Fife Layers Part 2

Fife Layers

When we were all full pelt going here, there, and everywhere, looking after our mental health was not really emphasised as much as during the pandemic lockdown, when the brakes were applied. Also came the emphasis on the need to take time out to exercise once a day. Thinking about the need to keep focussed, the push for exercise and the need to stay local, got me thinking. What I needed was to discover the simple ingredients that could come together to give me a focus that fitted in with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

The county of Fife, where I now live, has over 160 castles, towers, and fortified houses dotted around the countryside. My idea was to pick a group of them that I could bring together into one extended walk/run. Head out early with my camera, sandwich, flask of tea, water, snack and go exploring. My wanderings revealed many layers - layers of the landscape, layers of history, layers of wildlife, layers of my own stamina, layers of my own thoughts, layers of sounds (most of which were natural sounds, but some came from my headphones - mainly podcasts to provide some company). As I looked at these timeless sites affected by my experiences in between and the cast of light at that point of day and the changing weather through my camera lens, these historic sites revealed their own layers. I could see in them the passage of time.

The following two sets of six images encompass two such days, with a photograph taken at each site visited and approximate time of the day that the shot was taken. In addition to these shots is a sequence of six images taken as I sat by Motray Water having a bite to eat in preparation for the longer haul to Mountquhanie Castle. A reed darting about in the wind touched the surface of the flowing water like the needle on vinyl, creating ripples. These six images represent a mere snapshot of the dance. This revealed another layer, a layer that I would have missed if I was not tracing my route as I walked between these sites or if I was a tourist ticking them off (well the accessible sites that is). This would have all seemed too micro scale to me in any other time, where my thoughts resided in the macro. I dare say there are bigger and grander castles in the world. There are certainly many other places in the world to visit. Lockdown gave me restrictions on what I had to work with and that has been its strength for me.

Looking at the photos when I got home with the wealth of associated information accessible online intrigued me further. The castles have become much more than just places to aim for. Points on a map. Many of them are not sign posted. Many of them as you can see are ruins, but their locations are still respected. Some are by farms, some are behind hills, by forests, in locations that a passer-by would miss. Some are private residents. Balmuto Castle is one such example where I had to take the photo from the curtilage of the private estate. But the history is available for anyone to study. An investigation into Balmuto Castle revealed a personal connection to me. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sir Alexander Boswell, son of Sir James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck. The sign as you enter Auchinleck says ‘Home of James Boswell’. Auchinleck is a small village in Ayrshire, Scotland where I was born, which is a two hour drive away from where I now live in Fife. A two hour drive to my parents and relatives, across council area boundaries, which in lockdown has not been possible.

The story goes that James Stuart of Dunearn challenged Alexander to a duel. They met on the 26th of March 1822 at Auchtertool, with Alexander deliberately firing wide and Stuart hitting him in the right shoulder shattering his collarbone. The injured Boswell was carried to Balmuto Castle – home of his relative, Claude Irvine-Boswell apparently on a door taken from the castle’s library but died the following day. Balmuto castle is within 10 miles of my residence in Fife, a place which had you said to me all those years ago as a kid in Auchinleck that I would one day call it my home, I would have asked what life is going to take me there. The passage of time in one’s lifetime has its many twists and turns, and I thank Fife for its heritage and think of myself as being very fortunate in the time of a pandemic which has been so devastating to many, many others.

JMisz, 29th March 2021

ROSSEND CASTLE December 2020 9AM