MARCHWITHAMONARCH
Ifanofficialroyalvisitfeelsa bitmuchand
allyouwantistotacka bitofcultureontoa
walkwiththedog,royalgroundsand
parklandareoftenopentothepublic.You
canstrollalongtheRiverTay,through
prettyScottishcountryside,insearchof
theancientBirnamOak(above)– asclose
asyoucangettoShakespeare’sBirnam
WoodofMacbethfame.Nowsevenmetres
ingirth,it’satleast 500 yearsold:it wasn’t
thereinMacbeth’stime*,butit certainly
wasinShakespeare’s.“Royalparklandsareoften
opentothepublic– for
whenallyouwantis totack
a bitofcultureontoa walk”
Attheotherendofthecountry,the
NewForestinHampshireiswhere
WilliamII–betterknownasRufus – was
shotwhileouthunting,probably not by
accident.Hismemorial,theRufus Stone,
islessthantwometreshighand isn’t the
original(sounpopularwashethat even
hismemorialwasmutilated),but it’s in a
beautifulpartoftheforest,again with lots
ofancientoaks.CarolineTaggartis theauthorofBognor And
OtherRegises(AAPublishing).- In case your early Scottish history is not up to scratch, Shakespeare’s Macbeth bore little resemblance to the
82 11th-century king, Mac Bethad mac Findlaích.
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