Dunkeld

Many thanks to Dunkeld House Fishings for facilitating this camera's location and capitally funding its installation. Farson Digital has strategically installed a streaming webcam at this location to effectively monitor water levels and river conditions for salmon fishermen. The Tay River, renowned for its abundant salmon population, originates in the Highlands and meanders through Dunkeld, Perth, and Dundee, serving as a prominent waterway in central Scotland. Spanning the lengthiest course of any river in Scotland and ranking as the seventh longest in the United Kingdom, the Tay significantly drains the lower regions of the Highlands, with its source located high on the slopes of Beinn Laoigh.During the Battle of Dunkeld in August 1689, the 26th Foot valiantly battled against the Jacobites, resulting in the destruction of much of the original town. The walls of the Cathedral still bear visible marks from musket-ball strikes during this historic event. In 1809, the town's landscape experienced a substantial transformation with the construction of a new stone bridge over the River Tay by Thomas Telford at the eastern end of the town. This endeavor, coupled with the creation of a new street perpendicular to the old alignment, significantly altered the town's layout.The name "Dùn Chailleann" translates to "Fort of the Caledonii" or "of the Caledonians," indicating the early significance of the area, which dates back to the Iron Age. Dunkeld is attributed to have been "founded" or "built" by Caustantín, son of Fergus, the Pictish king (d. 820). This founding likely pertains to an ecclesiastical establishment on a site already esteemed for secular purposes. Historical records confirm the presence of a Pictish monastery on the site. Kenneth I of Scotland (Cináed mac Ailpín) (843–58) reputedly brought relics of St. Columba from Iona in 849 to safeguard them from Viking raids. He constructed a new church to replace existing structures, which may have consisted of simple wattle huts. The relics were subsequently divided between Dunkeld and the Columban monastery in Kells, Co. Meath, Ireland, to protect them from further Viking incursions. Noteworthy artifacts from this era include the elaborately adorned yet eroded "Apostles' Stone," a cross-slab preserved in the cathedral museum, and a well-preserved bronze "Celtic" hand bell, originally housed in the church of the parish of Little Dunkeld on the south bank of the River Tay, opposite Dunkeld.The medieval cathedral was dedicated to St. Columba and served as the principal ecclesiastical site in eastern Scotland for a time, relinquishing its status to St Andrews in the 10th century. The Annals of Ulster, an ancient historical record, notes the death of Tuathal, son of Artgus, "primepscop" (Old Irish for "chief bishop") of Fortriu and Abbot of Dunkeld, in 865. The monastery faced a Viking raid in 903 when Danish Vikings sailed up the River Tay. Nonetheless, it continued to thrive into the 11th century. Crínán of Dunkeld (d. 1045), the abbot at that time, married one of the daughters of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (1005–34) and became the ancestor of subsequent Kings of Scots through their son Donnchad (Duncan I) (1034–40). The see of Dunkeld was revived by Alexander I (1107–24). Between 1183 and 1189, the newly formed diocese of Argyll was separated from Dunkeld, which originally extended to the west coast of Scotland. By 1300, the Bishops of Dunkeld administered a diocese that encompassed sixty parish churches, some of which were peculiarly scattered within the jurisdictions of St Andrews and Dunblane.The cathedral's choir, which has undergone extensive restoration and is currently utilized as the parish church, lacks aisles and dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The aisled nave was constructed in the early 15th century, while the western tower, south porch, and chapter house, housing the cathedral museum, were added between 1450 and 1475. Following the mid-16th century Reformation and its accompanying iconoclasm, the cathedral was stripped of its ornate furnishings. The nave and porch have remained roofless since the early 17th century. The tower and its surroundings are presently under the care of Historic Environment Scotland.Within the tower's ground floor, remnants of pre-Reformation murals depicting biblical scenes (circa 1490) can be observed—a rarity in Scotland. Notably, the clearest surviving mural portrays the Judgment of Solomon, reflecting the historical usage of this space as the Bishop's Court. The tower also preserves fragments of stonework associated with the cathedral and the surrounding area, including a Pictish carving featuring a horseman with a spear anddrinking horn, as well as several medieval grave monuments.The cathedral museum is situated in the former chapter house and sacristy, located on the north side of the choir. Following the Reformation, this chamber served as a burial aisle for the Earls, Marquises, and Dukes of Atholl, housing various elaborate monuments from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.