2023 Follies Programme
2023 Programme
Thursday May 18th The Hamilton Mausoleum and Lord Gavin Hamilton’s Temple.
Two Hamiltons in one day.
The Hamilton Mausoleum was built as a tomb and monument to Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton, nicknamed 'El Magnifico', although it was incomplete at the time of his death in 1852. It has a 120ft massive dome magnificent bronze doors, and a stunning floor made up of different marbles from around the world. It also has a 15-second echo, one of the longest in the world! It was situated in the Hamilton Palace grounds, one of the largest stately homes in the UK and much grander than the one in London at the end of The Mall. Sadly the palace was demolished about 100 yrs. ago due to the costs of running it and also after The Hamilton family leased the ground under the palace for coal mining after which subsidence became a problem – surely a moral tale there.
Lord Gavin Hamilton’s Temple is a far more modest affair. Gavin Hamilton, the 2nd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, entered the House of Lords in 1900 and, from 1905-1911, was the Lord in Waiting, the Government whip. In 1912 he married Sybil Mary, the daughter of Lieutenant-General Frederick Marshall, and they enjoyed a very happy marriage until her untimely death in 1933. Devastated at losing the love of his life, Hamilton had the small ‘temple’ built in the woods overlooking her grave where he would spend his time sitting alone. It is situated on the Dalzell Estate near Motherwell which also holds the covenantors oak which is probably the oldest living thing in North Lanarkshire at around 800 yrs. old. This tree offered shelter to the Covenanters of the late 1600s, who were barred from holding religious services within churches Some estimates say it sheltered up to 400 people.
As usual, we’ll turn this into a walk as well as a visit.
Meet at the RSPB Barons Haugh carpark just outside Motherwell at 10:30AM . You’ll need a sat nav to find it, postcode is ML1 2QW. We’ll walk along the river past the nature reserve (2.8 miles) to the Mausoleum, then on the way back, we’ll probably stop at the bird hides at Baronshaugh reserve before going through the Dalzell estate. Walking is mostly flat but if you want to just want to visit the mausoleum drive to the Hamilton Palace retail park and walk out the back of it past Starbucks. We’ll be there about 12:00
We will have a guide at the Mausoleum to give the history of the tomb, and the now long-gone estate. Cost is £4 per head ( minimum 10 people).
Thursday June 15th : Abercorn and The House of the Binns.
There is a small mausoleum with a stone “Sitootery” hidden in Abercorn, very well hidden it is too. It’s the burial site for the Hope family (of Hopetoun estate). Abercorn Church dates from the 12th century, although the venerable Bede mentions a monastery there in the 6th century, the mausoleum dates from the 19th century. It’s a pleasant and quite flat stroll from the gates of Hopetoun house so perfect for a midsummer day.
Nearby is the Binns Tower, in the House of Binns estate. This NTS property has recently reopened after a lot of work. The Binns Tower stands on the hill ½ mile from the house. It was built by Sir James Dalyell in 1826 after a wager to see who could spend £100 most fruitlessly. Now that really does define what a folly is all about and even better, I’ve now found out that it did indeed win the wager, but that in the 1920s the estate added a windmill to the tower. The descendants of those who lost the wager promptly demand their money back as the tower now had a use.
We also have the option of a tour around the newly refurbished and reopened House of the Binns on the day. As the rooms can be quite small we are limited to 10 people for this bit and it costs £11 (£9.50 conc.) or free to NTS members.
There is a very enticing looking road and farm track between Abercorn and The Binns. It would be great to just carry on and link the two on one walk but there is a gap in the route where the farm track ends at a field gate and there is no route from that field into The House of Binns estate. We’ll drive round and do the walk in 2 halves.
To get to the Abercorn section of the walk; from South Queensferry, drive west along Hopetoun Road under the two road bridges and along the foreshore to Hopetoun Estate. As you reach the big gates on the left, stay on the right and 50m further along, there is a small carpark. Later we’ll park in the House of the Binns carpark, off the A904 between South Queensferry and Linlithgow
Thursday July 20th Wellington Monument and The Baron’s Folly
We have been here before and once again, we’ll get a key and go up the monument for what must be one of the best views you’ll get of the Borders.
The Wellington Monument was built between 1817 and 1824 to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. Intriguingly, it gives its position as a latitude (52o 32’ 5.6’’) and as a longitude in degrees west of Greenwich (2o 32’ 45.6’’) or in time 10mins 11.1 seconds. Either way, it stands on top of Peniel Heugh near Ancrum. The plan is to go via Deere St, the old Roman Road, not that you’d recognise it as a road anymore),then past the Baron’s Folly (a much smaller construction) and up onto Peneil Heugh with the option to ascend 150 ft. of spiral stair (228 steps, I counted) to the wooden platform at the top for some spectacular views. Pictures from last year, and yes that is one of our number looking rather small at the bottom of the tower.
Walk about 5 miles 150m ascent with another 50m for the tower. Meet at 10:30 at Woodside Garden Centre (Good coffee shop too). Drive down the A68 then just past Ancrum; take the 1st left onto the B6400 to Nisbet. The Woodside Garden Centre is ½ mile on the left.
Thursday August 17th Four Follies Fursday
Four in one day with a bit of luck, all within walking distance of each other just east of Perth.
Kinnoull Tower: Built as a folly in the eighteenth century, by Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull. It was designed to resemble castles along the Rhine he had admired in Germany during his Grand Tour of Europe It’s probably best to do a bit of expectation management here … the Rhine Castles are bigger, a lot bigger.
Lynedoch Obelisk: Unveiled in 1896 to commemorate the 90th Light Infantry. It is constructed of polished granite and there were once drinking fountains and basins on the side – not any more.
MacDuff’s Folly: OK, this one is a ruin, in fact just half a ruin. It was built as a folly sometime before 1783 by the family who lived in Bonhard House.
Binnhill Tower: A four story high tower built in 1815 by Francis Gray, 14th Lord Gray, of Kinfauns Castle, to serve as both an observatory and talking point in the lavish landscaped policies of his estate.
Meet at the Jubilee carpark between Deucheny Wood and Kinnoull Hill about 1 ½ miles East of Perth at 10:30. We’ll walk about 6 miles. Sorry, no coffee shops until we get back so bring a packed lunch.
Thursday September 21st Cammo Estate
When I came to Edinburgh back in the late 70s, Cammo Estate had the reputation of being closed, forbidden and a bit obscure. In fact it had been taken over by the Council in 1975 although in 1977 the house burned down and was made safe by partial demolition in 1980. Now it’s a popular place for a walk with open meadows and woodland.
The part of it you have all seen as you drive on Maybury Road on the west side of Edinburgh is the tall tower standing in the field. It looks like a folly, but it is in fact a water tower built to supply the estate and used to be wind powered to pump water up to the storage tank.
We’ll walk around the old house, which used to be a magnificent country mansion with 50 rooms over 3 storeys, requiring the services of 9 gardeners, 7 labourers and 22 domestic servants. By the 1970s, the house was falling into disrepair and was home to about 30 dogs while the owner lived in a nearby farm house. We’ll also visit the walled garden, the old farmhouses and the water tower in the estate.
Nearby is Craigiehall Temple, once a part of the Craigiehall army base. The temple is dated 1759 but the portico is pre 1716 which is when Sophia Fairholm died, wife of the 3rd Earl of Annandale whose arms are shown on the pediment. The top floor of the temple was removed in 1975 and in 1992 a modern house was built against the NE side of the temple. It’s now a holiday home so this is one we walk past only.
Take the bus to Barnton, or drive and park at the back of the Miller and Carter Steakhouse (a.k.a. The Cramond Brig) and we’ll walk under the A90 and over the Grotto Bridge into Cammo Estate. Meet at 10:30. Its only a couple of hours walk, so once back at the cars, it’s a short and interesting trip down the River Almond to the excellent coffee shops in Cramond.