Beneath the ruins of St Andrews Castle lies one of the most remarkable reminders of Scotland’s Reformation-era conflict — a tunnel dug during the siege of 1546–47. After the murder of Cardinal David Beaton in 1546, the castle was occupied by a group of Protestants known as the Castilians. Government forces soon surrounded the fortress,…
On this day, 29th July, the infant King James VI of Scotland was crowned in the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling, in a ceremony unlike any previous Scottish coronation. Just five days earlier his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, had been forced to abdicate the throne in favour of her 13-month-old son, James. With…
As part of our week-long tour, our group were exploring Edinburgh today, and one of our stops was the historic St Giles’ Cathedral. And our visit fell on the anniversary of one of the most significant events in Scotland’s Reformation and Covenanter history. On 23 July 1637, worshippers gathered in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, where…
On this day, 6 July 1560, one of the most important political events of the Scottish Reformation took place: the Treaty of Edinburgh. This treaty helped change the future of Scotland. John Knox had returned from Geneva in 1559 to help lead the Scottish Reformation. By 1560, the Protestant Lords of the Congregation and their…
The story of the Covenanters, a period known as Scotland’s Second Reformation, is a large part of our tours. And today marks the anniversary of one of the most tragic and defining moments in Covenanter history: the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, fought on 22nd June 1679. After their unexpected victory at Drumclog on 1st June,…
On this day, 5 May 1646, King Charles I surrendered to the Scottish Covenanters at the Saracen’s Head Inn, Southwell, in Nottinghamshire — an inn originally known as The King’s Head. Only the day before, Charles had slipped out of Oxford in disguise as the New Model Army closed in. For him, the Civil War…
In May 1685, 167 Covenanters were brought from the south of Scotland to Dunnottar Castle and imprisoned in what became known as the Whigs’ Vault. Men and women were forced into the cramped, filthy underground cell, with little light, little air, and no real sanitation. They were held in appalling conditions for weeks. Disease spread…
“The grave of Covenanter Thomas McHaffie marks the resting place of a man persecuted for his faith and driven to survive in the open. Living exposed to the harsh elements left him gravely ill, weakened by fever and exhaustion, and it seemed almost certain that he would not recover. Yet one winter’s day, as he…
In March 1639 the Covenanters were busy securing castles for defence against the king. They blew open the gate of Edinburgh castle and stormed inside, but with Dumbarton Castle they had to adopt a different approach. Perched on a volcanic rock overlooking the Firth of Clyde, Dumabarton Castle is a formidable fortress and one that…
Did you know that on this day in 1639, the Covenanters pulled off what is often described as the most efficient capture in Edinburgh Castle’s history? Perched high above the city on its volcanic rock, Edinburgh Castle has a reputation as one of the hardest fortresses in Britain to take. Historic Environment Scotland describes it…
