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Showing posts from May, 2013

Strathearn and Perthshire's Role in the Wars of Independence : Wallace and Bruce .

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 Wallace Monument Stirling Scotland Emerges As A Country And   Becomes A Target For Others Scotland a s a nation arrived on the scene   when Kenneth mac Alpin emerged as King of Scots   when his Dalriata ( modern Argyll ) joined   with the Pictish kingdom of Fortren in what is now   modern Strathearn . It was   not a peacefully worked unification as mac Alpin had defeated the Picts   under Drust near Scone   . There was, as well, a threat from over the water in Scandinavia. Attracted by the wealth of the increasingly important religious centre of Dunkeld, the Vikings based in Dublin in Ireland launched an attack on the Picts and Scots in 839 at Forteviot near Perth . It was the first of many Viking victories and after a succession of raids succeeded in capturing Dunkeld. Constantine , King of the Scots , retaliated and although defeated at Scone in 904 fought   back and won a significant victory in the Battle of Strathearn the following year . Here the Vikings were virtua

A look at the historic village of Methven and its Castle

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      Methven Castle     Methven Village The village of Methven   lies some   10 miles   to the   east of Crieff and approximately 7 miles   west of the City of Perth . Like   so many   villages in the Strath that   sit   astride modern highways   it   suffers   from   its   somewhat   linear lay out which sees   heavy traffic   speed its   way   to places elsewhere ! Scratch the surface   of this wee place   and   you come   up with a plethora of   fascinating facts about its heritage and historical past. Just off Main Street lies the Methven and Logiealmond Parish Church built in the 1780s and so typical of the parish churches of this period   we   find   scattered about Strathearn .   Built   by local masons James Watt and John Taylor   and a wright called James Anderson , it was in its original state   somewhat devoid of the imagination of   design . The additions of the 1820s made up for this in no   uncertain way and the little kirk   with its   eye c