Scottish Festival at Ardenwood, Part 2

Moving on from the bagpipers in the last post to some of the other characters I met at the Scottish Festival. Except for the kilt, this guy could have been in Mad Max. I asked him about his metal cup since nearly every person in character either was carrying one or had one clipped to their belts. I asked whether drinking was an important part of the culture. He said no, that when you were served beverages you were expected to have your own goblet or mug, they weren’t provided.

This old gent with the long white hair and beard was one of the most authentic-looking characters.

She behaved quite regally but seemed to be a kind sovereign.

She was hanging out and helping to serve in the beer garden. I added extra length to her skirt using Photoshop cloning after my sister pointed out she looked to be standing in a hole or missing feet because her skirt wasn’t long enough.

A tent was set up to demonstrate how the lords and ladies traveled in style, with full silver settings, rugs, bedding and furniture. They could only travel (to visit other lords and ladies) very short distances each day in their wagons because of the weight and all the setting up required for their servants to create a home away from home each day.

Along with Scots there were Romans, Vikings and even a couple of pirates.

In a seemingly unrelated display there was a woman falconer with her beautiful Harris Hawk on a leash. She was dressed in period costume that matched her bird’s coloring. She bragged that her bird caught 43 rabbits last season, which they both ate. She was very, very into this strange sport which involves capturing a baby bird of prey and then raising it to hunt for you.

Be sure to see my friend Cathy’s amazing sketches from the day on our Urban Sketchers blog here.