Tuesday 27 June 2017

Medieval Tower House





Driving in Borders country last week with Dritanje, we came across this ruined Tower House,
forlornly marking time in a hillside field.  Dritanje's blog .....RIVERTRAIN

Fortified Keeps or Tower Houses were a common form of architecture for landed families
in Scotland until late medieval times. Built for protection, they usually occupied
a prominent position overlooking surrounding countryside.
In times of danger brazier fires would be lit on rooftops across the area
to signal enemy approach.

The size of towers varied depending on wealth and status of the owners. 





Today the field is occupied by cows with calves, so we dare not investigate closer









Dry stone dykes surrounding the fields require a specialist to build and repair them.
 Built without mortar, this type of construction dates back to thousands of years BC
 













Roadside vegetation


















Echoes of Richard Long sculpture!

This stone assemblage lying beside a path caught my eye. As we were close to a railway line
 it is most likely to be ballast stone used for laying the trackbed





Stone Circle by Richard Long  -   Scottish Gallery of Modern Art ..... HERE





Smailholm Tower near Melrose, now a museum, is an example of a renovated fortified tower.

I may come back to this later .....






Thank you for visiting


Shared with :   Our World Tuesday     Tuesday's Treasures     Floral Bliss    WATW

33 comments:

Prunella Pepperpot said...

Breathtaking Scottish scenery. Everywhere is so fresh and green.
Loving the cow's earrings and your interpretation of the Stone Circle.
Have a wonderful Tuesday :)

Anonymous said...

Love the Tower, Ruby, as well as your other images - such lovely green! Don't know if you are aware that All Seasons did away of the requirement that the link had to be of the current season (did that, because this year the winter was soo long!).
Oh, and I don't know if you came to All Season's when the link wasn't working - first time in a year! But was fixed Sunday eve. so you can link up now (it's open till Wednesday evening). Hope to see you there!

carol l mckenna said...

Fascinating post and photos for the Scottish country side ~ love the cow and sheep and the stone work and stone circle ~ thanks, ~ ^_^

Tom said...

...Ruby, such interesting history to accompany these gorgeous image of rural Scottish countryside. Thanks so much and I hope that we can go on another trip soon!

Sue (this n that) said...

Hello Ruby, thanks for the post. I do love seeing the cows amongst such interesting scenery! Lovely little flowers in the roadside vegetation... so many sweet surprises can often be found in those spots.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

This place is so beautiful! x Karen

Rajesh said...

Beautiful shots of such historic place.

The Furry Gnome said...

Beautiful landscapes! I remember driving by Smailholm Tower.

riitta k said...

Beautiful landscapes, so barren, a lot of rocks but the grass is so green! I have never been to Scotland, but my granddaughter is coming to study there, probably in Aberdeen...

La La Lilja said...

So beautiful landscapes! Looking very peaceful!

Anonymous said...

So many breath taking views of summer, Ruby! The stone circle looks intriguing! Thanking you from All Seasons, and your kind comment, wishing you a lovely week!

Teresa said...

Bellos paisajes. Saludos.

biebkriebels said...

Wonderful place there!

betty-NZ said...

This is a great area for photos with the green grass and lovely vegetation. Thanks for the info about the towers--I love learning stuff like that :) I noticed similar stone walls (dykes) around the edges of farms in the south island of New Zealand last year. They certainly weren't easy to build but I imagine they last for many, many years.

Lady Fi said...

What wonderful landscape!

Alexa T said...

Wonderful place to visit; great views and so amazing dry stone dykes surrounding the fields!! Nature is fantastic and it is such a lovely series of pictures captured.
A nice day and a pleasant weekend! Alexa

Su-sieee! Mac said...

So green! Does it stay green all year round?

NatureFootstep said...

it is a beautiful countryside with old memories and new critters :)

Lorrie said...

Beautiful photos of ancient stones and new foliage. Stone walls have so much character.

Devilish Angel said...

Loved it...

dritanje said...

Great pictures of a great day! Maybe we can find out about that tower one of these days. I particularly like the way you can link a pile of stones to a sculpture, but then, sculptures are often linked to natural features so - it can work the other way round too!
M xx

Minoru Saito said...

Hi! It looks like Hadrian's Walls.There are many ancient sites in your country. Wishing you have nice days.

Tomoko said...

What a beautiful landscape,Ruby.I walked with you and got refreshing!
Interesting to see that art of the stone circle.I like it.
Have a good day.

Patti said...

Enjoyed seeing the sights, such a lovely area.

stardust said...

Dear Ruby - These scenes are so Scottish. Simple, but rich and beautiful landscape. I’m especially attracted by the ruins of dry stone dykes surrounding the rolling green field. I wonder if Richard Long intended The Stone Circle as a modern version of stone circle though stones are not standing.

Yoko

Victoria said...

What a beautiful post..such stunning sceneries...so dreamy and magical! Thanks for this gorgeous feast, I feel uplifted!
Victoria

Tammie Lee said...

Wonderful glimpses of now and time long past. Stone buildings are so beautiful. Wild roses are lovely, a favorite of mine to put in daily tea. Lovely weekend to you.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating post and photos for the Scottish country side ~ love the cow and sheep and the stone work and stone circle ~ thanks, ~ ^_^


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Ramakrishnan said...

Thanks for sharing these superb pictures of verdant green countryside landscape !

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Hi Ruby -- that countryside is just beautiful; romantic... I would love to walk around there (Maybe not near the cows -- I'm a bit afraid of them). Hope you are hav ing a good summer.

LE CHEMIN DES GRANDS JARDINS said...

Ce pays est verdure, murets de pierres sèches, troupeaux de vaches, et c'est si apaisant, si beau. Pas étonnant que Richard Long, ce grand artiste de land art, ait été séduit par ce paysage et lui a offert ce superbe cercle de pierres pour l’honorer.
Une œuvre similaire et pourtant différente a été installée en Bretagne,au château de Kerguehenec, non loin de Vannes, en Bretagne.
Merci de mettre le land art à l'honneur sur ton blog. Cet art que je pratique aussi est trop marginal et mérite mieux
Belle journée à toi.
Roger

Sciarada said...

I love the medieval atmosphere and your photos are really gorgeous.
A hug for you Ruby!

Shosannah said...

Fascinating post and gorgeous pictures. It would be amazing to live in one of those renovated towers!

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