Travelling Trio

Scotland and some Booth Ancestry

• By Denise
• February 23, 2016
• No Comments

Our first port of call in Scotland was Edinburgh where we stayed in another Airbnb accommodation. Again the apartment was conveniently located for us to drive around the city but the room was just a little cramped for the three of us however we are learning how to tolerate each other in such small spaces so it wasn’t too bad.

You cannot visit Edinburgh without visiting Edinburgh Castle and this was a great experience.  Carter got to hold a musket and see just how the cannons work.  Let me tell you the boom of that blast coming out of a small cannon is certainly something to remember.  Our eardrums were ringing for some time after.  The Scottish Crown Jewels are in the deep dark depths of the Castle and no, we were not allowed to take photos or to touch the jewels!!!!  It’s quite incredible to think that they were hidden down there for many years during different wars and only a handful of people (including the Canadian representative in case the four in the UK died in the war) knew their whereabouts at the time.

At Edinburgh Castle

Daily activities at Edinburgh Castle

At the top of Edinburgh Castle

After visiting the castle we ventured to The Three Sisters pub to watch Ireland v France (the AB’s would play the losers in the Quarter finals) which was an exciting match. A couple of fruity ciders and atmosphere like nothing else with all the Irish living in Edinburgh.

The roads are all paved and steeped in history. I managed to find a small book on my family name – Booth, but it didn’t reveal much at all.  Just that our name was synonymous with Booth’s Gin founded in 1740.  Perhaps that’s why I do like my gin??  Hmmm something to think about.

While we were always going to visit Scotland as part of our travels to the UK, I did not anticipate just how strong my desire would be to search out the resting places of my relatives. This I admit – took me a bit by surprise.

So we checked out my ancestors – in Pitcaple, Kirkton, Leslie and Clatt.

My granddad William (Bill) Booth travelled from Scotland to New Zealand with his Aunt when he was just 15 years old and set about making a life for himself in a new land. I knew the area he grew up in in Scotland was a little village called Pitcaple and my great granddad was buried at the Chapel of Garioch so this meant we were able to trace other areas back to Boghead Farm, Leslie and Tullynessle. My Aunts in NZ had already been to granddad’s house in Pitcaple and had a part of the family tree worked out so it was just a matter of piecing it together. What I didn’t anticipate was meeting some local folk who were able to point me in the direction of even further history and the graves of my great, great, great, great granddad and grandmother’s graves in a church and churchyard beyond the villages of Pitcaple and Leslie and to the small village of Clatt.  William Booth married Betty Milne on 17 August 1794 and was buried alongside a number of his family dating back to the early to mid 1700’s.  The headstones are very difficult to read now and are in need of a good water-blast but you can still make out the names. The area surrounding the church is beautiful with rolling hills and green pastures and I can see why Granddad loved New Zealand and built a bach in Arrowtown as it would have reminded him so much of his home in Scotland.

Chapel of Garioch – Great Granddad George Booth’s grave

Boghead Farm where the previous generation lived

Great, great, great Granddad Booth and other relations’ graves at the Parish of Leslie

The Church and graves are set to the left

Great, great, great, great Granddad Booth’s grave at the Parish of Clatt

After a nostalgic time in this area it was time to travel up to Inverness and then onto Fort William and down the Loch Ness. Of course we had to visit the Loch Ness museum at Drumnadrochit and hear all about Nessie and the stories surrounding her. Carter was again mesmerised with the tales of Nessie and travelling through Scotland was a great reminder to us all of what New Zealand has to offer – pristine lakes and rivers, rolling hills, steep hills and snow. It could be a mirror except of course for the history and the hundreds of castles and ruins that we do not have.

Urquhart Castle – previously a royal castle and dates back to between the 13th to 16th centuries

One of the many Castle ruins in Scotland

After making our way down the Ness we stopped at Oban – another seaside town but quite quaint.  Listening to the music of the bagpipes was refreshing and pure and the little stalls stand right beside the sea offering oysters and freshly cooked mussels whichever style you want and they are tasty. The oysters are not as big as our Bluff oysters but nevertheless still very tasty – or so Dave tells me….I just settle for the mussels which were pretty good too….

As we made our way through the west of Scotland we visited a salmon farm and tasted their smoke salmon which was to die for.  A short film showed us how they do their smoking and it is all done by hand – the old fashioned way.  We also  stopped by a Hydro lake and Museum at the Cruachan Power Station – called The Hollow Mountain. Here we were able to read all about the process to make electricity and this station was one of the first reversible pumped storage systems using the same turbines for pumps and generators. It was a highly informative and interactive museum which I guess is why it was exceptionally busy too.

Our time in Scotland was too short as the weather was beautiful and the scenery stunning. I guess this just means we have to return at a later date!