On the Bonny Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond

Guess where we are?  Staying at the Old Rectory Inn where the establishment obviously loves  plaid.

This tartan runs from the front door, all the way up the stairs into the hall.  Don't you just love it?

Marty has chosen to take a week's vacation between plant visits, so we have headed west, and are on the outer banks of the Trossachs, not too far from Loch Lomond.  My friend started singing the ballad in the Family History Center last week, and I still have it stuck in my head.  (Thanks, Sharon!)

The weather is horrid, and we are hoping that it at leasts stops raining so that we can get out and explore the area.  Actually, it would be nice if the fog would lift so that we could actually SEE the area!

In any event, Marty worked half the day (here in Scotland, the majority of  people only work half days on Friday....it took Marty quite awhile to get used to that idea), then he swung by Inverkeithing to pick me up.  I had taken the train to join our "Steeler Nation" B&B friend whom we met on our last trip.  We went to Mass, and said the Divine Mercy Chaplet, then headed back to the B&B where I had a delightful conversation with the proprietors before heading off with Marty.  It was  a terrific start to the day.

Along the way to Callander, where we are staying, we stopped in Dublane to see the magnificent Cathedral that has stood there since the early 13th century.

We weren't sure if we could go inside because we could see that the lights were shining, and we could hear the pipe organ bellowing.  But once through the door, we were greeted by an extremely friendly man named Howard, who assured us that we could walk around at our leisure.

We were surprised to see this Pictish cross from the 9th century.

Can you believe the details in this aged stone?

The church pews had some very interesting carvings:

Here you see an angel in the choir area.

a bunny

and a camel.

I have no idea of the significance of these carvings, but they are all carved from Scottish oak.

We were ambling along, admiring the beauty of this immense Cathedral when Howard suddenly appeared and began to give us a private tour of the place.  He opened a large wooden door , and encouraged us to walk up the round turret to the second story to get the view from that point.

It was certainly breathtaking.

Behind me were beautiful Stained Glass windows that represented the Root of Jesse

Inside the church stands this beautiful stone pillar, placed in the church in March 2000.

The stone pillar stands to honor 16 children who were massacred by a gunman on March 13, 1996 at the Primary school in Dunblane.

An entire first grade class was lost that day, along with the teacher, and the gunman himself.  This story was hard to fathom with the recent events in Connecticut so fresh in my mind.

How could something so tragic, and so similar,  have happened without my having heard of it?  The stone's inscriptions touched my heart.

By this time, Howard had caught up with us again, and he was showing us all of the old keys that he used to lock up the place.  Then, he mentioned that there were some graves under the pews.

He pointed to one in particular, and began to tell us the story of how a man had come from America in search of his relatives.  He had given Howard the names, and Howard retrieved the registry, and found that the family was buried in the church, under the pew.   So, they moved the pew so that the man could take photos of the family graves.  Now, how is that for genealogy accommodation?

Howard went on to tell us that the next year, the man's grandfather came, and the year after that, another family member came.  (Perhaps they should have relocated the pew!)

The Church registers are held in this building across the street from the church.

Outside of the building there is a sign that says, "you are welcome to use our toilets".  Believe me, you don't see that too many places!!

Howard was a real gem, and a genealogy lover's dream.  So, if you know anyone who has roots from Dunblane, send them this way.  Howard would love to give them a hand!

Until tomorrow........