EXCURSION FROM ABERDEEN TO BALMORAL BY BALLATER. EAVING Aberdeen by railway we pass, for the greater part of the way to Ballater close by the Dee. At Banchory (17 miles), the Battle of Corrichie was fought in 1562, in the presence of Queen Mary. Near Lumphanan (27 miles) Macbeth is said to have been buried beneath one of the numerous cairns to be found in the vicinity. After leaving Aboyne (32 miles) we see Lock Kinnord, on one of the islands in which is a ruined castle, supposed to have belonged to Malcolm Canmore. We now reach Ballater (43 miles), (Hotel: Invercauld Arms), the terminus of the railway, a place much resorted to by visitors for its mineral waters and the purity of its air. At the farm house of Ballatrich, on the opposite bank of the Dee, Byron lived in his early youth. "Here was the place where Byron's mother used to retire in the summer months from Aberdeen with her boy. The valley is divided by a wild brook hidden among green alders, and its slopes are hung with the native birch and a few oaks. At the upper end is a farm-house, but it is new; and the farmer, to show me the house in which Byron lived, took me to his farm-yard. The house Mrs Byron inhabited is now a barn or sort of hay-loft, in his yard; but the bed in which Byron used to lie is still there. It is one of the deal cupboard sort of beds, common in highland huts. The farmer said many people came to see the place, and several had tried to buy the bed from him, but that he should think it quite a shame to sell it."-Howitt. From Ballater we proceed to BALMORAL CASTLE (9 miles) by coach. The route is through the "Pass of Ballater," and for a greater part of the distance is through a charming tract of country. Abergeldie Castle, a residence of the Prince of Wales, formerly inhabited by the Duchess of Kent, is 7 miles from Ballater. Soon after passing the castle we see the spire of Crathie Free Kirk, and an obelisk to the memory of the late Prince Consort. Near the road, on the right, is the Parish Church of Craithie, where the Queen and her family frequently attend church during their residence at Balmoral. A private bridge crosses the Dee to BALMORAL CASTLE, which is situated below the hill of Craig-na-Gowan. The property was purchased by Prince Albert from the Earl of Fife. It is a castellated mansion, closely resembling the ancient baronial castles of Scotland. It is built of a light-coloured granite, and is said to have been planned by the Prince Consort. It is furnished in a style of simple comfort rather than magnificence. In the entrance hall is a statue of Prince Albert. The estate contains 10,000 acres, and cost £31,500. Admission to view the interior may be easily obtained, in the absence of the Royal Family. ROUTE 31. EDINBURGH TO DUNDEE. (By the great Tay Bridge). Distance to Dundee, 48 miles; fures, first-class, 9s. 6d.; second, 78.; third, 68. (The distance to Perth by this route is 47 miles; fares, first-class, 9s. 6d.; second, 7s. 4d.; third, 5s. 8d.) EAVING the Waverley Station, we proceed to Granton on the Firth of Forth, where a comfortable saloon ferry boat is ready to take us across the Forth to Burntisland, the crossing occupying 25 minutes. Taking the train at Burntisland, we soon reach (20 miles from Edinburgh) Kirkcaldy, an important manufacturing town. We next pass Dysart, and Dysart House, the mansion of the Earl of Rosslyn, and soon reach Thornton Junction, where a line goes off to the east, to Leven and Anstruther. (Near Leven is Largo, the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, Robinson Crusoe). Here also a line goes off west to Alloa and Stirling via DUNFERMLINE (Hotel: Royal), once the seat of Government, and favourite residence of the Kings of Scotland. A small fragment of a castle still exists inhabited H by Malcolm III. (Canmore) in 1057. The church was rebuilt in 1820, and has a fine view over fourteen counties; the nave of the old one still remains, in which lie buried Malcolm Canmore and his queen Margaret, whose shrine is shown. The bones of "The Bruce were reburied under the pulpit in 1818. There are ruins of the Abbey and part of the wall of the Palace which James the First's queen built, where Charles I. was born, and at which place he signed the covenant. It is built on an eminence, and has an irregular appearance, from its having been erected at various periods of time. The great object of attraction is its Abbey, part of which is used as a Parish Church; the rest is in ruins. Dunfermline has long been celebrated for different branches of weaving, but particularly that of table linen, which is said to be conducted more extensively here than in any other part of the United Kingdom. The Passing Markinch Junction (22 miles), we reach (28 miles) Ladybank Junction, where a line goes off west to PERTH. (For description of Perth see Route 28.) Passing CUPAR (34 miles), where are many fine mansions, we reach (40 miles) Leuchars Junction, where a line goes off to the east to ST ANDREWS, 4 miles from the junction (Hotel: Royal), situated in a fine bay near the sea. view of its ruined towers, the sea, and the environs, is very pleasing. Formerly it was the seat of an Archbishopric, an honour which it claimed from possessing the bones of St Andrew. According to Fordun, St Rule or Regulus, who discovered these precious relics in 345, set sail from Patræ or Patras, in Greece, with the intention of carrying them to Constantinople, but, having no chart on board, was wrecked, after a long and painful voyage, in St Andrews Bay! A church was dedicated to him, and a larger one was built over the prize he brought. This was the foundation of the Cathedral, but the present structure dates only from the 12th century. It was a cross, 350 feet long, of which only the south walls and gable ends are left. Near this is the ancient tower of St Rule's Church, 180 feet high. It is used as a sea mark; and a light is fixed to the Cathedral for the same object. Close at hand are fragments of an Augustine priory, founded in 1120, and memorable as the place where Robert Bruce held his first parliament in 1309. "The Primate's Seat or Castle is here, overlooking the sea, from a window of which Beaton watched in triumph while his victim Wishart the martyr was dying at the stake.' St Andrews is of much historical celebrity, and rich in memorials of the past. Dr Johnson was here in 1773, in his tour with Boswell; in its streets, "there is," says he, "the silence and solitude of inactive indigence and gloomy depopulation." There are three principal streets. Most of the houses are large and antique-looking; at the end of one, on the west side of the town, is an old gate, a remnant of the walls. Three colleges compose the University, which was founded in 1411. St Salvador (or Saviour's). St Leonard's, founded in 1552; there is an old ruined Gothic church attached to it, and a modern one by the side. The third is St Mary's, which has been restored. About 150 students frequent this University. The library contains upwards of 60,000 volumes. Resuming our journey at Leuchars Junction, we soon see the waters of the Firth of Tay and the city of Dundee in the distance. The Firth of Tay was formerly crossed by the celebrated Tay Bridge, supposed to be one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times. This bridge was the scene of a terrible disaster on the evening of Sunday, December 28, 1879. During a hurricane nearly halfa-mile of the highest part of the bridge fell into the river below, carrying with it a railway train of seven carriages, containing 70 to 80 passengers, every one of whom, together with the officers of the train, was killed. A new bridge is in course of construction, and meanwhile the Tay is crossed by ferry. For description of Dundee, see Route 28. one horse, a two-horse carriage, 78 6d. -driver, about 6d. per mile. Leaving Edinburgh and passing Portobello (3 miles), we see the grounds of Dalhousie Castle and the Pentland Hills to the right. About two miles beyond Gorebridge Station (12 miles) are the ruins of Borthwick Castle on the right, and of Crichton Castle on the left. In the former Queen Mary resided three weeks after her marriage with Bothwell, and from this castle she fled in the guise of a page. Crichton Castle was the residence of the celebrated Chancellor Crichton, who was once guardian of James II. Passing several unimportant stations, we reach GALASHIELS (334) miles). Here a branch line goes off to Selkirk. We now cross the Tweed at Brigend, so called from an ancient bridge erected by David I. At a ford immediately below, "The White Lady of Avenel" is represented in "The Monastery to have appeared to Father Philip. From the bridge the woods of Abbotsford may be seen on the right. We now reach MELROSE (37 miles) (Hotels: see HOTEL LIST), pleasantly situated on the banks of the Tweed, at the foot of the Eildon Hills. It takes its name from the celebrated abbey which is in the town. From the symmetry of its parts, the purity of its architecture, and the beauty of its material, Melrose Abbey appears to have been one of the most superb structures ever reared in Scotland. Itwas founded by David I. in 1136, was munificently endowed, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and conferred upon the monks of the Cistercian Order. The remains of this magnificent edifice afford, unquestionably, the finest specimens of Gothic architecture and sculpture in Scotland. What is still in existence comprises the chief portions of the conventual church, measuring 251 ft. in length, and some fragments of the cloister, which would seem The tracery and carvings, cut in to have been a square 150 ft. deep. stone, of singular excellence, are scarcely surpassed by any in England. The tower, the highest accessible point of the remaining edifice, is 84 ft. high. The east window has been particularly admired, and is of unparalleled beauty and elegance. The south window lacks the elegance of the eastern. The height of the former is 57 ft., and the breadth 28 ft. The roof of the chancel, part of which remains, was supported by and capitals being elegantly ornaa cluster of pillars, the pedestals mented with wreaths of flowers and foliage. Under the east window stood the high altar, beneath which Alexander II. was buried. A large marble slab is pointed out according to the best historians, as the monarch's tomb. Here also, great king, Robert Bruce, after was deposited the heart of the it to the Holy Land. Many of the an unsuccessful attempt to carry ried in this church; among them great family of Douglas were buWilliam Douglas, the Knight of Liddesdale, called The Flower of Chivalry, and William the first Earl, and James, the second Earl of Douglas. nected with it are the property of The abbey and the lands conthe Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, who has expended preventing it from falling into considerable sums of money in ruin. may be obtained from the churchFine views of the abbey yard. ABBOTSFORD, the elegant mansion of the late Sir Walter Scott, is three miles west of Melrose. The house and grounds were the creation of the immortal proprietor, and thousands of the trees were planted by his own hands. In his diary, Sir Walter says, "My heart clings to the place I have created; there is scarce a tree on it that does not owe its being to me." Before it became, in 1811, the property of Sir Walter, the site of the house and grounds of Abbotsford formed a small farm known as Cartley Hole. The new name was the invention of the poet, who loved thus to connect himself with the days when Melrose abbots passed over the fords of the Tweed. On this spot, a sloping bank overhanging the river, with the Selkirk hills behind, he built at first a small villa, now the western wing of the castle. Afterwards, as his fortune increased, he added the remaining portions of the building, on no uniform plan, but with a desire of combining in it some of the features (and even actual remains) of those ancient works of Scottish architecture which he most venerated. The result is that singularly picturesque and irregular pile, which has been aptly characterised as "a romance in stone and lime." The interior is far more interesting than the exterior. The porch, copied from that of the old palace at Linlithgow, is finely groined, and stags' horns are nailed up in it. The hall is filled with massive armour of all descriptions, and other memorials of ancient times. Passing through the hall we enter a narrow, arched room, extending quite across the building, filled with all kinds of small armour. This apartment communicates with the dining-room on one side, and with the drawing-room on the other. The dining-room is very handsome, with a roof of carved oak, containing some pictures, the most curious being that of the head of Queen Mary in a charger, painted by Amias Canrood the day after her execution. The drawing-room is very lofty, and is furnished with ebony, curious cabinets, &c. The library, the largest apartment in the house, has a roof finely carved after models from Melrose and Roslin. It contains 20,000 volumes of rare and valuable books. Beyond the library is the study, or sanctum sanctorum, from which emanated those splendid efforts of genius that command the admiration of mankind. It contains a small writing-table, and an armchair covered with leather. A small gallery runs nearly round the room, opening upon a private staircase leading to Sir Walter's bedroom. In a small closet out of the study, under a glass case, are the clothes worn by Sir Walter immediately previous to his decease. DRYBURGH CASTLE (6 miles from Melrose), the burial place of Sir Walter Scott, may be reached from Melrose by railway to Neartown St Boswell's, from which station the Abbey is distant 1 miles. The charge for a carriage with one horse, direct from Melrose to Dryburgh and back, is 6s. The most direct way is by Newtown St. Boswell's. The charge for showing the ruins is 1s. for a party not exceeding three; above three, 4d. each. DRYBURGH ABBEY stands on a richly wooded peninsula, almost surrounded by the Tweed. Nothing remains of it except its walls, which are carefully preserved. It was founded by Hugh de Morville about 1150. It was burned by the English army under Edward II. in 1322, and repaired by Robert Bruce. The abbey is the burial-place of the family of Halyburton of Newmains, the ancient proprietors of Dryburgh. Sir Walter Scott claimed the right of sepulture here, being their direct descendant. The tomb of Sir Walter is in St Mary's aisle, in the left transept of the cross, and close to the place |