| EXPLORING SCOTLAND'S HERITAGE
The Highlands by Joanna Close-Brooks was published in October 1995, followed by Glasgow, Clydeside and Stirling by Jack Stevenson in November 1995. The three titles reviewed below were published on 29 February 1996 and other guides in the series were due to be be published later in 1996 or in 1997. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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After an Introduction to the land and its use from first habitation to the 11th century, there follows a sequence of twelve Excursions. In common with the other titles in Exploring Scotland's Heritage series, this is the section of the book which sees most change - it is now lavishly illustrated in full-colour (including photographs of Pictish stones at Migvie, Kintore and Chapel of Garioch) and has been slightly expanded. The maps are now much clearer. The routes are well thought out and most would comfortably occupy a full day. There are useful snippets of practical information, e.g. the key to gain access to the Fordoun Picrish stone is at Minty's shop in the High Street - how frustrating it is to go to see a monument without this sort of information and be disappointed! As in the previous edition, the gazetteer has monuments grouped according to their character and date and they are arranged in six sections in reverse chronology: Three Burghs, the Landscape of Improvement; Baronial Residences; Prelates and Presbyteries; Tribal Defence and Display; and Ancestors of Ancestors. Each section has its own introduction and then details of "each major monument" giving date, grid reference, local directions and an indication of case of access. The gazetteer is well illustrated with black-and-white plates, although occasionally they have not reproduced well (e.g. Sueno's Stone, p 132). The penultimate section will appeal most to Pictish enthusiasts. Several Pictish stones and hillforts achieve the required "most interesting and best preserved" status to merit their own entry in the gazetteer. I am not quite sure how these entries are actually chosen - the Pictish stones at Rhynie Old Churchyard (p 136) and the one in Kintore churchyard (pp 136-.17) are included, whereas the stones at Fyvie Kirk and, surprisingly, in Inverurie Churchyard are not, however these latter Pictish sites are visited on the 'Excursions'. I am also slightly surprised that Ian Shepherd has not given more information about his revelations of Sculptor's Cave at Covesea (presumably because of its difficult access) following his recent lecture to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, or of Kinneddar, an important ecclesiastical site near Burghead. There are a only a few minor changes to the text of the first edition. Some of the entries have been updated, e.g. there is now an additional stone at Rhynie churchyard - the stone discovered at Barflat in 1978 (although it is not mentioned that they have been moved to the far end of the carpark and placed in a son of glorified bus-shelter rather than remaining at the entrance of the churchyard), and with road construction and development, e.g. the Inverurie bypass, some local directions have been necessarily modified. However, no new sites have been added. The Museums section has been expanded to include Duff House, recently restored and now a handsome Country House Gallery, and also a number of new visitor centres. The Bibliography has also been enlarged. Aberdeen and North-east Scotland is an interesting, authoritative, and well-presented introduction to the rich heritage of this area and it will have a wide appeal. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The second, revised, edition has been brought up to date, recording such matters as the recent excavations at the Council Isle on Loch Finlaggan, Islay, to the placement of St John's Cross in the Abbey Museum, Iona and the new visitor centre and carpark facilities at Callanish, Isle of Lewis, which, amongst other things, have now considerably enhanced accessibility from the 'restricted for all disabled' category to the current 'easy access for all'. The biggest improvement in the second edition of Argvll and the Western Isles is the greatly expanded Excursions section with new tours of North Uist, South Uist, Bute, North Mull. South Mull, South Islay, the Kilmartin area and Skye Castles, and walking tours of lona and the town of Inveraray. Illustrated in full-colour with helpful maps, this expansion is a welcome addition which really does help one 'explore Scotland's heritage'. The gazetteer is divided into seven sections ranging from 19th and early 20th century architecture to prehistoric monuments. As one would expect, the Picts do not feature greatly in this volume. Nevertheless, a number of Class I stones have been found in the northern part of the area - Clach Ard, Tote; Fiskavaig, Loch Bracadale, Dunvegan, - all on Skye; Strome Shunnamal, Benbecula; Pabbay Beach, Pabbay; and the hybrid Class II cross-slab on Raasay, of these only Clach Ard has an entry in the gazetteer (p 122). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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After a general introduction, the Excursions section has been enlarged, modified an enhanced by colour photographs and better maps. A new excursion, to the Isle of May, has heen added (PP 31-32). The gazetteer is in ten sections: Agriculture; Fishing and Industry; Transport: Towns and Townscape; Stately Homes; Fortified Houses; Military Architecture; Religious Buildings: Pictish Monuments; Roman Tayside; and Prehistoric Monuments. Several monuments have been added to the gazetteer in this edition, e.g. Cleaven Dyke Cursus Monument/Bank Barrow (p 171), Dunkeld Cathedral (pp 128-29) and the Secret Bunker near Crail (p 113). However, some former entries have been abandoned including the Benvie cross-slab which is now displayed in the McManus Galleries, Dundee rather than in the old churchyard, 5km west of Dundee. One monument which I had expected to be included but is not is Abbot House in Dunfermline, the recently-restored extended 16th century Z-plan tower-house, incorporating an earlier building, which now houses the highly acclaimed, award-winning, Dunfermline Heritage Centre. Surely this should have been included in the 'South-west Fife' excursion (if it does not merit an entry in the gazetteer in its own right). Monuments of Pictish interest are not confined to the 'Pictish Monuments' section - there is an area of overlap with 'Religious Buildings', e.g. the so-called St Andrews Sarcophagus is illustrated and discussed under St Andrews Cathedral (p 131) and the Abernethy Class I stone appears with the round tower (p 134), both in the latter section. Similarly forts used by the Picts appear in the 'Prehistoric Monuments' section, e.g. Dundurn Fort (p 163) and East Lomond Hill (pp 164-65). The Exploring Scodand's Heritage handbooks are indispensable guides for anyone with an interest in history, archaeology or architecture visiting any of the areas concerned. At £10.95 each these volumes represent trully remarkable good value for money. J.R.F. Burt
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