westlin’ winds and fernie braes,
Northern lights and siller tides
Kathleen Jamie

Photograph by Tom Ingrey-Counter

Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun,
Belonging to none but itself.

We are mere transients, who sing
Its westlin’ winds and fernie braes,
Northern lights and siller tides,

Small folk playing our part.
Come all ye, the country says,
You win me, who take me most to heart.

A sense of connectedness

This new poem by Kathleen Jamie is inscribed on the Rotunda monument at Bannockburn, near Stirling. It’s about landscape, cultural traditions, and belonging.

What particular outdoor place – historic or otherwise – holds a sense of connectedness and belonging for you? Can you describe your experience of it?

Tom Ingrey-Counter