Last weekend, Lauri and I went to explore some quaint coastal fishing villages. It was a beautiful day and the villages were awesome. Click here to see pictures of Pennan, Gardenstown, and Crovie. Read on for the stories of them ....
The first village is Pennan.
Pennan is a small village in consisting of a small harbor and a single row of homes, including a hotel. It is located on the north-facing coast and is approximately one hour's drive from Aberdeen. Pennan seems to have come into existence as a fishing village in the 1700s. Until the 1930s, the population of the village seems to have come under three main surnames - Watt, Gatt and West. The people of Pennan were dependent on the sea. Most families had small boats for their own personal use. Where the men would catch the fish, it was usually down to the women and children to try and sell it to clients in the country. In the last 50 years, most of the native families have moved out and most of the houses have been bought as holiday homes. Pennan became famous in the 1980s for being used as one of the main locations for the film Local Hero, and representing the fictional village of Ferness. Film enthusiasts have come from all over the world to make a phone call in the red telephone box which featured in the film. The phone box was in fact originally put there only as a prop for the film, and then removed, but as a result of public demand a genuine telephone box was installed a few metres from the original spot, and has been a listed building since 1989.
The next village is Gardenstown.
Gardenstown is known locally as 'Gamrie', from the name of the parish in which it stands. Gardenstown was founded in 1720 by Alexander Garden as a coastal fishing village. A permanent meteorological station is situated at Gardenstown. The village's main economic base is fishing within the village are a pub,and a prof and a bakery, a butcher, a post-office (now closed in the recent closure rounds), an art gallery and a fish restaurant (now also closed). St. John's the Evangelist Church on the hillside overlooking Gardenstown had once been a place of conflict when the coastal villages were forever in danger from the invading Danes. Tradition said that the original church had been founded over a 100 years before. In 1004 part of the Scottish Army was garrisoned on Castle Hill and from there watched the landing of the Danes on the opposite side of the burn. The alarm was given and reinforcements quickly arrived. The Scottish chief, the Thane of Buchan, made a solemn vow to St. John in front of the whole army, to build a church on the place where the invaders were camped on condition that the saint would lend his assistance. The army succeeded in gaining possession of the hilltop above the invaders and, by rolling large boulders, forced the Danes to flee, many being killed in flight. Then the whole army set to work to build the church on the spot where the Danes had camped. But the Danes returned and drove the Scots back to the Castle Hill. By now the word had spread far and wide and the Scots poured in from all directions. The Scots encircled them and the helpless Danes could not escape. Three of the Danish chiefs were slain and their skulls were fixed inside the church, and there they remained for 800 years.
The last village is Crovie (pronounced "Crivie").
Crovie was established by families) who had been moved off the land to make room for the landlord's sheep. Here, they operated fishing boats for the landlord and gradually acquired their own craft instead. The fishing industry declined in the 20th century before ceasing altogether with the storm of 1953, which washed away a number of structures and forced the residents to flee. Since then most of the buildings have been turned into holiday lets. Crovie is situated on such a narrow ledge that any cars have to be left at the south of the village.
So what's next? Assuming Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland's erupting volcano) cooperates, we'll have be in Amsterdam next weekend with Rachel and Chase to see the tulips, Harlem, museums etc. Pictures to follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment