Scotland "Land of the Free"

I Am Home Again - I have return to Scotland.

“I breath the sweet air. I feel the energy of the earth coarse up through my feet. My lungs fill, my legs become strong. I pick up the sword, run full tilt into the forest, and yell “I AM FREE!” I AM HOME TO MY BELOVED SCOTLAND ... wait someone is saying we are in Perth... aah, Perth I am Lady of Perth and have returned home.”

Can’t explain it - but there is something about Scotland which provoke these thoughts... these feelings. It started to happen in Edinburgh, but when we dropped down into Sea Houses the poetic drum beat dimmed and the passion for freedom quelled. But now that we are exploring the Scottish Borders I can hardly stop feeling I AM FREE.

Freedom is not an esoteric thought in Scotland. It is the essence of the land. Much like the sun, the rain, the wind... or perhaps it is the blood that has been spilled upon the land.

William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce fought for freedom. Out of their fight came a document called the “Declaration of Arbroath” signed on April 6, 1320, written by Bernard, Abbott of Arbroath - the Chancellor of Scotland.

Words from this document inspired similar wordage in the Declaration of Independence and on the battle field at Valley Forge, in 1777 by George Washington.

Below is an excerpt from Document, spoken by King Robert the Bruce.

"For so long as a hundred of us remain alive,
we will never submit ourselves to English dominion.
We fight not for glory nor riches nor honours;
but only and alone we fight for freedom,
which no good man gives up,
but with his life."

However, perhaps they, as I, unknowingly are touched by the war cry of a people who lived on these lands over 5000 years ago... the Picti or the Painted people.

"Equality, choice and consideration of others rights was the basic foundation of the Picti civilization."

The clan systems that descended from the Celtic and Pictish tribes at the time of Robert the Bruce still upheld the power of these beliefs. Within this structure, the chiefs were not ‘rulers' in the feudal sense, but were considered to be the ‘first among equals'.

The Picti like the Scots were fierce warriors. Their foes were the invading Romans and Christians. One of the most re-known female warriors in Celtic mythology is Skathach or “The Shadowy One”. She is famous for invincible battle methods such as the magical leap and the battle yell.

As was the custom in their culture she taught the young men the skills of being a warrior. Scathach did not train women because of a Celtic belief which stated that only women could teach men effective battle skills, and only men could teach them to women. 


It was this passion which the Scottish people I met on our journeys seemed to carry within their hearts and their spirits still today.

We were first introduced to Cairns on our drive out of Inverness. Our first Stone Circles however we meet while visiting friends in Invuriere. Cairns it seems are burial chambers, while stone circles are places of honor and ritual.

Once the Romans and Christians took control of the country, they set about to destroy the culture and these stones. In fact the Church published a “How to Book” on how to destroy these stone circles and cairns. As the stones were intensely large and heavy, it took much ingenuity to break them apart. One suggestion written by the church was to "build a large fire built against the stone and when the stone was red hot, pour cold water on it so that the elements could break into many small pieces”... later dynamite was used.

The stones were also taken away and used as part of fences and buildings. As we would drive down these little country roads we often wondered if some of the gate posts had been part of an prehistoric site.

We are really glad that they are now considered important historical monuments and protected in all of the UK and Ireland.

It was wondrous finding them often with sheep. We saw 13 or 14 in our travels and hopefully I will post more about them in later articles.