Wednesday 16 February 2011

Scottish Anchestry

Hubby Ned has spent many enjoyable hours researching and tracing his family tree , he was born here in Wales and his Welsh roots go back many generations , but there exists a well known family tale handed down through the generations on his maternal side of the family, [they are MacDonalds ] that they arrived here on the north wales coast after being shipwrecked while trying to escape Scotland by boat heading for France sometime after the battle of Culloden in 1745, these were hunted men who if caught could have been hung by English troops from the nearest tree without any form of trial.
Every year on the 13th of February hubby Ned and his brothers don their kilts and travel to Glen Coe in Scotland to commemorate the masacre of the Glen Coe MacDonalds . The journey takes them through some stunning and dramatic scenery,the first picture is the pass of Glen Coe followed by Rannoch Moor-the most desolate place in the U.K.
Pictured above is Ned with fellow clansman Davy MacDonald [ both wearing their MND awareness bands ] who acted as bannermen for the wreath laying ceremony at the memorial stone and cross- with them are two Swiss girls who had travelled there to attend the ceremony. Ned and son Edward, brother Chris , friend Mike and Gwyn stayed in a local prison camp er... I mean b@b, this was not your usual b@b as they soon found out when the landlady informed them that they would have to be in by 12pm or the front door would be locked, and no alcohol was to be consumed in their rooms , no smoking.......etc etc [there was a very extensive list apparently!! ].Ned made it back in time but son Edward stayed on to finish his drink in the pub, but had craftily left a bedroom window open so he could climb back in undetected but his plan went pearshaped as he was caught by one of the guards when he was half in half out of the window and got a very stern telling off!. At 26years of age he`s a little bit old and big! [ he`s 6`.3" ] to be chastised !!. Needless to say they won`t be staying there again ! They did manage to have a brilliant time and met lots of wonderful people and enjoyed catching up with some old friends.

15 comments:

Tom Stephenson said...

It was probably a Campbell pub, Janet.

Janet said...

That thought did cross my mind as well Tom !

John Going Gently said...

my idea of hell
but glad he had a gud time
x
I can do more hours at the bag pack if u need me

Janet said...

Great ! put you down 1-4 pm if thats ok- and if it gets busy we can always give you a ring to come earlier ? x

Tracey said...

That must have been wonderful, I have traced my lot back to Scotland also (Sinclair) I have a teatowel with 'our' tartan on it!! Exotic or what?!! xxx

Terry said...

Sounds lovely, except for the prison warden.

Sharon said...

I don't do well with establishments that have a long list of rules. I do not know if they had a choice, but if they did, I would have gone elsewhere!

Glad they had a good time anyway! Lovely scenery!

Manchester Lass, Now and Then said...

Really interesting post Janet. I love the photos, especially seeing the snow capped mountains. I'm sure they had a great time despite the archaic warden:( xxx

Diane said...

What a lovely story. They should review the B&B on trip advisor!xxx

Proventus said...

Hi Janet,

My name is Emma Branch & I volunteer for the charity Proventus. I have been taken on to raise awareness online of Proventus' work. Proventus was formed by sufferers of various neurological & autoimmune conditions & we strive to give other sufferers a voice to be heard. Please take a moment to have a look at our website.

www.proventus.org.uk

I hope that we can help your brother in some way in the future. :)

Janet said...

Hi Emma ! I will pass this on to Andrew- thank you- appreciated.

Cassie said...

Interesting post Janet. I think it would be a blast to do this each year...except for the "jail time" of course!hehe. Made a good story though didn't it?! I hope your bagpacking goes well. Only a week to go now. WooWoo! x-c

Jim said...

Hey Janet, maybe Ned and I are related!!! My grandmother was a MacDonald and I just spent this past summer researching that clan in Prince Edward Island. I am pretty sure they are not the Glen Coe bunch. Great story and I love the 'passion' of the Scots.....sometimes it surfaces through my French exterior!!! lol
Loved this post.

Janet said...

Hi Jim ! Ned asked me to mention he knows a very nice lady, Sheila MacDonald originally from Nova Scotia [although she now lives in Texas]he met her when he went to a MacDonald clan chiefs gathering which is held every year in June.

Jim said...

No relation as far as I know. The Nova Scotia MacDonalds mostly settled in Cape Breton as my 'crew' settled in PEI.......you know how clans are!