Poetry, pastures and a pot of gold
From our muddy walk around Melrose last week. Above, the stone marking the site of the Eildon Tree, where in the 13th century Thomas the Rhymer is supposed to have met the Queen of the Fairies and been spirited away to Elfland from where he returned years later as a prophet. His prophesies are meant to include the death of King Alexander III in 1296, the succession of Robert the Bruce to the throne, and the Union of the Crowns in 1603.Below, typical rolling Borders landscape.
On our drive home we passed through sun and showers, and a succession of glorious rainbows.
These rolling landscapes are so green and lovely, even at this cold time of the year. The Eildon tree stone is very interesting. We don't have things so old here. We don't have history, or even legends, so old, here.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about being surrounded by so much history is that often we assume things are old when they're not. I thought this stone was old - it certainly looks it - and then I noticed it said 'erected in 1970'. Must be our damp climate that ages things quickly, tho it's meant to be good for the complexion.
ReplyDeleteStunning. I love the mountains in Scotland. Are things always green there?
ReplyDeleteGreat images from a beautiful landscape, here we are driving even on snow. Have a great weekend. Greetings Nordis.
ReplyDeleteThe landscape is so beautiful. What a perfect place for just walking and taking some great photographs! I love the first photo as well.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful rainbow!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post Linda. I've never heard of the Eildon tree or the prophet. I wonder what sort of tree it was and why it's taken so long to erect a stone. It does look old. Maybe your explaination of the damp weather ageing things quickly is the reason for my wrinkles Ha! I love the second shot. How great to see a rainbow at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteAlli, Nordis, Randy and Linda, thanks for the comments. Alli, there is pretty much always some green in the south of Scotland. I guess I hadn't thought before of just how green it can be in the winter.
ReplyDeleteChris, I just looked up the tree and discovered it was a hawthorn.
I thought that the stone was at least a couple of centuries old! It's lovely to see the beautiful green and the hills. Super!
ReplyDeleteScotland has such a wonderful history! The stone is in very good condition for dating back so far. We have much younger stones that look much worse. The rolling countryside is lovely and rainbows cannot be beat.
ReplyDeleteloved your bit of history on the site of the Eildon Tree. interesting that the stone was erected in 1970. the stone does look older. and the countryside is beautiful. loved the bit of rainbow too. it seems the walk was a good one in the end. hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteWe've climbed the Eildons... and got sunburnt one memorable summer's day.
ReplyDeleteI loved the rainbow! VERY interesting post! Beautiful pics.
ReplyDeletelove the rolling hills and i always enjoy a good rainbow. nice photos!
ReplyDeleteI thought the same as RedPat!!! Some beautiful photos/scenery here Linda!!! And I love the story of Thomas the Rhymer being spirited away by the Queen of the Fairies!!! So magical!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting - I'd never heard of the Eildon Tree or Thomas the Rhymer. I take it the Eildon tree is no longer with us? (But presumably, the Queen of the Fairies is.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I thought that the colours in the top photo and the second photo were very similar, although one was of something at close range and the other was of the landscape far away. It would be hard to beat those colour combinations!
Beautiful photos, Linda! Fairy hills and portals must be in abundance in Scotland, mysterious and hidden to snag the unsuspecting wayfarer. Tomnahurich, I know, is another.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Such gorgeous scenery. My husband and I are both missing the luscious rolling green countryside of Scotland. Texas plains, hill country and barbed wire will have to do! ;)
ReplyDeleteSuch beauty!! I just love the second photo.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for the comments - glad you've enjoyed the scenery. We couldn't see any sign of the original Eildon Tree!
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine in the weather we had getting sunburnt climbing the Eildon Hills, Mal, but it's surprisingly easy to suffer from the sun in Scotland. I've had sunstroke twice in my life, once in Italy, and once in the far north west in of Scotland.
I am nominating you for the Stylish Blogger Award! Your blog is beautiful and always inspires me!
ReplyDeleteSome wonderful images, my favorite is the last, with the rainbow.
ReplyDeleteAlli, thank you so much! As I've said, I'm hopeless about awards, but I do really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteVP, the rainbows were so tantalizing that day. Gorgeous to the naked eye, but so difficult to capture on camera.
Scotland grows green as spring is about to arrive. I love the landscapes and the old stone is wonderful. You have little people in Scotland too.
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