After spending several days making exploratory flights from a small tributary of the river Spey, Ozwold appears to have set off south again. This time he has flown south, about 34 miles, in the region of the town of Ballater. I was relieved to see that he has been moving around successfully after the high winds and heavy rains that have hit northern Scotland in the past few days. (This satelitte picture is west of Aberdeen).
One of the places Ozwold may have flown over on his journey south to Ballater is Corgarff Castle. This castle, set on lonely moorland has had a long and bloody history.
It was built originally by a branch of the Forbes clan as a tower house around 1550. But a spot of feuding between the Forbeses and the Gordons (who lived north over the mountains) saw Adam Gordan a-galloping with his men to capture Forbes of Towie. Laird Forbes was away, and his wife Margaret refused Adam entry and shot him in the knee, whereupon Adam set fire to the castle burning everyone to death. It is indeed a gruesome tale. The tradegy is remembered in the ballad 'Edom o Gordon'.
The castle was rebuilt and used as barracks by the redcoats in 1746 after the battle of Culloden. The striking pentagon star shaped outer walls were added at this time. The redcoats patrolled Strathdon hunting down Jacobite sympathisers and also illegal producers of whisky for nearly a hundred years.
Best wishes to Oswald on his first migtation and safe jouney, and continued success to the project.
ReplyDeleteAberfoyle