The spring weather is beautiful in scotland today and it was perfect weather for a short personal guided drive to one of Scotland’s Roman Forts.
As well as Hadrians Wall wall the Romans also erected another wall and various other forts in Scotland , the other wall they built was called the Anotnine Wall. There have been many famous artefacts recovered from Cramond, in 1997 the famous Lioness of Cramond was discovered in the mouth of the River Almond its now on display in the national museum of Scotland.
The Cramond Kirk was built out of the remains of the remain fort and is most famous for being home of the famous Reverend Robert Walker Also known as the ice skating minister. If you were to google the picture you would recognise it straight away. The birds were in full song and the young ducklings were swimming behind there mother in a straight line across the river almond!
Crossing the river almond at the end of Braepark road at the end of Cramond is the Old Cramond Brig, it hasn’t been accessible to vehicles since the mid 80s. It was built in the 1500s and comprises of three arches with massive triangular cutwaters. It used to be the main road between Edinburgh and West Lothian.
Theres an old folk tale about King Jame V who was attacked as he crossed the bridge As he returning to Edinburgh. He was rescued by a local tenant farmer, Jock Howieson (Howison or Houison), who he later rewarded with a gift of the land he worked at Braepark.
The King asked in return that Howieson and his descendants should be prepared to wash the monarch’s hands either at Holyrood Palace located at the bottom of the royal mile in Edinburgh or when they passed by Cramond Brig. How often this duty was carried out in the following centuries is not known.
Howieson’s cottage can still be seen to the south of the bridge. Cramond is an area we always like to drive through on our private guided tours of Edinburgh and Scotland either at the begging or the end of the tour as there is so much history there it’s always a great starting or finishing point for a private guided tour of Edinburgh and Scotland.
