We were just back form our vacation in Poland and my wife had a golf tournament in Angus, Scotland at the Brechin Golf Course. GREAT! I let her off at the course and headed the few miles down the road to the fascinating village of Brechin. It was a windy and overcast day, typical of the "summer" we have had in Scotland this year. I love the color of the fields when they begin to turn from greet to yellow.
You see the most interesting monuments out in the countryside of Scotland. At first glance I thought this could be one of the ubiquitous WWI monuments or a Queen Victoria marker. I'm not really sure what it was, it had an Angus Utilities marker on it, but also this memorial to the Police Commissioners.
The village of Brechin had a lot of Old World 12th century charm.
The main attraction in the village is the Brechin Cathedral and Round Tower. The Round Tower dates from the year 1000 and the Cathedral from the 13th century.
A grey and cloudy day is not bad time to take photographs in the Cathedral graveyard.
There were some very photogenic lichen and moss encrusted old stones here.
These weathered and worn grave stones convey the passing of time better than a pristine and dated stone.
Wonderful surface . . . telling the story of nature and man's place in it.
What can I say . . . I love these old grave stones as visual objects of beauty above and beyond their symbolic or 'religeous' identities.
I took many photos of these grave stones in the cloudy gloom when I arrived, only to re-shoot them when a patch of bright sunlight passed over the great cathedral.
Sweet angle.
Wonderful stone work.
Sweet light.
With the wind blowing and a few errant rain drops falling, I decided to visit the Cathedral interior.
I walked around the exterior of the great cathedral and saw many wonderful things.
13th century stonework.
13th century door handles? Perhaps.
A side door into the Brechin Cathedral.
A empty medieval stone sarcophagus alongside the cathedral.
The door to the Brechin Tower was about 7 feet off the ground . . . to make it difficult to storm. They had some good ideas in 998.
The cathedral had some wonderful architectural features. I have a big interest in the aesthetics of these old doors.
The sun came out, at last. What a magnificent Medieval cathedral. Time to see what the interior is like.
The cathedral main entrance.
The interior was sumptuous.
Beautiful interior detailing and architecture.
Brechin Cathedral is known of its fine original Medieval stained glass windows, some of the finest in the UK.
A steady stream of pilgrims/tourists came and went. It was absolutely silent in this space.
The cathedral is an active church and the out buildings act as administrative offices for the northeast of Scotland.
The proportions and dimensions of this cathedral are impressive. The longer I stayed inside the more I appreciated it.
Wonderful stained glass framed by the pipe organ.
I decided to change lenses from my 18-55mm to a much wider 10-24mm to see if I couldn't get more of the interior in . . . the effect was amazing, as you can see from this shot at 10mm.
The wide angle lens takes in so much more . . .
Even though it was quite dark in the cathedral (and it was cloudy outside), I was able to brace the camera against one of the pews to steady this shot up into the rafters.
The pews in magic light.
I had a good time figuring out my camera settings in this challenging light.
I spent nearly an hour inside the Brechin Cathedral framing photos and sitting quietly in Buddhist meditation.
I waited around outside the cathedral for quite a while with the wide angle lens on for a passing splash of sunlight to get this photo.
After a wonderful hour spent in and a round the amazing Brechin Cathedral and tower, I decided to go freewheeling around the old village.
Like so many villages I've visited in Scotland, Brechin was beautifully maintained and clean for the most part.
Such a quaint down town!
It is a little odd to find a vet supply house in such a small town . . . and in such a small building!
Walking from the old town center towards the countryside, I saw a row of abandoned buildings. This is not a bad thing . . . if you like old restored buildings you have to keep the old unrestored buildings around! These places will live again.
One can only guess what has taken place in the Brechin Arena . . .
I love the ambiance of these old towns in rural Scotland. On one side of the street are dilapidated buildings, and on the other . . .
. . . colorful row houses.
Brechin is built atop a hill and has many steep hills.
Built of pinkish stone, Brechin exudes a sense of its own history. Also note the huge security camera . . . the UK has more security cameras per capita than any country in the world . . . .
I walked back up the hill and through the town and noticed that there was definitely a poor part of town and a rich part of town. Interestingly, this house engraved both the dates of its construction (1781) . . . and the date it was extended (1911).
Lovely old town. The ornate building in the background has had several lives: community center, high school, and now the Mechanics Hall.
I walked as far as the Brechin Castle gate. I hoped to walk up the drive to see the castle, but there were private property signs posted. I ran into an old retired man on the street late who told me I should have ignored the sign. He admired my camera and we chatted about photography for a while.
The Brechin Castle gate house was fabulous!
The castle gate house had a lovely . . . er . . . gate.
There are always many 'still life' studies to be found in these old towns.
Mid summer greenery.