This evening I am presenting some images of a recent visit to Dunfermline Abbey Church, located in the Royal Burgh of Dunfermline, Scotland.

The current church was built in 1818-21 by William Burn. It is situated on the site of the ruined former Abbey.

The Church is significant in that it houses the burial place of King Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) who founded the Stewart dynasty and whose name is commemorated atop the the church tower. Bruce's descendants include all British monarchs since 1603.

This church is well worth a visit because of (a) its elevation affords superb views on a clear day (b) it is close the ruins of the Royal Palace and (b) a Benedictine Monastery. Of course there are many other reasons for a visit to historic Dunfermline ( including Andrew Carnegie's Birthplace) not least of which is proximity to Edinburgh.

Labels: dunfermline

posted by Catswhiskers @ 12:22 PM  0 comments

This evening I am posting some images of my mile long walk yesterday along Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street . This forms one of Glasgow's leading shopping venues and is partly pedestrianised (vehicles excluded). The street is very long and runs from the centre of Glasgow out to the West End near Kelvingrove Museum. The unusual name is derived form the old name for Willow Tree


Here is the Cameron Memorial Fountain. This sits at an angle and is in a sorry state,


Street View
Here are the famous Willow Tea Rooms ( first floor) designed by Glasgow's famous designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
More views of Sauchiehall Street in the Spring sunshine.

Labels: Glasgow

posted by Catswhiskers @ 10:37 AM  0 comments

Today, I finally achieved a personal objective in photographing the statues in George Square in context of a tour of Glasgow. These represent the 'Great and Good' of Victorian times and earlier.

Here is a general view with the Scott Monument prominent in the centre.


This is James Oswald, M.P.
This is Dr. Thomas Graham
Thomas Campbell, Poet

Lord Clyde
Sir John Moore
Robert Burns

Sir Walter Scott
William Ewart Gladstone
Sir Robert Peel

Queen Victoria, who visited Glasgow August 14th 1849.

James Watt

Labels: Glasgow

posted by Catswhiskers @ 9:43 AM  0 comments

This evening I am presenting an image the Struthers Memorial Church in the West End of Glasgow (Westbourne Road).

This building was designed in 1873 by John Honeyman, a partner of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and contains large stained-glass windows by Alfred Webster and Douglas Strachan.

Labels: Glasgow Architecture

posted by Catswhiskers @ 2:56 PM  0 comments

This evening I am posting some images from today's one day tour from Glasgow. We completed a big circle taking in Loch Lomond, Killin, Loch Tay, Kenmore, Pitlochry, Crieff, and Stirling. Here are some of the images

This is a view of Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond in the distance.




This is the Great Hall at Stirling Castle.


Here is the King and Queen inside the Great Hall.


Here is Edradour Whiskey Distillery, Scotland's smallest distillery.

Another aspect of Edradour
Decision time inside the Edradour shop


Croft Moraig Stone Circle which dates back about 5000 years.

Another aspect of Croft Moraig
Entrance to Taymouth Castle.

Kenmore Hotel at the northern end of Loch Tay. We had a good lunch here.


Falls of Dochart at Killin

Labels: Glasgow

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:58 PM  0 comments

This evening I am posting an image from a recent tour of the Fife Coast. Included in the tour was a visit to the famous church at St. Monans.

The fishing village is named after the church and is located between Elie and Pittenweem.

The harbour is the centre piece of the village.

The church has close connections with the local fishing community but, unfortunately, was closed at time of our visit due to preparations for a wedding.The associated grave yard is rich in local family history and of interest to ancestry researchers.

Labels: east neuk

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:45 PM  0 comments

This evening I am presenting a couple of images relating to the famous Black Watch regiment. This regiment was inspired by General Wade who, in 1725, recommended that six companies of Highlanders be raised by their clan chiefs to provide a militarised police force or Watch. The Black Watch was raised in a field near to Aberfeldy in Perthshire and went on to develop into one of Scotland's leading regiments. There is a museum dedicated to the Black Watch in Perth.

Here is an image of a memorial to the Black Watch which is located just north of the city of Dundee.



Here is an image of the memorial raised in honour of the Black Watch and located on the banks of the River Tay in Aberfeldy. In the background can be seen General Wade's military bridge which is still in use today and a great testament to the military engineers of the 18th century.

These images were taken in context of recent personalized tour with an underlying Black Watch theme.

Labels: Black Watch

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:14 PM  0 comments