Kilwinning, The Earls of Eglinton and Getting to My Roots

Today I visited the town and what was historically the estate of the Montgomery family, one of the branches of my own family tree. It was the main reason I wanted to come to Scotland while I had the chance; to try to make connections to places where my family had come from.

This morning I got up early and actually got to watch the sun come up! By the time I left the flat the clouds were burning off and a beautiful sunny day was gaining momentum. Because of the city's efficient public transportation I was on a train to Kilwinning, a small town about a half hour outside of Glasgow by 9:00.
The train ride was uneventful and I enjoyed watching the scenery go by, most of what I could see from the train was a mix of pasture and scrub/woodland. I liked seeing the white dots that are sheep run around in the distance under the shadows of small clouds.

Soon the train pulled into the station and when I stepped off I was struck by the quiet. After the noise of Seattle, to airplanes, airports, stations and then the extraordinary bustle of Glasgow, the silence of a sleepy little town beginning to wake up for the day was astounding. The sun was up and slanted in the sky reflecting off puddles and still wet leaves on plants and flower boxes on windowsills and hanging from streetlights.

I walked into the town, enjoying the village atmosphere. Little buildings with twisted alleys, cobblestone streets, people greeting each other in front of the cafe and everyone commented on the bright sunshine. With a light breeze cleaning out my lungs and the sun on my face I was extremely content.

On the main medieval street I followed my nose to a butcher shop with fresh baked pastries in the window. I went in and bought a Scot's Pie for 80p or about a buck. I figure it's about the Scottish equivalent of Hung Bao, delicious, cheap food and don't question the ingredients too much. It may have been the most delicious thing I've eaten here so far.

Off the medieval street, a gateway with a cobblestone path caught my attention and I immidiately hung a left into it. I was in Kilwinning Abbey, or the ruin of it. Only bits and pieces of the original abbey built in the 12th century still remain. One full transept wall is the most dramatic piece on the site, below it are the remains of arched doorways and walls of smaller rooms once inhabited by Tironesian Monks.

I read online somewhere that the Montgomeries also have a crypt here but the new church was locked.

Fellow Fable 2 nerds, is this or is this not the ruin in West Cliff where the Balvarines attack from?

After thoroughly exploring the ruin I caught the bus to Eglinton with the help of a teenage girl getting on the same bus. Generally when people hear my accent the conversation goes something like this.

"So you're from America then?"
"Yep."
"Whereabouts?"
"Seattle, I go to the University of Washington."
"Oh that's nice, just here on holiday?."
"Yes, I'm studying abroad this quarter but I wanted to come here first."

Then we talk about travel, the weather, or Croatia.

But this next part of the conversation with this girl I didn't expect.

"I would love to go to America."
"It's a nice place, definitely check out the west coast."
"...You said you're from Seattle right?"
"Yep,"
"Wasn't Twilight filmed there?" (She got a little starry eyed  here. Her hope was palatable)
"....nearby, yes."
"Cool.....did you ever meet any of the cast?"
".....No...."
"Oh, well, that's too bad." And she went back to her magazine.

Yes friends, western Washington is no longer known across the world as the home of the  Space Needle, flying fish at Pike's Place, or some of the best oudoor recreation in the world. We're known for sparkly vampires and Kirsten Stewart. Feel free to vomit repeatedly.

Putting that little conversation out of my mind I got off the bus at Eglinton Country park about a mile and a half down the road from Kilwinning. Mostly I was grateful that it really exists as no one in Glasgow has ever heard of it and also, a couple people in Kilwinning hadn't heard of it either. The bus driver pointed me down a trail off the road alongside a horse pasture and said it was that way.

In order to keep from rambling on about how beautiful the park is I'll just cut to the main points. It's beautiful. The park has a strong ecology focus and has been awarded several awards for habitat restoration. It's very easy to get lost and I did a few times but every time I did I discovered something unique and beautiful.

I wandered through on a rare warm and sunny day. Walking through the park's miles of trails I passed through forest, lake, grassland, pasture and dense swamp, I rounded a corner and surprised a herd of cows waiting at a gate, shuffling and snorting softly at the new intruder.

Eglinton Castle was the home of the Montgomeries and the Earls of Eglinton for about 500 years. The castle is now a ruin but was a functioning home as recently as 1925 when it was sold for about $50,000...what I wouldn't give for a time machine and $50,000.

I spent a lot of time at the ruin where the castle had been, a lot of the foundations are still there and I could almost make out a floor plan. The stairs and a few walls with windows are still standing. Along with a tower with about fifty feet of it still standing. I climbed to the top and was rewarded with a 360 degree view of the park/

but for me the crowning glory was this:

The Montgomery Crest on the wall of the ruin, the same one I wear around my neck almost every day. The Crest is of a woman with the head of a barbarian in one hand and either an anchor or a sword in the other with "Guard Well" in Latin above. You can interpret your own meaning...

It was an emotional moment when I discovered this. Seeing her created a tie I hadn't felt before. Here I was, a prodigal daughter, and worse, an American, a hundred years after the last Montgomery left; on a pilgrimage to find her roots. Looking up into the face of the guardian who watched over us for 500 years.

It's not often that I've experienced that kind of age and history. This place feels solid, and though the land has been extremely manipulated by everything from bombs to industry to the slow collapse of time, here she was, set where she had always been set, keeping a watchful eye, guarding the keep and silently displaying the message.

You do not fuck with the Montgomery women.