Rambling through Rullion Green
This afternoon I enjoyed a Christmas Eve walk into Pentland Hills to visit the Battle of Rullion Green memorial with my housemate. The weather was a bit colder than ideal, but at least the frozen ground provided a bit of stability as I made my way across the fields of frost-hardened mud and muck!
The walk started with a wee ramble through Glencorse Mains before crossing over to the base of the Pentlands. Once at the edge of the Pentlands, we began making our way across a sheep-filled field to the memorial.
Gated in bright red wrought iron, the memorial is in the style of a headstone marking the general vicinity of a mass grave of Covenanters who perished at the Battle of Rullion Green. (Others are buried in the nearby Old Pentland Cemetery.) The battle took place on 28 November 1666, the final day of the Pentland Rising that began about two weeks earlier, and took the lives of some 50 men.
There is another memorial marker to the Covenanters in the Pentlands called the Covenanters’ Grave, but I’ve yet to make the trek there. However, my housemate is quite interested in the Covenanters movement and the history related to them (despite his proud atheist status) so I will try to get him to accompany me on a walk to the site soon. (He knows the hills quite well, having lived on the cottage for nearly three decades, so is a fabulous Pentlands guide!)
Today’s ramble was about 5 miles in total, which isn’t too bad for a Christmas Eve walk. And, of course, it ended in the pub which is always a great way to end a walk!
I am pleased to have had this wee adventure with my housemate today, as I know that the majority of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays will be spent on my own. And whilst I am getting used to spending most of my life living solo, it is always nice to have a few moments of company to mix things up a bit.
I think that Christmas day will be a bit less active so that I can spend more time feasting. But come Boxing Day, I will be back in the Pentlands enjoying more of the great outdoors!
You have your father’s photographic gift. Photo’s made me yearn to walk there with you… cool.
My friend Shannon is writing a novel originating from when she first say Haidens(?) Wall. She just got back from a week through Scotland, and a few more days on Orkney Isle. This was her third trip to Scotland, Ireland.
I find writers seem to be also hooked on history, so I love the bits of history that you tell with your photos.
Enjoy every minute of your life Frances.
Ginger.
Thank you, Ginger! I enjoy taking photos, although I don’t have the same patience as my father who will take the time to set up his shots—and will wait for the perfect conditions. I just snap what I see at that moment as a memory for myself. (Thankfully, my poor photography skills are masked by decent equipment!)
If you ever make it to Scotland, we should definitely do a photo walk. Or maybe we can do a photo walk/hike when I’m in the Homeland visiting my family over the summer!
All my best to you,
Frances