Bruce Festival

Another brilliant day today.

Martine and I took a drive out to Dunfermline to find our friends Andy & Peggy at The Bruce Festival. It's a medieval festival in honour of Robert the Bruce.

Ended up getting slightly lost and fortuitously parking up outside Tourist Information, which was about a two minute walk from the park where the festival was. Right next to where we parked happened to be a strange little hut called St. Margaret's Cave. We popped in to ask directions, thinking it might be a café. Turned out to be something quite different.

Margaret was a Saxon princess, granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside of England, born around 1047 in Hungary where her exiled father had settled.  Margaret became Queen of Scotland when she married King Malcolm Canmore in Dunfermline around 1070.  Three of her eight children became Kings of Scotland: Edgar, Alexander and David.  In 1093, after a deeply religious and charitable life, Margaret died on 16th November - her saint's day is still celebrated on this date.  She was made a Saint by Pope Innocent the Fourth in honour of her life and the miracles associated with her after her death.

She even gave Queensferry its name as she organised free ferries for the pilgrims to St. Andrews. This cave used to be where she'd come to pray. They built the car park on top of her cave! But there was such a public fuss about it that the council built a set of stairs and a tunnel leading down to it.

Stairs down to the cave.

St. Margaret's Cave

All very strange.

One of the boards mentions that there are quite a few of these caves, including Wemyss, St. Fillan's at Pittenweem, Dysart, Caiplie, and St. Rule's/Lady Buchan's at St. Andrews.

Apparently rock art has been found at these places, including the following:

Scottish Cave Art

I love the last one, bottom right. Sort of a variation on the Eye of Horus, almost.

After that unexpected jaunt into the underground, we headed off to join the jousting.

Arrived at the festival just as the heavens opened, and spent the first twenty minutes sheltering in a tent, talking to a lady in chainmail about local historic sites. She and her husband run Forth Pilgrim. Worth checking out if you're interested in history.

Finally made it to Peggy's jewelry tent. Check her out at Ravenstonz - she's mighty talented.

Found Andy sheltering out back in a distinctly un-medieval maroon estate car. He donned his cloak and we pottered off across the field to see Steve, AKA The Green Potter. Another Pagan - we get everywhere, a bit like lice. 

He runs The Green Man Pottery, which was brilliant, because it sorted out Dad's present when I get back (he collects Green Men).

Also saw a highly impressive stone carver called Andrew McFetters (sadly no website, but more pics in my album).

Watched some jousting, too:

Looked around the stalls.

And finished off with a 'smokie' (traditionally smoked haddock). Delicious and filling.

It rained heavily again on the way back to the car. The only thing to do was to get home, change into warm, dry clothes, cook pizza, open wine, and snuggle down on the couch to watch Pride & Prejudice.