Mungo Walk #1

The walk from Culross to Glasgow is going to take me four days at about 10 miles a day. On the walk I'll be taking photos, posting to Instagram, recording audio, and collecting samples. 

So without further ado, my first trek is complete!

My walk started at Saint Mungo's Chapel, built 1000 years after the event of Mungo's birth, but now a complete ruin, However this was the location of where Saint Mungo was born.

The chapel stands back from the shoreline of the Forth where Mungo's exiled mother in her coracle was washed ashore in the sixth century. It was very contemplative to stand at both places and know that 1500 years ago these events were unfolding where I now stood.

I continued up the hill to the ruins of Culross Abbey. Again this building was built long after Mungo and his mother were taken in by monks. The original monastery on the site is long gone, but the sense of wonder still remains.

My path then took me west towards Alloa, through paths in the woods where Mungo himself may have trodden.

Walking in the Footsteps of Mungo

My theme for my Honours year at college surrounds Saint Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow. His story is fascinating and I felt I wanted to bring the story to life in a way that hadn't been done before. So I settled on the idea of physically walking his walk myself. 

Saint Mungo on Undiscovered Scotland
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/m/saintmungo.html

Born in Culross, he walked from here to Glasgow on the first part of his many journeys, and founded the first settlement and church on the north side of the Clyde where Glasgow Cathedral now stands.

There are four miracles that surround Saint Mungo concerning a bird, a fish, a tree, and a bell. Imagery of these is throughout Glasgow, and also on the Glasgow Coat of Arms. This imagery has it's place in the story, but as I want to bring something new, it is not likely to play a large part.

My first task is to visit the key sites in the story, which are: Traprain Law in East Lothian, Culross, and Glasgow. I intend to walk from Culross to Glasgow, following Mungo's footsteps as closely as possible. 

The map below, from the book, traces part of the route from Culross. How accurate this is I'm not sure, but this is a starting point.



What I do know is that at this time, the Romans had retreated from this area and left several droving roads which Mungo would probably have used in his journey. My task is to identify these roads where they still exist. I am aware of the existence of one such road which ran parallel to the Antonine wall through Cumbernauld, so again this will be part of my investigation.