|
Kilchurn
Castle
Stirling
Castle
Blair
Castle
Holyroodhouse
Palace
Inverness
Castle
Inveraray
Castle
Caerlaverock
Castle
Blackness Castle
Tantallon Castle
Bothwell Castle
Linlithgow Palace
Castle Campbell
Melrose Abbey
|
|
Doune Castle has become a magnet for
"Monty Python" fans wanting to see where much of
the cult movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
was filmed in 1974. 'Bring Out Your Dead' Monty
Python Fans Flock to Scottish Castle Strange things
happen to many a traveler while roaming the dark
passages and chambers of Doune Castle. "My
favorite is the Holy Grail. I re-enact it nearly
every day with my visitors," McWilliam said, only
half-kidding. For the benefit of the uninitiated,
here are some of the scenes from the movie that
live on among fans as endless inside jokes:
Sharp-minded villagers deduce that a young woman is
a witch because she is made of wood. In Camelot,
the knights eat "Spam a lot." King Arthur hacks the
arms and legs off the Black Knight, but it's only a
flesh wound. Sir Robin soils his armor. A group of
men, asked by Arthur to identify themselves,
inspire terror by responding, "We are the knights
who say NI!" They then demand a "sacrifice" in the
form of "shrubbery." Sir Galahad struggles to
escape from a roomful of virgins. And the cutest
bunny in film history reveals itself to be a serial
killer. And now for something completely different.
Castle Is National Historic Treasure Doune Castle
is not a silly place. It is a Scottish national
treasure, dripping with six centuries of history.
Overlooking a picturesque river just south of the
brooding Scottish highlands, Doune Castle is in a
region once roamed by Scottish heroes like Robert
the Bruce and William Wallace. The 1297 Battle of
Stirling Bridge &emdash; in which a force led by
Wallace defeated the English &emdash; took place
eight miles southeast of here. A monument at
Stirling pays homage to Wallace, long revered in
Scotland but little known in the United States
until Mel Gibson portrayed him in the movie
Braveheart. Doune Castle is considered the
best-preserved medieval castle in Scotland. It was
built at the end of the 14th century by Robert
Stewart, the first Duke of Albany, whose story is
laced with intrigue. When the duke's brother, King
Robert III, was deemed feeble and unfit to rule,
his eldest son and the heir apparent, the Duke of
Rothesay, was taken into custody by the Duke of
Albany and died in 1402 under mysterious
circumstances &emdash; some say of starvation. That
left Albany the most powerful man in Scotland.
Albany governed Scotland until his death in 1420.
The governorship and Doune Castle passed to his
son, Murdoch. The Duke of Rothesay's brother and
the rightful king, James I, returned from exile in
1424 and was crowned. Murdoch was executed for
treason. Doune Castle became a royal retreat and
hunting lodge for successive kings. During the
Jacobite Uprising of 1745, some prisoners captured
by the Jacobites were kept at Doune Castle. Among
them was John Witherspoon, a Scottish minister and
scholar who later moved to the American colonies.
He became president of Princeton, a delegate to the
Continental Congress for New Jersey, and a signer
of the Declaration of Independence. For decades,
Doune Castle's haunting appearance and its rich
history were the attractions for visitors. Monty
Python's Flying Circus has brought legions more.
While preparing to film their irreverent movie
about the King Arthur legend, the British TV comedy
troupe went looking for castles. They found two
that were suitable &emdash; Doune Castle and
another in Scotland, Stalker Castle. A third castle
seen in the film is only a model. Fans of the movie
started coming to Doune Castle after reading the
script book, which disclosed the film locations.
Release of a special DVD version of the movie two
years ago has resulted in even more visits to the
castle by Python devotees. One of the DVD's bonuses
is a documentary in which two of the Python
troupe &emdash; Michael Palin and Terry Jones
&emdash; revisit the filming sites. Much of the
documentary is about Doune Castle, including
a snippet showing McWilliam with a pair of
coconuts. Palin and Jones are astonished when
McWilliam tells them many of the castle's visitors
come because of the Python movie. Sex Scene
Location Spotted The two Pythoners peruse movie
merchandise sold at the castle gift shop. Palin
notices traditional books on Scotland and its
history. "Get rid of these!" he says. "Get some
Python tapes in!" Jones and Palin also find the
spot outside the castle where the Knights of the
Round Table watched the Trojan Rabbit being pushed
through the gate by the French taunters and realize
they'd forgotten to hide inside the rodent on
wheels. They inspect the hall where Palin's chaste
Sir Galahad found himself besieged by virgins.
"Hmm, the sex scene," says Palin. The pair leaves
Castle Doune and travels to a cave on a hill
overlooking Loch Tay. It was here that three of
Arthur's men were slaughtered by the film's little
white bunny. Palin and Jones finish their trip with
a visit to Castle Stalker, known in the film as
Castle Aargh! The movie ends there with modern-day
bobbies arresting Arthur and Sir Bedevere for the
murder of a bow-tied scholar as he narrated part of
the story. Back at Doune Castle, McWilliam likes to
think that Python fans learn a lot about Scotland
and its history during their visits to the medieval
edifice. "I've seen about 60,000 people in the past
few years," says McWilliam. "Comments made as I
chat with them tell me they are surprised at the
number of rooms intact, the fact that it is over
600 years old, and a lot mention the peaceful,
relaxing atmosphere," he says. Still, McWilliam is
always ready to hand out the coconuts. But you
might want to first give him a shrubbery. If You Go
… GETTING THERE: Doune Castle is about 40
miles from Glasgow and eight miles from Stirling.
Trains run regularly between Glasgow and Stirling,
and there is bus service from Stirling to Doune,
though the buses are less frequent on the weekends.
THE CASTLE: Visit
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk and search the
"Properties" section for Doune. To contact the
castle by phone, call 1786-8417-42 (punch in 011-44
first if calling from the United States). THE
MOVIE: Available on video and DVD. Official Web
site is
http://www.sonypictures.com/cthe/montypython/ but
unofficial Web sites abound. Type a snatch of
dialogue from the movie (such as "We are the
knights who say NI!") and you're likely to come up
with several hits. THE REGION: Doune is located in
Central Scotland, less than an hour from Glasgow.
Loch Lomond, Scotland's largest lake, offers
beautiful vistas and hikes; old fishing villages
and other historic castles dot the countryside.
Nearby Stirling, just eight miles from Doune, is
the country's former royal capital, rich with
history, architecture and a castle of its own. Fans
of another movie, Mel Gibson's Braveheart,
will want to make a pilgrimage to the National
Wallace Monument just outside Stirling, a
spectacular 220-foot-high 19th-century tower built
to commemorate William Wallace's exploits.
From atop the tower, visitors can see across the
Forth Valley and the Trossachs Hills. FOR MORE
INFORMATION: For more information about touring
Scotland, contact Visit Britain at (877) 899-8391
or www.visitbritain.com. .
clans and
castles guide
castle
vacations
|
|
