to France if she should die without a son. In July 1559 Francis succeeded his father becoming King Francis II and Mary became Queen of France as well as of Scotland.  In addition, many Roman Catholics recognised Mary Stuart as Queen of England after Mary I died and the Protestant Elizabeth I succeeded her to the throne in November 1558. Mary Stuart's claim to the English throne was based on the fact that she was the grand-daughter of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII--Elizabeth's father.

To the Roman Catholics, Mary's claim appeared stronger than Elizabeth's because they viewed Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn as illegal.  Mary's young husband Francis II died in December 1560 after a reign of 17 months. Mary, who was about to become 18 years of age, was left in a difficult position. Unwilling to stay in France and live under the domination of her mother-in-law Catherine De Medicis she decided to return to Scotland and take her chances with the Protestant reformers.

Yes, take her chances in Scotland.  She wasn't in a pickle yet, but there is history of trouble on this same hill that she would eventually give herself up on, you see.

That trouble on this hill being the Battle of Pinkie, cue another website: http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=68

Attempts by the English to link the two kingdoms, of England and Scotland, through the marriage of the young queen Mary of Scotland and prince Edward (later Edward VI) of England, collapsed into open conflict in 1544-5. This was halted by the treaty of 1546, but the Duke of Somerset, now effectively ruling England during the minority of Edward VI, simply used the cessation to prepare for war. This time he planned a major land campaign to secure territory, not simply a major raid for these had always previously failed to achieve any long term success for either side.

The army was mustered at Berwick and from there, in early September, it crossed the border, marching north on the main east coast route, supported and supplied by the English fleet. In response the Earl of Arran mustered northern Scottish forces. Once aware of the English route, Arran marched to block their approach at the crossing of the Esk near the coast at Musselburgh.

On the 9th of September, 1547 the English approached from the east and camped at Prestonpans.The next day, at Carberry, on what is now known as Bothwell field, saw the last great battle between the two kingdoms before they became united under the rule of a single monarch in 1707, and it proved a dramatic Scottish defeat.

A dramatic defeat indeed.  The Scottish loss of life was in the thousands; estimates vary from 6,000 to 15,000, while the English losses are estimated at 500 to 600.  Below is a picture, taken about 1/2 way up the hill that overlooks the site of the battle, Bothwell field.

View toward Edinburgh from St. Mary's Mount - scene of the Battle of Pinkie

Notice that the year of this battle was 20 years before Mary would eventually surrender to the English on this same hill.  Back to Mary's story then:

On 19th August 1561, Mary landed at Leith and immediately took the advice of the moderates James Stuart (her half-brother, later earl of Moray) and William Maitland of Lethington. She recognised the Reformed (Presbyterian) church and allowed it a modest endowment but not full establishment.

The Protestant reformers, including John Knox, were horrified because she had Mass in her own chapel, and the Roman Catholics were worried about her lack of zeal for their cause. For the next few years Mary tried to placate the Protestants and befriend Elizabeth while at the same time negotiating a Catholic marriage with Don Carlos, the son of Philip II of Spain. When refusals came on both the English succession and the Spanish marriage Mary accepted a marriage of love rather than a purely political match. She married her first cousin Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley on 29th July 1565.

Scotland: The Final Years

This marriage was unacceptable to the Protestants, and Moray, with the aid of other nobles, raised a rebellion which Mary quickly suppressed. Nevertheless she felt betrayed by her Protestant advisors and withdrew some of her support from the Reformed church. Her marriage with Darnley soured and she refused him the right to succeed if she died without issue. Alone and disappointed, Mary turned to her Italian secretary, David Rizzio, for comfort and advice. The Protestant lords disliked Rizzio's influence because they suspected him of being a papal agent, and Darnley openly stated that the Italian was too intimate with the Queen.

On 9th March 1566 a group of Protestant lords, acting with the support of Darnley, murdered Rizzio in Mary's presence at Holyrood Palace. Mary, who was six months pregnant, survived the horrible ordeal. In Edinburgh Castle on 19th June 1566, estranged from her husband and his allies, she gave birth to a son James (later James I of England).  By the end of 1566 Mary had befriended James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and was seeking a way to dissolve her marriage with Darnley. Various schemes were concocted; it seems unlikely, however, that Mary was aware of the actual plot to eliminate her husband.

On 10th February 1567 Darnley was murdered at Kirk o' Field; the circumstances of his death to this day remain a mystery. At the time, Bothwell was believed to be the chief instigator. Nevertheless he was acquitted after an all too brief trial. In April, Mary went off with Bothwell (perhaps a victim of abduction); early in May he obtained a divorce from his wife, and on 15th May 1567 he and Mary were wed according to the Protestant rite.  These events alienated even some of Mary's closest supporters. The nobles, many of whom disliked Bothwell, banded together to face Mary and her new husband at Carberry. The Queen was forced to surrender, and Bothwell fled. 

To end the story, Mary was brought to England where she was imprisoned for 19 years, then got her head chopped off. (Sorry, there is much more to this story, but it doesn't take place here.)

I continued to make my way to the top of the hill. Coming through thick woods and grass one comes upon the monument beside a large tree and crumbling stone wall.


That's it. 



From the monument site, I could also hear a road just a few 100 yards away.  This road is where a person could drive to, to get to the monument. However, there is no parking lot, and as you will see, not much of a sign, so one would need to really know about the monument beforehand in order to find it in the first place.

The history here in Scotland is not always prevalently displayed, but it is always around. 

Now, stick with me a little longer as I head back down the hill toward home, via a different trail through the woods, as the stories connected with this hill continue.


First, a small stone monument, of the same date as the Queen Mary one, 1887, that suggests that trenches that are prevalent in this stretch of woods just below the hilltop were dug out by soldiers during the Battle of Pinkie and were used in the lead up to Queen Mary's surrender.

Remnants of a Trench





Just a bit further down the trail, there is a more modern sign, correcting, or at least refuting the claim made by the old stone marker, suggesting that the entrenchments were not "thrown up" by Soldiers, but rather, that they are left over from an Iron Age people who had created them to protect a settlement that was here over 2,000 years ago.

Artist's rendition of Iron Age Settlement

Another aspect I was reminded of as I made my way down the muddy track back to the fields, was that the Carberry estate was once a great arboretum.  When the Beccleuch Estate bought the property, they harvested much of the old woods that was planted in the 1700's. The buyers did this, much as we often do in Wisconsin, to help pay for the property.

4 foot diameter at the base - Oak.

The above Giant Sequoias were planted it the 1700's along a path that used to lead to the Carberry Palace itself. This is no longer the main entrance to the place, but it makes for a great bike ride, as I get toward the bottom of the hill again.


What is that across the meadow? Yes, it's the Carberry palace itself.  Enter another story.

Storybook View of Carberry Palace

Closer view of Carberry with a portion of St. Mary's Mount behind.

Current entrance to Carberry - only since the late 1800's - baby trees.

I will not add the story about this place on this already history heavy post, but I will add that the story leads us to Afganistan and the infamous "Retreat From Kabuhl" as the castle was transformed into a palace by Governor General Lord Ellenburgh.  Follow the link to learn more about a war and battles that first lead to the phrase "graveyard of empires" to be used when speaking about Afghanistan.

http://www.britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/kabul-1842.htm

It seems an extraordinary place, this Queen Mary's Mount, and it is in many ways, but there are so many places like this that it is difficult to pay attention to them all.  However, what one can pay attention too is the constant connection to history that one finds throughout Scotland.  Over time, the battles, religions, royalty, and lands begin to make a picture of a country whose people have endured it all, and in my opinion, kept a pretty good attitude.


As I was leaving out the front gate of Carberry, a young fellow was working on the massive wooden and steel gate that fronts the drive.  I asked if it was okay for me to use the entrance the next time I came out this way.  He said, "Aye, there's no trespassing laws in Scotland."  That's right, it's the Right to Roam Act.  Cue another web site!

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/freedom/righttoroam/countryside_access