"If you did not have Jackie as a guide to go round with you,, you would have missed the whole point - you would have taken lots of pictures of pretty things and that would be about it The carvings are a physical manifestation of spiritual mysteries and also reveal the connection to the earth” Bruce Cain Prof Engineering, Mississippi

Saturday 12th July - Saturday 19th July 2008

(For groups they may also book for tours outside these dates)

Itinerary

Day One:

Evening meal in hotel followed by orientation led by Jackie Queally of Celtic Trails

Day Two: Journey via Tweedale to Southwest Scotland .

Visit St Mungo’s Church and local sites in a remote Tweed valley connected with the legendary Merlin who Mungo converted to Christianity according to Mungo’s biographer Jocelyn in the 13^th century! His legend is full of stories of his amazing powers of healing, divining and miracles.

Reach our destination close to the earliest Christian crosses in Scotland , the Kirkmadrine Stones on the Rhins of Galloway.

Hotel based near Portpatrick

Day Three: The Whithorn area

Spend day exploring the legacy of St Ninian who at the turn of the fourth/ fifth century was the first missionary in Scotland , sending many of his itinerant monks over the short sea crossing here to Ireland . St Patrick was the most famous of these monks.

Visit Ninian’s Cave with early Christian engravings on its walls, the ruins of his early church cell on Whithorn peninsula, the museum of early stones in Whithorn, and St Modwenna’s valley.

Hotel based near Portpatrick

Day Four:  Glasgow  

St. Mungo founded Glasgow in the early sixth century so we visit the award- winning Museum of Religion close by St Mungo’s Cathedral that features St Mungo’s Tomb. The City Chambers has a magnificent series of wall paintings depicted Mungo’s life, and there are other sites near the centre of Glasgow with religious relics worth visiting if time permits.

Hotel in Fife

Day Five: Culross and Dunning

Morning talk on the Culdees in Scotland.led by Jackie Queally

Visit to Culross that was a Culdee settlement from at least the fifth century onwards.

St Mungo was born there in the most extraordinary circumstances, and the village is truly enchanting today. We visit the ruins of a parish church with Templar stones in its walls, and walk on an old country byway to St Serf’s Abbey that was built in 1217 but dates back to the time of St Serf who trained Mungo as a priest.

The local area has many early Culdee settlements and in the Ochill Hills the church of Dunning was home to St Serf 462- 532 circa who trained Mungo for his mission. St Serf allegedly dispelled a dragon in Dunning that was terrorising the local inhabitants. The church at Dunning displays a wonderful cross that as borrowed for display in the entrance to the Early Carvings section of the new wing of the Museum of Scotland when it opened.

Hotel in Fife

Day Six: Abernethy and St Andrews

Abernethy was once the capital of the Southern Picts in Scotland , and the village had a Culdee monastery and settlement. The church site dates from 423 and there is an intact Irish round tower in its graveyard.
Leaving Aberbenethy after lunch in the Culdees tearoom we travel along the ancient Tay to St Andrews , past early monastic settlements.

St Andrews had their own Culdee church of St Mary Magdalene in the early centuries in the harbour area behind the present day cathedral, and many stones are on display in the museum there. The tower of St Rules alias St Regulus can still be climbed, and St Modwenna (see Day 2)/ Triduana travelled with Rule across Pictland at the time.

Hotel in Fife

Day Seven: Edinburgh and surrounds

The only pre- Reformation building to remain in Edinburgh is a well house in which St Triduana performed healing miracles, especially for eye complaints- the local Protestant congregation recently held a service in St Triduana’s Wellhouse on St Triduana’s Day where they gave out the water freely to folk to partake of! The service was attended by the local Catholic church and many non church goers. It is an interesting hexagonal collegiate chapel built in the Italianate style in the fifteenth century to house her well.

We also visit a serene church on Hopetoun Estate that holds many ancient Christian stones as this site dates back to the seventh century when Trunwin a Pictish bishop based his mission here- he ironically had to flee to his mother church at Lindisfarne when the Picts invaded!

Lunch in South Queensferry -  before returning to Edinburgh or continuing on to Melrose and Lindisfarne .

For those who continue, visit Dryburgh Abbey and look down on Old Melrose en route to hotel

Hotels in either Edinburgh or Dryburgh Hotel in the Borders.

Day Eight: Visit Lindisfarne . (if tidal times permit visit Melrose Abbey that morning)

Hotel in Edinburgh

Jackie Queally +44 (0)7775 840138