The road goes into Abernethy, which is marked by its ancient round tower, past the hill fort on Castle Law. The tower that remains was built in the 11th century and was thought to have been where a look-out was kept for grave-robbers. It is likely however that some structure of religious significance has been in place there for a lot longer and would mark the route of the ancient trackway which became Coronation Road.

In fact, evidence of this is found in the following tale taken from the ancient Ogham script tablet found in Newport, Fife in 1958, now sadly lost:

King Alpin's Dalriadan horde lay waste the fields of the Picts in the land known as Perth and Fife.  The king ruled with a hand of iron, killing any prisoners and taking anything of any value from houses and hovels alike.  He followed from the south the marks till he came to the river-crossing of Abernethy where he was received with great rejoicing.  Being greatly tired and blood-stained from the battle, the first priority on the king's mind was to bathe and rest.  He burst into the house of what turned out to be a bakerwoman.  The woman was kind of heart and not knowing who the king was agreed to let him stay in her house.  She allowed him to bathe in her yard while she went about her business.  Not only did she make fine bread but also other goodly produce which she daily sold around the town.  The day after the king's arrival, when he was bathed and rested , she made ready to go out on her rounds as usual. But she had place in the oven some small round buns and she entreated the king, although she still did  not know to whom she was speaking otherwise she might have spoken differently, to take the buns from the oven as soon as they had risen.  But in her haste she had forgotten to add leaven to the mixture. Furthermore the king, though he agreed to do what she ask, was troubled by news of the march from the north of the Norse armies.  He went up to the top of the look-out tower in the town. The enemy was not yet in sight but the king surveyed his army from this high vantage point and changed the disposition of troops so as to improve his defences. When he got back to the bakehouse the bakerwoman had returned and was horrified to see her buns were still in the oven.  She took them out quickly and saw that they had not risen and were brown on top instead of white.

She scolded King Alpin most grievously when he returned and berated him for repaying her hospitality so poorly. At that instant the King's lieutenant, the loyal Lord Kintyre came into the house.  'Sire,  the enemy is in sight. We must take battle to him this instant.'

It was only then the bakerwoman recognised the king for who he was, fell on her knees and pleaded his forgiveness for her scolding.  King Alpin raised her up and said that he had deserved her wrath and she should forgive him if she could, for he was extremely grateful for her hospitality.  As for the buns, they had been thoroughly dried out and now they had cooled were hard and brittle. The King's lieutenant, unsure what they were talking about took one and found it was crisp and broke loudly in the mouth. He ate it all and then another and then another.

'Madam,' said Lord Kintyre, 'I greatly like these biscuits of Abernethy but I must take the king now to fight the Norse raiders.'

He and the king left, carrying with them the rest of the biscuits for their men, and the bakerwoman cried as they went.  And so she might because that very day King Alpin was killed in battle with the Norsemen.

Take the A913 to the north-east out of Abernethy and turn off  to the left after half a mile or so, down a minor road to Ferryfield of Carpow.  The road ends at the River Earn slightly upstream from where it joins the Tay.  Ferryfield of Carpow was the main ferry crossing point on the Earn (see photograph 7).  The river is slow-moving here and sheep and cattle could be herded across.  They would be accommodated in the broad field nearby while the herdsmen negotiated their crossing with the ferryman. Public access to the river bank is now not possible.   Coronation Road crosses the Earn here and would then have continued on the track through Easter Rhynd and thence to Elcho Castle (see photograph 8).

The horses would be ferried across in threes on the wide-platformed rafts. Occasionally one would panic and jump into the water, and would have to be coaxed out onto the opposite bank.  It is possible that the horses from Falkland were turned out into the ferry field while the travellers went on on-foot to the Tay crossing at Elcho then on the north bank of the Tay they would be met by fresh horses for the trek to Scone.

Elcho would have been an important resting place for the travellers.  From there they would take the ferry across the Tay.  The boat wharves can still be seen in outline on the map although the area is now much overgrown.  There are small harbours to the east of the castle and directly across the Tay to the west of Seggieden below Kinfauns Church. The landing places on the north bank are still used by modern fishermen.

The following tale is thought to refer to Elcho Castle, or rather its predecessor which may have been no more than a bothy for travellers on the Road. It is dated around 1040 and derives from a Latin script known as the Liberdanicus of 1312 written by an unknown scholar recording the connections between the Scandinavian peoples and the Scots over the years.

On the north bank of the Taus below the sacred grove of the leaping deer a hundred men descended with clattering armour and horse hooves churning the wetted turf so that it turned to slippy mud. And one among them stood tall and black-bearded leading with a fierce eye and a mind hardened to his adventure. Lord MacBeth rode on to the broad river bank and galloped to the water's edge.  He dismounted and screwed his eyes against the harsh wind to see to the other side of the river. But nothing stirred. He dashed his armour and coat to the earth and, naked, buckled his still-reddened sword over his shoulder before diving into the icy water. He was followed quickly by his son Lulach who stripped and swam after him.  But the lad was caught by the current of the ebbing river and would have been carried away had one of the courtiers not plunged after him and dragged him to safety back to the bank from which he had entered.  Meanwhile MacBeth  had reached the other side and pulling himself from the water drew his long sword before, his heart racing from his exertions and the enterprise, he strode swiftly up the bank to the hovel of Eklo set deep in the woods.  There were horses outside the biding house and he cut them loose, slapping them hard with the flat of his sword so that they flew from him and were lost.  Hearing the commotion MacDuff's followers emerged from the bothy  but were felled by MacBeth as each ventured into the daylight. The last one out was MacDuff himself who was alarmed to see the naked warrior, his sword dripping blood on to his chest as he raised the weapon to strike. But MacDuff showed no outward fear and he calmly spoke to him.

'My lord, it is clear you are angry but what has this to do with me?'

'MacDuff you are a scoundrel and deserve no explanation of your own demise. Keep your questioning for the angels of Heaven or Hell.' MacBeth approached him to deal the fatal blow.

Just then Lulach emerged from the Taus on the back of a courtier.

'Stop my lord.' said the youth dismounting and running up to where MacBeth stood.

'Keep away fool.'

But you need the lord MacDuff alive.' said Lulach. 'For it is only he who can crown you king in the eyes of God.'

MacDuff, aware that he might had avoided instant death tried to find the source of MacBeth's anger a second time. ' I will gladly crown you king for you are the plainest successor to the crown as I ever did see. But I can not crown you if I am the source of some sin against you so you must tell what I have done to anger you.'

MacBeth when he spoke was like a roaring boar.  'What need I of you? I killed Duncan, I have the crown. I can put it on my own head. If you refuse me why should I not kill you.'

'But I did not refuse.' said MacDuff.  'I have scarce heard of Duncan's demise and your ascendancy.'

'You did not come, though I waited at Scone seven long weeks.'

'Ah,' said MacDuff, 'and you sent your messenger to Falkland with this news?

'I did.' said MacBeth, 'and the dolt returned with your rejection.'

'But father, ' said Lulach, 'you struck the man down before he could fully report his mission.'

'That could be the source of the confusion.' said quicksilver Macduff, 'as I have been here at Eklo for these past two months while Falkland is extended to provide accommodation more suitable to my royal guests.'

'Then you will come with me now and crown me tomorrow seated on the Stone of Destiny.' roared MacBeth.

So they crossed the river to go north to Scone, MacBeth taking charge of the kingly paraphernalia which MacDuff had disclosed at a secret place.  But it is said that the gold and ebony skean of Alpin could not be recovered and it is lost and remains within the wood to this day.

(It should be noted that it is extremely unlikely that the skean-dhu of Alpin, king of Dalriada, is still lost in the area around Elcho Castle. For a start, it is not clear that the Eklo referred to in the tale is actually Elcho and the dagger is also small and therefore difficult to detect.  It is true that technology may improve to the extent necessary to find such a priceless object so if anyone thinks they may be getting somewhere near they should contact me as soon as possible as I probably have a better chance of finding it than you.)

The Earl Segieder of Abernethy accompanied Macduff on his journey to Scone to crown William I - the Lion.  Segieder was a noble of French extraction and had been a favourite of the previous king, Malcolm IV - the Maiden.  As this title suggests the latter was effeminate and never married and there was rumour that the earl had been close to the king in his bedchamber as well as in his friendship. He was nevertheless a ruthless man and plotted to kill the new king, William, at his coronation and sieze the throne.  He hired soldiers to ambush the coronation pilgrims.  He hid forty men in 5 fishing boats secluded in  the reeds across the Tay from Elcho Castle.  The treacherous plan was that Segieder would be in the first ferry across the river and MacDuff would be in the next boat.  The soldiers would capture MacDuff, kill all of his party and Segieder would use him to get close to the king at the coronation so that he could assassinate him.  Instead there was a mix-up and the conspirators launched their attack on the first boat, thinking one had already crossed the river. Before they could realise their mistake Segieder's boat had been rammed and overturned by his own men.  The river was in full spate and an ebb tide added to the current so that Segieder and his men were swept away and drowned.  The earl's body was later found and buried at the site of the attack at a place now called Segieder's den or Seggieden.

MacDuff's party had suffered three casualties who had drowned in the river.  They carried their bodies to Kinfauns Church and buried them in the churchyard and those that remained gave thanks for their own deliverance.

The north leg of Coronation Road can be seen across the river from Elcho Castle.  Directly behind the fishing huts at Seggieden is Kinfauns Church on the north bank of the Tay. It is only at this point that Coronation Road is sign-posted as such, as a bridleway.  After landing at Seggieden the coronation party would climb the slope from the Tay to Kinfauns Church, where they would stop for a religious service.  The old church is now a ruin to the east side of the modern building.

 The following is a delightful extract from Thoburg's The annals of the Scoti written in 1430:And so it came to pass that MacDuff and his knights had crossed the Tay from Elcho to the north bank in the bleak autumn (of  1040) and were making their way up the slope toward Kinfauns when a young deer leapt out from the hedge and startled the earl.  He drew his sword and landed a glancing blow across the its head, knocking it to the ground.  The fawn fell at his feet and as MacDuff watched it transfigured into human form, so that soon a boy of about fourteen years of age was lying in the grass asleep.  And the earl bent over him and urged his followers to tend to the boy's wounds.  But suddenly the youth sprang to his feet causing those who were trying to treat him to fall in a heap on the wet ground.  MacDuff started laughing and he couldn't stop.  Just when he was almost senseless with mirth he found himself in mortal danger.  A band of brigands had been closing on the little party.  They had heard rumour of the coronation treasure which was en route to Scone.  They killed two of the retinue while they were tumbled on the ground. But the youth grasped the sword of a fallen man and killed two of the outlaws with virtuous thrusts.  He was suddenly like a wildling, flailing his sword  and leaping into the robber band in an inspired frenzy.  The outlaws backed away and then their retreat turned to full flight with MacDuff's men in pursuit.

When they had returned, MacDuff and his men tended their wounded and held counsel.  After a period of deliberationi  the earl went to the treasure wagon and pulled armour out from beneath the covers.  This armour was that of king Malcolm II.  MacDuff called the youth over.

'You must take this armour to Kinfauns Church and stand vigil through the night.'

The youth said nothing but took the armour and carried it up the hill into the rude church of Kinfauns, where he laid it on the altar and sank to his knees in prayer where he stayed all night.

After midnight  MacDuff went into the church and saw the armour glowing bright on the altar while the youth was still bowed in prayer.

He raised the youth to his feet.  'Now you must put the armour on.' he said.

The youth was puzzled. 'But it is too great for me I will not be able to walk if I put it on, my lord.'

But MacDuff persisted.  And when the youth put on the armour it was found to fit him perfectly as if it had been made for him.  And in the church MacDuff took out his sword and told the youth to kneel.

'By the ancient power within me whereby God has granted me to make kings of mere men, I dub thee knight.  Arise Sir Goatsiward, preserver of kingmakers.'

And before MacDuff's eyes, the youth disappeared and the armour fell into a heap at his feet.  And as the earl left the church to tell his party of the second miracle he had seen within a day, in the gloom he saw a fawn bounding down the slope. And the deer had a holy glow about his head and disappeared into the hedgerows next to the River Tay.

And it is said that the fawn was the enchanted form of Malcolm Canmore, future king.  On a huge slab of stone this story was carved as a thanksgiving of MacDuff for the miracles that he had seen.  The slab was incorporated into the foundations of the new church and unfortunately the carving is turned inwards so no-one can see it.  And it will remain thus until the fabric of the church is taken down.