"Standing amid the ivy-clad ruins of Lindores Abbey it’s possible to imagine the day when in 1298 a battle-wearied William Wallace and his men strode through the east gate fresh from a skirmish with the Earl of Pembroke’s men at the nearby Battle of Blackearnside, and refreshed themselves with water from the Holy Burn. After an absence of over 500 years, in 2018 we introduced Bee’s back to Lindores Abbey with 6 hives being set up by the Holy Burn. We will use the honey in varied ways, one possibly being in our Aqua Vitae. Our chief beekeeper is Charley Clark, who is only seventeen but has already picked up extensive knowledge and is a now a member of the Fife bee-keeping association and the work she is carrying out here is forming part of her baccalaureate studies. Charley has a blog for anyone keen to follow the progress of project ‘Bee’. Our Apothecary, is always experimenting with many of the wild flowers and herbs that grow around the Abbey and we hope to produce drinks and cordials from these in the years to come. From Drew’s Grandfathers day the family have been maintaining the ivy and cutting it back but this is a huge and laborious process that requires careful advice from Historic Scotland as over the centuries the stone and the ivy have become interdependent and if the ivy was killed off, the walls would crumble. The bear and ragged staff was carved into the hill to commemorate the links between the Earl of Warwick and the first Abbot of Lindores Abbey, Guido who was a cadet of the Earl. The lighting of the bear is a truly spectacular sight and the ancient wee town of Newburgh comes to a standstill to witness it."