Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour of Scotland in August 14-26, 2014: Journal of Lyle Dunbar Introduction The Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour of Scotland from August 14-26, 2014, was organized for Clan Dunbar members with the primary objective to visit sites associated with the Dunbar family history in Scotland. This Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour of Scotland focused on Dunbar family history at sites in southeast Scotland around Dunbar town and Dunbar Castle, and in the northern highlands and Moray. Lyle Dunbar, a Clan Dunbar member from San Diego, CA, participated in both the 2014 tour, as well as a previous Clan Dunbar 2009 Tour of Scotland, which focused on the Dunbar family history in the southern border regions of Scotland, the northern border regions of England, the Isle of Mann, and the areas in southeast Scotland around the town of Dunbar and Dunbar Castle. The research from the 2009 trip was included in Lyle Dunbar’s book entitled House of Dunbar- The Rise and Fall of a Scottish Noble Family, Part I-The Earls of Dunbar, recently published in May, 2014. Part I documented the early Dunbar family history associated with the Earls of Dunbar from the founding of the earldom in 1072, through the forfeiture of the earldom forced by King James I of Scotland in 1435. Lyle Dunbar is in the process of completing a second installment of the book entitled House of Dunbar- The Rise and Fall of a Scottish Noble Family, Part II- After the Fall, which will document the history of the Dunbar family in Scotland after the fall of the earldom of Dunbar in 1435, through the mid-1700s, when many Scots, including his ancestors, left Scotland for America. The research from the 2014 trip is planned to be included in this Part II installment of the book, since a major part of the Dunbar family history in this 1435-1750 time period occurred in the northeast of Scotland in Moray. This “Journal of Lyle Dunbar” provides a daily itinerary, an overview of the sites visited, and a brief summary of the historical relevance of the sites visited to the House of Dunbar history. In some cases, references are made to the chapter in the House of Dunbar book where more detailed historical information can be found. The following illustration shows the route of the trip through Scotland. Most of the Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour of Scotland members had flights on Thursday, August 14, arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the morning of Friday, August 15. Our tour guide was James Dunbar, who lives in the Moray area of Scotland and is a current Clan Dunbar member. James was also the guide for the previous 2009 Clan Dunbar tour. The tour group stayed in Edinburgh from Friday, August 15, through Monday, August 18, and visited venues in Edinburgh, southeast Scotland around the town of Dunbar and Dunbar Castle, and as far as Berwick-upon-Tweed in the English border region. On Tuesday, August 19, the tour group traveled to a hotel in the town of Lossiemouth, in Moray in northeast Scotland, which was the base for tours of sites in Moray from Tuesday, August 19, through Friday, August 23. On Saturday, August 20, the tour group traveled further north to the Black Isle, the highlands of Caithness, and the town of Wick, where the Annual General Meeting of Clan Dunbar was held at the Ackergill Tower Hotel on Saturday night. On Sunday, August 24, the tour group retraced its route south through Caithness into the central Scotland highlands from Inverness to Fort William for a one night stay. On Monday, August 25, the tour completed its journey through the central highlands to Glasgow for a one night stay before departure of most Clan Dunbar members from Glasgow airport on Tuesday, August 26. 1 Illustration: Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour of Scotland Route (red arrows) through Scotland from Edinburgh, to Dunbar and Berwick in Southeast Scotland, then to Moray and Caithness in Northeast Scotland, and then South through Central Highlands to Glasgow 2 Thursday-Friday, August 14-15, 2014 Daily Itinerary: Thursday, August 14, was a travel day for most of the Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour of Scotland group to arrive at the Edinburgh, Scotland, airport on the morning of Friday, August 15, followed by bussing to, and check-in at, the hotel in the port area of Leith in Edinburgh, and then an afternoon tour of the National Gallery in the downtown center of Edinburgh. Overview of the Sites Visited: Most of the Clan Dunbar 2014 Tour members, including the author of this journal, Lyle Dunbar, traveled on Thursday, August 14, arriving at the Edinburgh airport on Friday, August 15, about 930AM. Our guide, James Dunbar of Scotland, who also was the guide for the previous Clan Dunbar Tour of 2009, and a fellow member of Clan Dunbar, met us at the airport. Our bus driver for the tour was Derek, who was from the Glasgow area. Our Clan Dunbar tour group included 34 members with 30 from the United States and 4 from Australia. We boarded our bus for the trip across Edinburgh to our Malmaison Hotel in the port area of Leith where we checked in about 1200PM. We then left at 1230PM for a short bus ride to the downtown Edinburgh area for a tour of the National Gallery and a self-guided walking tour of the area between Prince Street in new town and the Royal Mile in the old town in the vicinity of the Edinburgh Castle. The bus departed about 430PM to transport us back to the Malmaison Hotel where we had a group dinner in the hotel at 730PM. 3 Saturday, August 16, 2014 Daily Itinerary: The morning would be a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia, berthed in Leith Harbor. The afternoon would be a tour of Holyroodhouse Palace and Edinburgh Castle. Overview of the Sites Visited: The day began with a group buffet breakfast at 730AM in the Malmaison Hotel. At 930AM, the group assembled and walked about ¼ mile to the port of Leith in Edinburgh to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia. This former royal yacht of Queen Elizabeth is now decommissioned and is a tourist attraction and is available for private events. A noteworthy historical part of the Britannia Yacht tour was the state dining room where Queen Elizabeth II had entertained famous guests including Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Bill Clinton in past years. The tour group walked back to the Malmaison Hotel at 1230PM. We boarded the tour bus for the trip across Edinburgh for the Holyroodhouse Palace tour. The exterior of the Holyroodhouse Place is shown in the following illustration. A noteworthy historical part of the Holyroodhouse Palace tour was the Mary Queen of Scots apartment where her son, James VI, was born; and where her husband, Lord Darnley, and his supporters killed David Rizzio, Mary’s secretary and possible lover, in the presence of Mary. We then boarded the bus for the drive up the Royal Mile from Holyroodhouse Palace to tour the Edinburgh Castle. Noteworthy historical parts of the Edinburgh Castle tour were the crown jewels- the crown and septer, St Margaret’s church, the Royal Palace, King David’s Tower, and the Mons Meg cannon, which are shown in the following illustrations. We returned to the Malmaison Hotel at 630PM. There was no group dinner and tour members were free to have dinner in restaurants and explore Edinburgh. Historical Relevance to House of Dunbar History: Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the principal official residence of the Monarch of the United Kingdom in Scotland. It has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 15th century. The Palace stands at the bottom (east end) of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It is the official Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II, who spends one week there at the beginning of each summer to host garden parties and official ceremonies. The ruined Augustinian Abbey on the grounds adjacent to Holyroodhouse was built in the year 1126 at the order of King David I of Scotland. The roof of the abbey collapsed in the 18th century, leaving it as it currently stands in ruins. Gospatrick I, 1st Earl of Dunbar, was related to King David I on the Scottish side through David’s father, King Malcolm III Canemore, who was a first cousin, and on the English side to David’s mother, St Margaret, who was also a cousin. Edinburgh Castle At the entrance to Edinburgh Castle, there are two life-size statues of King Robert I “the Bruce” of Scotland and the Scottish patriot, William Wallace. There were many interactions of these very famous Scots with the earls of Dunbar in the House of Dunbar ancient history. There is a plaque on the wall of the castle acknowledging the important role of Sir Thomas Randolph in retaking Edinburgh Castle in the year 1314 after it had been captured and occupied by the English for over 20 years. Sir Thomas Randolph was the uncle of Robert the Bruce, the father of 4 Black Agnes Randolph Dunbar, who was married to Patrick V, 9th Earl of Dunbar, and father of Isabelle Randolph Dunbar, who was married to Sir Patrick Dunbar of Westerspot and the mother of George I, 10th Earl of Dunbar, and John Dunbar, 5th Earl of Moray. Thus, the descendants of the last two earls of Dunbar, George I and George II, as well as all of the Moray Dunbars descending from John Dunbar were related to Sir Thomas Randolph through the female line.