Tain is the principal town in Ross-shire. It is arguably one of the most attractive towns in, always bearing in mind that Alness has won the "Scotland in Bloom" and "Britain in Bloom" titles.

Tain has 900 roses planted in a rose garden, off the main street at the original level,  which is well below where it is now, to celebrate the 900 years from 1066 to 1966. The opening of this garden was carried out on the 10th Jun1, 1966 by H.R.H The Queen Mother.   Celebrate what you may ask.  The burgesses of this Royal Burgh claim to have received the Royal Burgh status in 1066, which as we all know was the date of the Battle of Hastings when the Normans invaded England

To understand all of this you will need to be aware that King Duncan of Scotland died in 1040 when he was assassinated  by Macbeth, mormaor (great steward) of Ross and Moray, who then became king of Scotland, as King Malcolm III."

Macbeth, according to history a successful king, held the throne until 1057, when he was defeated and killed by Duncan's son Malcolm Canmore."

Malcolm married his second wife, the English Princess Margaret, who had fled to Scotland at the coming of the Normans in 1066.  She introduced many English fashions and customs to Scotland and established a refined court life. Margaret also imposed English religious practices on the Scottish clergy and her husband moved the cultural centre of his kingdom to Lothian, away from the Celtic north. She was also responsible for for the construction of Dunfermline Abbey,  the ferry at Queensferry and a chapel at Edinburgh Castle

There is strong evidence for a royal charter dated 1066 confirming the "immunity" of Tain.   The "immunity" was the right of sanctuary within an area around the shrine of St Duthac and also conveyed some tax exemption to the merchants of the town, so it did have a similarity with some of the later elements of royal burgh status.

Unfortunately for the stability of Malcolm and Margaret's kingdom, however, the Scottish king's constant excursions into Northern England brought him the enmity of the Norman William who forced him to pay homage at Abernethy in 1071.

(Above) Cran's Cycle works in Geanies Street, Tain at the turn of the 20th Century.

On one of his attacks on Northumberland in 1093, Malcolm was killed, his sainted wife following him in death a few days later. Margaret was later canonised for her benefactions to the Church including the rebuilding of the monastery at Iona.

The merchants of Inverness, the Highland capital, disputed the freedom of Tain but in 1587, Tain was confirmed as a Royal Burgh by James IV of Scotland.

Royal Burghs were issued with a Royal Charter which granted to the burgesses a monopoly of trade in the town and surrounding area.  The burgh also had the privilege of holding markets and courts to deal with problems of lawlessness within the town boundaries. In some cases, like Tain, the burgh became the centre of a sheriffdom,  and a right to the townspeople to trade by sea.

 King James IV made many trips to Tain to the shrine of St. Duthac.  A pilgrimage which he carried out for many years, travelling from Edinburgh on what was known as the Kings Route ending up with King James crossing the Black Isle and the Ferry to Nigg, and then to Tain.   In one year he is said to have travelled no less than seventeen times, and, as was the custom, in bare feet too.

 In Tain there is a permanent exhibition called Tain Through Time. Allow yourself lots of time to savour the new experiences offered by way of modern technology, Video, Audio etc...

They are going to make the rose gardens into a  PAY car park to enable the formation of  a pedestrian precinct.  That's progress for you.

 Next to Tain, northwards along the A9 road, is the Glenmorangie (rhymes with orange) distillery and Visitor Centre. The centre is open from 10am - 4pm daily from April to October.