The following letter from Karl was published in a Glasgow paper on June 25, 1901:
“Continuing east down the northern side of the Forth, through Alva, Dollar and other small towns, and past Rumbling Bridge, Kinross was finally reached, a nicely situated town on the west bank of Loch Leven.
A quarter of a mile from the nearest point of the west shore, on a rocky islet stands “Lochleven Castle,” which belonged to the Kings of Scotland…It served as a prison for Queen Mary, after her surrender at Carberry Hill, until she escaped, assisted by young Douglas. In all these towns people are only too willing to point out all places of interest and to tell all they know concerning them. The people of Kinross will point out the exact spot where Douglas dropped the keys of the Castle into the water, as he was helping Queen Mary in her escape.”
Lochleven castle, built in the 14th century, is only accessible by boat. It’s a small castle with a 5-storey tower renowned as the location that imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots. Queen Mary was brought to Loch Leven in July 1567 and forced to abdicate the throne in favour of her son.
As referenced by Karl, the exciting aspect of the story about Queen Mary’s imprisonment is her escape from the castle.
Before her successful escape, she had a failed attempt to get away from Loch Leven. Mary had disguised herself as a washerwoman, but her pale, white, dainty hands - obviously unaccustomed to hard labour - were spotted beneath her rags, and her attempt was foiled.
Undeterred, a better plan was conceived.
This plan involved the assistance of Willie Douglas, a 16-year-old page who had pledged his loyalty to Queen Mary and committed to assisting in her escape. On May 2 1568, while Loch Leven was celebrating “May Day” festivities, Willia sabotaged all the boats moored to the island except one. Then, he went about liberally dispensing wine to those in charge of Queen Mary’s confinement, ensuring they were completely drunk. In the meantime, Mary was directed to exchange clothes with her maid, leave the castle and get to the functioning boat. Once safely to the boat, Willie returned to lock the castle doors and rowed Mary across the Loch, tossing the keys into the water.
Safe on the other side, Mary was met with her supporters and fled to England. Sadly her freedom was shortlived, and on May 13th, she was captured again and placed in custody in Carlisle Castle. She was imprisoned for 19 years in England and beheaded upon being found guilty of treason against Queen Elizabeth I.
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The Karl Journey is now registered as an official expedition with the Royal Geographical Society