The Scottish sea breeze sweeps along and tosses your hair and rushes against your skin. In the rugged landscape, one can easily let their imagination run wild.
Age and history here all seem blended and tell a tale of a turbulent past for the inhabitants of these lands.
Tarbat Discovery Centre
This is a local heritage center and museum which is housed in the refurbished Old Parish Church. It is also the site of the only Pictish monastic settlement excavated in Scotland to date.
Years of history have been unearthed at this site and yet not everything has been exposed.
The six-foot skeleton was likely not to be that of a monk whose stature was considerably smaller.
This small museum has a wealth of information and one can truly take hours to appreciate all the information stored here.
It was here at this Priory that facts are leading researchers to believe the parchment paper for the book of Kells may very well have been made.
I cannot imagine being baptized in the cold water well several hundred yards from the simple warmth the church may have provided. The well is now covered with a grate and enclosed in bar fencing to keep animals, children, and others from entering it.
Various forms of dating of the findings have proven timelines at the site.
Additionally, in this town in WWII, the area was used for missile testing and the inhabitants were evacuated from their homes with little notice.
This was a challenging walk and climb for anyone with limited mobility as the grounds are uneven and there are multiple steps as well as low ceilings if one goes into the crypt. It would be an unsuitable visit for anyone wheelchair-bound unless they remain outdoors.
LINKS:
https://www.portmahomack.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmahomack