Covenanters and Multiverses - a visit to Sanquhar

Yesterday my wife and I decided to take a bit of time out to visit the Crawick Multiverse (www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk) near Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire (not to be confused with the DC Multiverse or the Marvel Multiverse!). It's basically a beardy weirdy art installation carved into the landscape of a former mining district, all somewhat Celtic with standing stones everywhere, a lot of fun to walk around, and certainly a strenuous workout! (My wife, called Claire, touched one of the standing stones, but fortunately was not transported back to Jacobite times!)

Upon completing our tour of the facility we then popped into the town of Sanquhar itself, in order that I could take a picture of the Covenanter memorial commemorating the Sanquhar Declaration of 1680. This was when Covenanter Richard Cameron, his brother and many followers basically declared war on Charles II for his decision to force through episcopacy in Scotland (going against his promises to Presbyterian Scotland not to do so in order to gain their support prior to his eventual Restoration in England), leading to The Killing Time and eventually the 'Glorous Revolution' which ousted the Stuarts once and for all. A second declaration was also made in 1685 by James Renwick, following the accession of James VII to the throne.

We also popped into the local museum which we discovered was open at the Old Tolbooth (www.dgculture.co.uk/venue/sanquhar-tolbooth-museum/), and were able to gain an insight into the history of the royal burgh. The museum is free to access, and well worth a half hour visit - the town has a fascinating history! Here are a few more pics

(PS: A thanks to Jimmy, who popped over to talk about the history of the memorial as I was photographing it!)

Chris

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