Temple Of The Muses

Temple Of The Muses

"The Temple features 9 Ionic columns, a shallow domed roof and bronze figures of the Four Seasons, by Siobhan O’Hehir. These were installed in 2002 to replace the original missing centrepiece of statue (Apollo with 9 muses and laurel wreaths) and circular pedestal. A bust of Thomson can be seen on the top of the structure. The Temple (as with the William Wallace Statue) was erected by David Stuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan on his Dryburgh Estate. Erskine was a contemporary of Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns and a founder of the Society of Antiquaries (1780) in Scotland. He was determined that the heroes of Scotland and their history should be remembered." (from The Two Bees)

Since the area surrounding the Wallace Statue area has been cleared you can now see this statue standing out on the hill behind the Temple Of The Muses, and it is just a short walk between the 2 sites, if you visit 1 you may as well visit the other.

Wallace Statue

Wallace Statue

Went back to the William Wallace Monument and was very impressed with the work done at this site, a lot of the trees and shrubbery has been cut back meaning you get a much better view of the statue itself and also lovely views out to the Eildons.

You can see our previous visit HERE

Littledean Tower

Littledean Tower

Returned to Littledean Tower, glad to see the weeds have gone a bit now and you can get easier access to the site.

"Littledean Tower was the principal residence of the Kers of Littledean, and was built on the site of an earlier fort.
Standing on the south bank of the River Tweed, the site is close to an old ford, and so may have been built to protect this river crossing. When the site was first occupied is unclear, although the remains of a prehistoric fort have been identified.
Whether or not there was a continuous period of occupation over the centuries is unknown, as the earliest portions of Littledean Tower are thought to date to two periods in the 16th century.
However there was certainly a castle here prior to that, as the Kers of Cessford made this site the principal residence of their barony of Maxton, with that branch later becoming known as the Kers of Littledean.
In the late 15th or early 16th century a Mark Ker of Littledean married a Marjorie Ainslie of Dolphinston, and Dolphinston Castle passed into the Ker family at that time." (from stravaiging.com)

You can see our previous visit to Littledean Tower here

Ladykirk-Norham Bridge

Ladykirk-Norham Bridge

The Ladykirk and Norham Bridge connects Scotland and England over the River Tweed. The bridge runs from Ladykirk in the Scottish Borders to Norham in Northumberland, England.

"It is a late stone road arch bridge with four spans. The two middle arches are of 90 feet (27 m) span, and the outer two of 85 feet (26 m) span, and the width of the roadway between the parapets is 14 feet (4.3 m). The outer piers have triangular cutwaters, but the central pier has a curved cutwater that continues up to the height of the road, with a break in the parapet to create a refuge for pedestrians.

The previous bridge was a timber trestle built between 1838 and 1839 by J. Blackmore. The bridge was funded by subscribers purchasing shares; David Robertson, 1st Baron Marjoribanks paid L.3000, and ten others paid L.500 each.
This bridge used curved ribs eight planks deep at the ends and three planks deep in the middle, where each individual plank is 6 inches (150 mm) deep. These were used to create two arches, each of 190 feet (58 m) span and 17 feet (5.2 m) rise, each arch was supported by two trusses. The planks were 18 feet (5.5 m) long, and no piece of timber in the bridge was longer than 28 feet (8.5 m). The roadway was 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. The entire bridge was restored in 1852, with the exception of the stone piers." (from Wikipedia)