With the many trips I have taken to Scotland over the years, I have been to a lot of places associated with Mary Queen of Scots. Places where she lived. Multiple places where she was imprisoned. Where she gave birth to her son. Where her personal secretary was murdered by her 2nd husband (Lord Darnley) and his cronies. Where her 2nd husband died. But Linlithgow is where Mary Stuart was born.
I had originally signed up to see Scone Palace, but that excursion had been canceled when not enough people signed up for it. Of all of the other excursions, the only other two that I had not done before were Broomhall (the home of the Family Bruce), and Linlithgow Palace. Broomhall was sold out by that time, so I signed up for Linlithgow Palace. This was an included tour. No additional charge.
The site on which the castle stands has been occupied for as far back as Roman times (2,000 years ago). King David I of Scotland founded the town of Linlithgow (meaning “the loch in the damp hollow”) and built a royal manor there in the 11th century. In 1424 a fire partially destroyed the town and much of the manor as well.
King James I rebuilt the manor as a grand Royal Residence and also rebuilt the Church of St Michael. Linlithgow Palace became one of the principle Scottish royal residences throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. Mary’s father, James V, was born there in 1512 and she was born there in 1542.
After Mary’s son, King James VI of Scotland, left Scotland to become King James I of England after Queen Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, the palace was rarely used and fell into disrepair. It was finally ‘accidentally’ burned out in 1746 by the Duke of Cumberland’s men.
During our visit to the palace, we listened to our tour guide give us a history of the palace and point a few things out while we hung out in the inner close by the fountain. There were several benches on which to sit, so I did that for a while and then began to circle the fascinating fountain to take photos of it from all angles. We were then set free to explore the palace at our own pace. I headed up the Queen’s Turnpike to the first floor and the Bed Chamber.
I continued on from there, photographing the Presence Chamber, the King’s Hall, and a statue of Mary Queen of Scots from one of the windows in the King’s Hall. Passing the King’s Turnpike (and taking a photo of it), I entered the museum and explored its contents. When I was done in there, I checked out another Hall and the Chapel, taking a photo of the Church of Saint Michael from one of the windows there.
I found a very interesting old door (but likely not original) that was closed and locked. I wondered where it led. Then I discovered another very interesting set of really old stairs. I wanted to see where they led but they appeared to be blocked part of the way up. That is one of the things about ruined castles. You never know when something may be blocked, falling down, or missing entirely.
Next came the Great Hall, which was also known as the “Lyon Chalmer”. This was the largest room in the palace and had a properly gigantic fireplace at one end. At the other end, I found the entrance to the Court Kitchen.
With a little further exploration and my natural curiosity, I ventured down a long passageway within the wall alongside the Great Hall. That was quite rewarding. I found another turnpike (this one unnamed) and took it back down to the ground floor where I wandered through another interesting corridor, discovered a guardroom, and eventually came out near the entrance (and the gift shop).
At this point, I discovered that Christine and Sherry were also at Linlithgow on another tour coach. They had arrived after me, but were already in the gift shop. Most of my explorations had been a solitary endeavor. I had some company in the Bedchamber, the Presence Chamber and the King’s Hall. But then was entirely on my own in the museum, another hall and the Chapel, until the Great Hall, where I encountered a handful of people. After the Great Hall, I was completely alone again until the gift shop. It was crowded in there.
We still had some time before my coach would return to the ship (theirs would be about 15 minutes after mine), so we left the palace to explore the town. We were pretty far along the main drag (I had purchased a wooden thingy with which to stir my porridge) when it began to rain fairly heavily. We ducked into a café where I ordered a chocolate shake and a pastry while my companions ordered a cream tea (tea with scones, cream and jam). Fittingly, the site where the café now stands was once the location of the bakery for the palace.
Later, after our evening lecture on the Highland Clearances (and my Lemon Drop Martini), the three of us had dinner together again. I had some salmon stuffed with Spinach Florentine and crabmeat, some roasted vegetables, and a very nice Italian rosé.
Next time – Invergordon, Inverness, Urquhart Castle & Loch Ness
