Читать книгу Scotland: The Story of a Nation - Magnus Magnusson - Страница 50

The full consequences of the evil were not visible at first; for, although all Alexander’s children had died before him, yet one of them, who had been married to Eric, King of Norway, had left a daughter named Margaret …

TALES OF A GRANDFATHER, CHAPTER VI

Rail travellers who alight at Berwick-upon-Tweed are stepping straight into the cockpit of the troubled history of Anglo – Scottish relations; whether they know it or not, they are standing on the threshold of the so-called Wars of Independence led first by William Wallace (see Chapter 10) and then by Robert Bruce (see Chapter 11). The notice above Platforms 1 and 2 explains:

This station stands on the site of the Great Hall of Berwick Castle. Here on the 17th November 1292, the claim of Robert Bruce to the crown of Scotland was declined and the decision in favour of John Baliol was given by King Edward I before the full parliament of England and a large gathering of the nobility and populace of both England and Scotland.

Across from the platforms the gaunt remains of the west wall of the old castle define one side of the station.¹ Not much else is left, apart from the curtain wall which King Edward built from the castle to the shore of the Tweed below after his savage sacking of the town in March 1296 (see below). A steep path leads down from the station forecourt, past a quatrefoil lily-pond, until you emerge on the shingle foreshore of the broad river. To your right, the noble Royal Border Bridge carries rail traffic rumbling and hooting its way across the Tweed; on the far side of this great viaduct Edward’s ‘White Wall’ crow-steps its way right down to the water’s edge.

It is a curiously desolate spot. There is a tang of seaweed in the air, and the melancholy cries of seabirds and waders. The ruined walls and their abandoned defensive works speak sad volumes. And all because a little princess named Margaret, who held the destiny of Scotland in her palm, had died.