There’s no shortage of recognisable landmarks in Stirling, but not many of them can be found in somebody’s front garden.
Whins of Milton’s wooden totem pole, located close to the Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre, is covered with carvings and topped with an eagle, its wings spread majestically.
The unique sculpture has become a local meeting point, and is beloved by school children and adults alike.
So beloved, in fact, that when the original totem pole was brought down by a storm in the winter of 2023-24, its disappearance broke hearts.
Miraculously, none of the nearby houses were damaged, but the totem pole itself – which was around twice the height of the house it stood in front of – didn’t survive.
Its owner, Isabell MacDiarmid, says she then discovered wasps had nested inside, and the whole thing had to be disposed of.
The 88-year-old was just as devastated as her neighbours about the loss, and knew she had to install a replacement.
“It was quite a shock. I couldn’t believe it,” she says.
“I really was disappointed. I was really hurt that it had the cheek to come down.”
Isabell’s son, Gordon, took her up north, where a new, smaller totem pole was hastily carved.
The tree, the TV presenter and the totem pole
But how did a wooden totem pole become a fixture of Whins of Milton in the first place?
Its surprising origin story involves a 40-year-old fir tree and TV historian Neil Oliver.
Isabell and her late husband William, an engineer, built their Whins of Milton home themselves over the course of a year in the early-1970s, with help from friends and colleagues.
The land had been a tree nursery, and the couple gave trees “to everybody in the locality” before construction started, according to Isabell.
Just two firs stayed on the site, and only one of them survived.
Four decades later, in summer 2012, the tree had grown to around 20 feet and become a threat to the MacDiarmids’ home.
Isabell was determined to save it, somehow.
She says Neil Oliver, who was working on an archaeological dig on the Bannockburn battlefield site at the time, passed by while the tree was being trimmed and asked what the plan was.
As Isabell tells it, she replied: “I would very much like a totem pole”, and the presenter felt it was a great idea.
She laughs: “I went back to William and Gordon and said: ‘See that historian over there? He says I should have a totem pole.'”
Carvings are tributes to friends and family
The tree’s branches were completely removed in 2013, and Rodney Holland from the Borders carved the totem pole’s many intricate decorations using a chainsaw.
“He could do a robin with this big saw. He was an artist – a real artist,” remembers Isabell.
The original piece had more than 40 carvings, all holding special meaning for Isabell and William.
Many of them were tributes to loved ones across the globe, including a kangaroo for friends in Australia.
Though the second totem pole that stands in the MacDiarmids’ garden today doesn’t have nearly as many carvings, several of them are faithful recreations.
The Route 66 road sign is a nod to son Gordon’s time spent in the US for work.
There’s a diving helmet for William’s apprentice Ronnie, who tirelessly helped the couple to build their house when he was 18, before going on to work as a North Sea diver for 25 years.
Friends from Indiana are represented by a red cardinal, the official state bird.
A new, bigger kangaroo features, as well as a red-breasted robin.
There are heart shapes, too. William, who had a heart problem, asked for these to be included on the first totem pole in honour of the Healthy Hearts group he attended.
He died in 2021, aged 83.
William’s lasting legacy
Isabell says Gordon described his mum and dad as “stuck like glue”, and she admits it was true.
She and William enjoyed hillwalking together, just the two of them.
Four years after his death, Isabell keeps herself busy with her garden and as a volunteer at Stirling Carers Centre, which provides support for unpaid carers.
Last year, at the age of 87, she completed the Kiltwalk four-mile Wee Wander, raising over £600 for charity.
But it’s clear her late husband is never far from her mind.
“That is William,” she says, smiling as she looks at old photographs.
“He never got dressed. You never saw him out of overalls.
“It was either blue overalls or orange overalls.”
William’s legacy lives on in the house he lovingly built, from the woodwork inside to the sandstone wall that encircles the garden.
And, of course, in the totem pole on the front lawn – back by popular demand and, you may be relieved to learn, strapped down tightly by Gordon in case of high winds.
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