20 August 2015 - Leith Hall

It is Thursday already!  Tim and I trotted out for a quick stroll to the school crossroads and took in the fabulous heather covered hills in the distance!  What a lovely part of Scotland we have stumbled across!

 

Our cottage

Our hills

Annika retired her fave t-shirt and it promptly became a cape and cap for Super Luke!

We headed out to Leith Hall, yet another fantastic National Trust property within half an hour of Kirkton of Rayne.  Leith Hall was built in 1650 by James Leith.  The same surnames keep cropping up here!  Over the three hundred years when it was occupied, there were four stages in its building each adding a bit more. The 3^rd addition nearly caused bankruptcy until a kindly relative Andrew Hay, returned from the war and bailed them out on two conditions: that he be allowed to monitor spending and that his name “hay” be added to the surname, thus the Leith-Hay name continued from then.

Grand entrance to Leith Hall

The house was given to Charles Leith-Hay, a nephew who was Australian, who married Henrietta O'Donnell, an Irish girl, in 1907.  They were a kindly couple who permitted the house to be used as an auxillary Red Cross hospital in WWI where over 550 patients were housed.  Charles and Henrietta had two daughters who died in infancy and a son, Charles, who was tragically killed in a motor bike accident when he was 21, only our months after his father had died. No direct heirs were  apparent. Henrietta lived in the house until 1965 although the National Trust has managed it since 1945.

Leith-Hay coat of arms

Leith Hall had stayed in the Leith-Hay family for 10 generations and Henrietta wanted it left as it was and that is what we walked through today.  Apart from the treasures and the stories that old mansions have, the surrounding landscape and gardens are also worth seeing.

Cute towers

 Andrew Hay hid at the house after the Battle of Culloden where he’d fought for (Bonnie) Prince Charlie.  At 7 foot 2 inches, he was hard to hide!  The story was that maids used to sleep top to tail in bed so when the army came seeking him, he was put in a bed with a hat on his feet as well as his head and his pursuers were told that the maids were asleep and not to disturb them! 

Rear of Leith Hall

  
As with most historic houses, the stories make them memorable if told well.  We had a very lovely guide, Stephanie, who brought the history to life.

The union of Charles Leith (Scot/Australian) and Henrietta O'Donnell (Irish)

 

Dule tree

  We then headed out on a very lovely wood walk and the kirk walk grazing on wild raspberries as we went.  I saw a red squirrel dash across the path but too quick to catch on film.

Bridge with Leith Hall in background

Kirk yard, the 12 th century church is no longer there

Pooh sticks from old bridge

Woodland scene

Looking through old railway bridge to rolling hills

Beautiful gardens

Huge leaf in the garden and Karl's hand!

 We had to call into Tesco on the way home and I was once again amused by the Scottish take on the supermarket shelves.  The funniest was the “Haggis pakora”!!  A blend of Scottish and Indian, no doubt!