Imagine trying to creep up at night in bare feet to ambush your enemy when you stand on a prickly thistle. Your agonising screams wake the sleeping soldiers who rise up and defeat your own men.  According to legend the Scots were saved by the cries and defeated the invading Vikings in 1263 as they tried to attack. At the time much of northern and western Scotland were very vulnerable to attack by the Vikings.  Subsequently the Scots adopted the thistle as the national flower and it has since appeared in numerous forms in heraldry, flags, Scottish coins, sculptures and emblems including sport teams, organisations and businesses.   The highest award that can be given in Scotland is the Order of the Thistle which is bestowed to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the life of Scotland and the greater United Kingdom.
This photo was taken during a morning walk around the distant Gladhouse Reservoir when mist still hung around places nearer to the Forth before clearing up later.