Belted Galloways grazing on lush grass
near Newton Stewart

Sheep southeast of Creetown watching us

John McCornack finding familiar genealogy signs

Viewing ruins of ancestral home at Barhapple

Ancestral Stone You can travel far and wide You can scour the country side You can let your body roam But your thoughts are thoughts of home Home is where your heart is true Home is what's inside of you You can travel far away... But you'll go back home someday The hills of Scotland beacon me... With their peace and tranquility The land on which my ancestors lived It thrills my heart with what it gives Annabaglish and Barwinnock Both great ancestral homes to me Strolling the countryside, hills of such beauty I view the ruins on Barwinnock property I stand and reflect on what must have been The way of life for the ones there before me On Scotland's hills as I softly tread I can feel their touch and the memories I'm storing for the days ahead... Oh ruins of stones ... I treasure thee The stories your great walls must know You were the foundation ... The rock for me And from you the strength in my veins still flow My thoughts organized by ImAuthor4U

Ring the bell .... and let memories begin at Threave

Threave Castle Once the stronghold of the Black Douglases, and now owned by Historic Scotland, Threave Castle sits on an island in the River Dee. If you ring the bell when you arrive, the custodian will ferry you across the water so that you can take a look around. Closed in winter.  Located three miles west of Castle Douglas in south-west Scotland, this tower (21 metres / 70 feet high) was built by the 3rd Earl of Douglas (Archibald the Grim) between 1369 and 1390. The outer wall which encloses it was rebuilt around 1455 when James II laid siege to Threave and captured it. Three years earlier, the 8th Earl hung a man from the gallows knob which you can still see over the main doorway. It has lain in ruins since 1640 when the Covenanters seized it after a 13-week siege. It was also used to house French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars. The name Threave has changed over the centuries from Thrave, Trief and Thrieve. It is thought to derive from the old Welsh word for homestead. Source: http://www.castles.org/Chatelaine/THREAVE.HTM

Reliving the past with Scotland McCornacks
Linda and Nessie

Threave Castle Threave Castle consists of a massive 14th-century keep, rectangular in plan, which stood within a courtyard, enclosed by a wall and ditch, with drum towers at each corner, only one of which survives. An earlier castle here was burnt by Edward Bruce in 1308. The present castle was started by Archibald the Grim - so named because his face was terrible to look upon in battle - 3rd Earl of Douglas, and Lord of Galloway from 1369. He died at Threave in 1400. It was from Threave that the young 6th Earl and his brother rode to Edinburgh Castle in 1440 for the 'Black Dinner', where both were taken out and executed. The 8th Earl was murdered in 1452 by James II at Stirling, after being invited there as an act of reconciliation. In 1455 James II bombarded Threave with artillery, including - it is said - the cannon 'Mons Meg' to dislodge the Douglases. The garrison surrendered, but this seems to have been achieved by bribery. In 1640 the castle was attacked by an army of Covenanters for 13 weeks until forced to surrender. The castle was slighted and partly dismantled. It was given to The National Trust of Scotland in 1948.

Jane was overwhelmed
as she watched Vicky do a flip

Scotland’s Threave Castle On the island of the River Dee Is a wonderful Scottish castle In order to visit, however There’s a little bit of a hastle Because you must ring the bell So a custodian can transport you Across the water on a ferry to a place That looks too unbelievable to be true Built by the third Earl of Douglas Also called Archibald the Grim Who built this structure in the 1300s I would have loved to have met him The castle was captured and rebuilt The long ago year was 1455 There was also a gallows knob I’m sure no one left alive The castle was used for many things It held French prisoners for one But has long now lain in ruins The year of 1640 it was done It dates back hundreds of years It’s so exciting to know the history History that is filled with excitement And a tremendous amount of mystery! Marilyn Lott © 2006