McCarters in Scotland

2005 McCarter Reunion in Scotland: Part 2, Moffat and Dumfreeshire Back to Part 1...	This web page describes the second half of the trip when the McCarters Reunion ers joined Dave, Carolyn, Don and Pat Moffett for the Moffat Clan Gathering.
The clan Moffat convene's it's Annual Gathering and Meeting every five years in Moffat, Scotland, the borders village that is the ancestral home of Julie Moffett McCarter. When the idea for attending the AGM came up almost two years ago it seemed a fairly lofty goal to get all the McCarters in Scotland for the 2005 family reunion. Employment changes, births, and summer camps conspired to keep most of the family state-side. But Kelley, Jim, Julie and Judy were all able to make the trip of a lifetime.
	After the first three days of touring the southeastern region of Scotland, including Stirling and Edinburgh, we met a group of Moffat relatives at the Edinburgh airport. A chartered shuttle van took us all to Moffat, Scotland (about a 90 minutes ride) where we would spend the remainder of our Scotland adventure.
The full contingent of McCarters were not able to make it to Scotland, but we did increase our numbers by having Julie's brothers along. This picture features Jim, Judy, Kelley, Carolyn, Dave, Julie, Pat, and Don at the Moffat Ram statue in the center of Moffat, Scotland. Moffat is a very small place. No traffic lights of any kind and no buildings higher than 4 stories. There are two large churches although one of them is vacant and will be turned into a a set of luxury condominiums. The primary economic drivers in Moffat are seasonal tourism and the very busy Moffat Woolen Mill. Our Clan Gathering did much to support both industries. The final count of Moffat descendants at the gathering was 127. The AGM organizers and conveners put together a full slate of formal and informal activities for us. They included a first night reception, two bus tours, a ceileih (traditional Scottish dance party), a 15th century medieval banquet, seminars, governance meetings, a VE Day celebration, two parades, and attendance at the Borders Clan Games in Dumfrees.
	The day after our arrival in Moffat, we went on the 4-hour bus tour of parts of the Annandale region and Moffat Waters. This tour took us up the River Annan and valley to the north including the Devil's Beef Tub. Moffat Water is a smaller valley to the northwest of Moffat which includes many old homesteads and the Gray Mare's Tail waterfall. The abundant, green hills were dotted with herd animals, rock walls, farm buildings and the occasional narrow country road. The geography near the western coast is mountain and valley with deeply worn drainages into the river bottom. Forests were few but wild heather was plenty.
The full size chartered bus was about 2/3 full of Moffat descendants on our tour. It gave us the opportunity to get to know some of these folks who ranged from infants to octogenarians. They came from a dozen countries with the largest number from the USA, nearly 100. It was quite an experience when we encountered a vehicle coming the opposite direction. This tinker and his horse seemed a bit concerned as we approached, but it must be all in a days work for them as they moved from farm to farm in their mobile office/workshop. The wildlife included the usual crows, seagulls, pigeons, rabbits and squirrels. When visiting the Gray Mare's Tail, a wildlife sanctuary area, we viewed a salmon stream and many meadow-dwelling birds that were foreign to us.
	On Sunday morning August 14 the Moffat Clan was featured marching in the VE Day parade through the middle of Moffat. The parade started at the town hall and ended at St. Andrews Parish Church where we all attended the morning prayer service. The parade recommenced after the service and moved back up the main street to the town hall. Before and after the church service, the parade was quite the attraction for the many tourists in Moffat that morning.
We shopped and dined on picturesque street like Well Street where we made some purchases from a second hand book shop. Dinners with the Moffett relatives were special times. This group had not been all assembled in such large numbers in one place since the passing of John McCarter when the McCarters came together in Arkansas for his memorial service.
	The 15th century Medieval Banquet was a combination 8-course meal and interactive reenactment event. It was held in Dumfrees on Saturday evening with about 100 folks attending. Although the 15th century attire was suggested for the event, it was not required. But Jim and I managed to get into the spirit of the dinner with our milk maid and squire get-ups. Thespians entertained us playing the roles of a band of reivers with entourage including a swordsman, a bowman, and several hand maidens. "Italian dancers" performed dances to fugue-like music. The food was fun, simple and just another excuse to dress up and spend time with the clan members. By the end of the evening the natural light in the great hall was gone signaling time to make our way back to the buses for the return to Moffat.
At the Boarder Gathering in Dumfrees the Moffats were the honored Clan. We marched in our second parade of the day and our Clan Chief announced the official opening of the gathering from the stage at the center of the fair grounds. A tent was set up for our clan members with food, wine and of course ale! We walked the fair area where souvenir and food vendor tents mixed with displays of medieval re-enactors, children's play areas and petting zoos. We were entertained by a terrific Scottish borders band called Scocha. Their set of about a dozen songs was so entertaining the we bought all of their CDs on hand at the gathering. The event was quite nice on the whole with approximately 500 locals in attendance. However, the fun was diminished when our convener, David Kennedy-Moffat was injured when he participated in the "Rolling Thunder" cart pony exhibition at the end of our day there. His condition was of great concern to us as we neared the end of our Scotland trip. We later learned that he was not seriously hurt.
	Our final hours in Scotland were spent at the Edinburgh airport with Judy and Julie. We were not ready to go home and vowed to return with a long list of other sights and experiences that a one-week trip does not allow.
Back to Part 1...