In early 1298, Wallace was proclaimed Guardian of
Scotland at the ‘Forest Kyrk’. Tradition and history places this as
Selkirk whose early spellings of Scheleschirche means the Kirk in the
Forest. Selkirk was the capital of Ettrick Forest and the one place of
importance in Scots hands at the time. At this time Wallace and his band
were using Ettrick Forest to harry the English garrisons holding
Roxburgh and Jedburgh Castles.
Selkirk had been a seat of the Kings of Scots and
Scots parliaments and had been held there for two hundred years.
In historical fairness, one or two historians reckon
that the Forest Kirk could have been at St Mary’s of the Lowes, the
foundations of which can be seen near St Mary’s Loch in the Yarrow
Valley.
Wallace’s Trench in the Yarrow Valley
In July 1297, Edward’s Treasurer in Scotland records
that Wallace was in Ettrick Forest with ‘a graunt compaigne’. For
those with a stout heart and strong boots, a hike from Yarrowford (NT
408300) two miles up the ancient road called The Minchmoor, leads to the
entrenchments reputedly made by Wallace’s ‘gruant compaigne’
before they went to defeat the English at Stirling Bridge on 11th
September 1297. NB - It is a steep two miles
but worth it for the view alone.
The Wallace Statue at Drygrange
Commissioned by, David Stuart Erskine, the Eleventh
Earl of Buchan and unveiled on 22nd September 1814, this was the first
monument to be erected in Scotland to the great Scottish patriot and,
fittingly, looks towards Ettrick Forest. It was the work of a local
sculptor, John Smith of Darnick.
The imposing 31-foot, red sandstone statue depicts
Wallace, Scotland’s national hero, dressed in ancient Scottish armour,
resting on his sword and with his huge shield at his side.
The 10-foot pedestal of the statue is inscribed:
Wallace, great patriot hero
ill requited chief
MDCCCXIV
The statue was restored in 1991 by the Saltire Society
with over £20,000 being raised by public subscription and The William
Wallace Trust, c/o Curle, Muir & Co. (Solicitors), Royal Bank
Chambers, Melrose, was formed to look after it.
Close by the statue is a sculpted urn bearing the
inscription:
Peerless Knight of Elderslie
Who wav’d on Ayr’s romantic shore
The beamy torch of liberty,
And roaming round from sea to sea
From glade obscure of gloomy rock
His bold companion call’d to free
The realm from Edward’s iron yoke.
The statue is a 5 minute easy walk from a small car
park on the Bemersyde road. But by far the most pleasant way is to take
the footpath from Dryburgh and walk up the hill to the statue.
More information on the Village of Dryburgh and its
surroundings, including a description of the William Wallace Statue is
to be found in the book "A Visitor’s Guide to Dryburgh" and
available from Scottish Borders Tourist Board. Proceeds from the sales
will be used for maintenance of the statue and other monuments in
Dryburgh.
These are the main Wallace Connection places which are
open/available to the public.
Others like Wallace’s putting stones on Gala Hill
and other tenuous stories like Wallace visiting Langlands of Langlands
and tethering his horse to a thorn bush near the Wilton Lodge Museum,
Hawick, are so dubious as to be unbelievable.
Likewise Wallace’s Tower near Roxburgh was built 350
years after his death.