neidpath castle
Neidpath is a wonderful 13C castle on the banks of the Tweed near Peebles in the lovely scottish borders and a fascinating link here explains more of the history of this special place….) It was attacked in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell who demolished the early tower by cannon fire from the hillside across the river during a seige.
A watercolour depiction of the roundheads siege by the very talented local artist Jack Roney (1920 – 2005) is reproduced below with permission of his family (sorry about the flash on glass )
The castle has an ancient well and pit prison and is also said to be haunted by the ghost of Jean Douglas, referred to by Sir Walter Scott as the Maid of Neidpath in a heartrending poem.
The story goes that Jean, youngest daughter of the Earl of March. was forbidden to marry her love who was considered below her station, and she pined while her lover was sent away. When he returned she was so wasted and changed that he didnt recognise her, causing her to die of a broken heart. :(( how sad is that…..:(( She’s said to appear in a full-length brown dress with a large white collar….
Untouched straight from the camera
Nikon compact coolpix 4800
f/4.6
1/244 sec
ISO-50
Thanks for looking
cheers
ding
:)))
(Inside view of the “castle by candlelight*”: too
RCAHMS (The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland) have listed recorded details of this site… although at the present time its no longer open to he public
;))
neidpath castle belongs to the following groups:
Landscape Photography, Live, Love, Dream: , The Scots are Coming, UK to Australia and Back and Untouchables Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints
dougie1
beautiful!
dinghysailor1 replied
thanks dougie there was a heron standing just out of shot on the hillside too… and will get him next time with my new camera!!
budrfli
this is a wonderful comp. I always love the connection between trees and buildings. This one is intriguing from the perspective you chose with the tree leaning towards the castle!
dinghysailor1 replied
me too and its autumn colour caught my eye – - really appreciate your thoughtful comment – cheers
;))
Tainia Finlay
Oh bless poor Jean, what a soulfull love lost figure she must be in her brown dress & white collar ding! This is fabulous, great perspective, fascinating history also!
dinghysailor1 replied
i know tai that poem is a real tear jerker! thanks
George Swann
Lovely image Maggie, haven’t heard of this Castle before, loved the potted history, it sounds a really interesting place…I went to see Olivers Cromwells house in nearby Ely about 3 weeks ago!!
dinghysailor1 replied
hi george :)) all along the tweed there where towers and strongholds placed every couple of miles so they could signal warnings to each other .. this is closed to the public at the moment but is a fascinating place.. bet ollie’s house was too…
;))
reflector
An amazing history and tale ! Very well caught Dinghy – I like that tree in the foreground of the comp too !
dinghysailor1 replied
thanks my friend – such a pity I missed the heron too… but if i see it with my new camera… ;))))
Mark Lee
I’m stunned… Great shot :)
dinghysailor1 replied
thanks for looking mark and you are so kind!- your brilliant bat capture stunned me too !!
Béla Török
Great composition, Maggie!
dinghysailor1 replied
cheers bela – so happy you like it!
Christopher E...
excellent composition, like how you used the tree to fill the space for the sky, id love to shoot castles lke this
dinghysailor1 replied
hi chris then you’d really love scotland…we have heaps ;))
thanks for your lovely comments – much appreciated – taken last autumn when the colours were gorgeous!
JKKimball
wonderful image Maggie! love the angle!
Steve Taylor
Great story. I really like the way used the tree in this comp. Good color and detail. Do you use a polarizer ?
dinghysailor1 replied
hi steve thanks so much – used my compact so its just an ‘as is’ pic but the colours were amazing that day last autumn … cheers for the visit :))
jacqi
Cromwell was such a vandal attacking lovely castles like this and what a sad tale of the Maid.
dinghysailor1 replied
sooo sad jacqi and its amazing just how much firepower he had to knock through those thick walls… must have been some seige…
dinghysailor1 replied
Hi jacqi thanks again for your comment and I think you’ll be interested to see the watercolour above painted by a dear late friend and posted with the kind permission of his family… ;))
BlackLemonz
Great shot this.
Linda Ridpath
great shot, and not far from my hubbies 12th century roots.
dinghysailor1 replied
hmmm intriguing…. :))
Antanas
superb
Tom Gomez
Wonderful composition …
cherylc1
Fabulous capture and composition!!!!
debsphotos
Gave me goosebumps Maggie!!!!..What a story!!! What a castle!!! Would love to see inside!!!!! *-)
Kazzoom IPA
amazing image Maggie,
dsargent
Nice image of a ‘weel kent’ place Maggie – I’ve seen the heron on the hillside there as well – you’ll catch him next time
Sean Farragher
great shot
Evita
Fabulous capture Maggie!! :D
melbourneguy75
Beautiful capture :)
handprintz
Lovely perspective and framing,and thanks to for the history
Tom Vaughan
wonderful, Maggie! love the composition and angle.
Craig Ebel
Amazing shot!
Angel Perry
Beautiful Maggie!
kathy s gillen...
beautiful capture
dinghysailor1
Thanks everyone for your amazing comments above – it is a beautiful place with a stunning history and i’m just happy to share any bit of it .
Special thanks to John for letting me post something of his late fathers fantastic painting which brings it so vividly to life! Jack Roney was an amazing local artist and craftsman, greatly missed, who loved this place painting it many times over and even helping excavate that well…
;))))
))))
brian pendrey
great comp brill capture
Clive King
Great comp Ding. Excellent image.
linda858100
AWESOME
noinvisiblehand
Always made me laugh
- the name -Peebles. Stopped laughing when I visisted. A great place. At least none of my Scottish cousins were married in this castle!dinghysailor1 replied
teehee were you expecting to see fred and wilmas little girl from the flintstones …hehehee… hope you managed to have some laughs while you were here lol… ;))) and yes it is a great spot … dont know what the brides make of the sad sad tale of its ghostly maid…. ;)))
JamieGreen
Lovely perspective. That Cromwell was a vandal. I never did like him.
dinghysailor1 replied
no he certainly made a bit of a mess of this place despite the walls being about 6’ thick..
;))
dinghysailor1
as you can see the alcove around the defensive arrow slit is 4-5 feet deep so those walls are pretty darn solid!
:))
jacqi
Interesting painting Maggie and the extra interior shot too – sorry I’m late in replying because I don’t seem to get a second’s peace with this new kitty bouncing off the walls everywhere!!!
dinghysailor1 replied
she looks wonderful fun! enjoy!
emolena
WONDERFUL !
DonDavisUK
Ah Brilliant! Great entry into the letter C in Alphabet Soup, hope it does well. I recently visited this castle when it had snowed just before Christmas. Wonderful angle from down in the deep valley. Don.
Sandy Stewart
Lovely angle of perspective! Cool the way the pretty yellow shaded tree naturally curves towards the old castle!
Judi FitzPatrick
Another wonderful shot, Maggie.
David Firth
Perfect shot! The colour of the tree in the foreground softly contrasts the grass in the midground and then softly once again on to the castle then sky! Beautiful :)
dinghysailor1 replied
what lovely observant comments – yes i love that matching patch on the roof too – so lucky!! thanks so much for popping in – cheers
;)))
jinney
-this feels familia…I need to read up more on this one!
I love the castle on the hill!
D’ja-VOUS!
The angle-light and colour a perfect!...although it feels funny commenting on such
a wonderful ‘Artist’...TRULEY!
ITS AWESOME!
-jinney
dinghysailor1 replied
ROF and smiling jinney :))) thanks for your lovely comments and feel free to say anything at all my friend – i’m no expert for sure lol…. this has been used this as a setting for several films too..
:)))
Joanne Bradley
I just love castles and this capture of one is fantastic Maggie. Love the angle you chose, looking up towards it from down below. Majestic. Informative commentary and a delight to view a painting on the same subject!
dinghysailor1 replied
thanks so very much joanne and it means a lot to me that you like this special painting too
cheers my good friend
:))))
InkandBrush
Beautiful capture!
Lois Bryan
how how how can I have missed this bit of MAGIC, Maggie?? Glorious image … love your chosen angle … the colors … the detail … fabulous!!!!
Lois Bryan
by the way, love the story about the heartbroken young Jean!!!!
dinghysailor1 replied
aw thanks lois so glad you like it… i put in a link to the poem too and its soo sad when he comes back on his charger, she weakly croaks a welcome and he rides right past her …. (sniff)..... ;(
Lois Bryan
well … it was NIGHT … and he couldn’t HEAR her … and he was galloping by … probably afraid her father would shoot him … ? LOL!!! NO?
dinghysailor1 replied
teehee more like didnt glance once at ‘her form decayed by pining’ ....aw how sad is that… ;((
Robin Brown
Hello Ding; have you ever been inside? Its worth the entrance fee. You can wander right through the place & the views from the top are excellent!!
dinghysailor1 replied
Hi robin – yes lots of times and the best view of all is from the loo! but i gather they’ve stopped opening it to the public for now except for concerts and weddings.. which is such a shame!
Robin Brown
Doh!! that’s blown my next visit Dinghy!!
dinghysailor1 replied
The peebles arts festival have a concert or two in early sept – (see the candlelit scene above) and its wonderful to wander round the great banqueting hall with a glass of wine in the interval…... and dont forget to take your camera to the loo…
Robin Brown
Did someone mention wine? xx
dinghysailor1 replied
you go it robin ! and the ‘lang drap’
Lois Bryan
.. she should have bucked up, slapped on some concealer and lip gloss, washed her hair and ridden out after him!!! HAH!!!
dinghysailor1 replied
ROFLMAO Lois – well maybe she was a bit wet to expire on the spot… teehee. ...you are a tonic!!!! ;))))
Lois Bryan
LOLOL … so glad you’re laughing … after I wrote that I thought, oh, heavens, Maggie’s going to think I’m HEARTLESS!!! I’m not the shrinking violet type, you might have guessed … can’t imagine feeling that strongly about someone and then just letting him ride off into the night!! I’d be up on my horse and tearing after him in a heartbeat!!! And heaven help him with I caught up!!! LOLOL!!!
dinghysailor1 replied
LOLOL!!! love your refreshing take on the tale ... yes heaven help him!! !! I can see it now… big grins .. ;)))
:))))
Roddy Atkinson
Fabulous capture Maggie and great info!
julie08
Beautiful shot:)
Joyce Dickens,...
Maggie, this is superb….love your perspective, the contrasts, the wonderful textures; it all adds up to some pretty awesome work!
dinghysailor1
Aw joyce thanks so much and you are too kind! (blushing ) This is such a charismatic place full of history and i have ample chances to see it in all weathers and conditions as I walk the dog.. so I always feel I should be doing do it more justice!! Thank dear friend for your so lovely words (big grins!)
:))))
seawhisper
looks quite impressive! :)
Alessandro Pinto
wonderful perspective and composition..! awesome colours..!
Isa Rodriguez
beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!
Finbarr Reilly
A peach of a shot and enjoyed the detail too great story/history
Fino
EarthGipsy
Stunning image ~ thought about adding it to the Heritage Listed and Other Trust Sites groups challenge
dinghysailor1 replied
wow thanks my friend… saw your group but wasnt sure about its listing status as it remains in private ownership.. will try to check online…
cheers for the suggestion!
maggie