Roslyn Chapel

Founded in 1446, theChapel took forty years to build.  The beauty of its setting and the mysterious symbolism of its stonework , have attracted, inspired and intrigued ever since.

We had last visited many years ago, but since then there has been a lot of preservation work done, and in fact, the whole of the chapel was incased in steel to allow it to dry out, as it was very damp and in danger of collapse.  A trust had been set up to try to raise funds for this, but in fact Dan Brown's controversial book 'The Da Vinci Code' , published in 2003, ensured more visitors than ever were attracted to the Chapel from all over the world, and the monies raised enabled the work to be completed.

There is now a visitor centre, and a café, and we were very impressed with what had been done.  

There was a talk by one of the guides explaining some of the main carvings, and in particular the Apprentice's Pillar, which was inspired by a dream that he had.  It is said that his master was absent when the apprentice carved this pillar and when he returned and saw that the work was such a high standard, more than he could have done, he flew into a jealous rage and killed the apprentice.  He was hanged for the murder.  So it is said!

We sat outside afterwards in the warm sunshine and enjoyed the ambience of the place, and managed to miss the heavy showers that occasionally occurred.  And met a group of ramblers from one of the many EK clubs, most of whom we knew!!!!

One extra of the chapel......