It was a beautiful and sunny day, and as we were driving, I spotted some Highland cows along the road. If you know me well, you know I'm highly scared of animals, but I just had to get out and take a look. I started calling to the little brown cow in my sweetest voice, and it succumbed to the sounds of the Siren and came walking right up to me. The magnificent creature just stood there so calmly, and let me pet him. I was so excited that I actually dared to do it in the first place, and flattered myself into thinking he liked me, but maybe he just thought I had some food. On my way to St Mary's chapel, I could not stop talking about that cow, as my childlike excitement had been ignited.
St Mary's chapel is in the middle of nowhere and was once used as a cow byre. In 1636, a painted ceiling on a timber barrel vault using natural pigments and depicting the final judgement was installed by Sir William Stewart. From the outside, you would never know that there was a hidden chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It's astounding to me that this hidden gem is still intact after all these years, and it was a beautiful and sacred place.
The final stop was Rosslyn Chapel, and it exceeded my expectations. In 1446, the building of the chapel had begun for the family to privately worship in. It was never fully finished, and fell partially into ruin after the death of William Sinclair, 3rd Prince of Orkney. There were several attempts made to secure the funds in order to restore this precious relic, but nothing came to fruition. When Dan Brown wrote his novel, Da Vinci Code, it became a top ten best seller and brought 176,000 visitors after the first year of its release which made it possible to restore the chapel. The underground vaults are said to hold something of great significance, but have yet to be opened. I stood on the center stone in the chapel which runs along the ley lines of the Earth. It's said that you can feel the energy from these powerful points, and I swear that I did! I just felt that considering the ties to the Mason's, who helped me to find my family, Rosslyn was a sacred space I felt drawn to see it and to complete my Scottish Spring.
As I sit here on a train to Inverness to head out to the Highlands where my family derives from, I am in deep thought and am feeling a bit of sadness about those I had to leave behind in Glasgow. However, I look forward to connecting with the land that my ancestors walked. I hope that moving forward, I can make my family and friends proud of the person I am becoming, every day of my life.
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That building (2nd to last picture) is insane! And those "magnificent" cow, was pretty damn cute!
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