This evening, I am presenting some images taken just a few hours ago of Ben Lomond and the southern tip of Loch Lomond.

Ben Lomond rises to a height of 3195 feet and is known as the Beacon Hill. It is the most southerly of all the Munros ( peaks in excess of 3000 feet) and represents the very edge of the old geological fault known as the Highland Boundary.

The summit, which is easily accessed by the able bodied, comprises a fairly short, level ridge, curving gently round the head of the north-east corrie.




The above images were taken from Loch Lomond Gold Club.

Labels: loch lomond

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:01 PM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting some images of a recent tour entailing a visit to Drumclog.

Drumclog is famous for the battle which occurred there in 1679 when the Covenanters clashed with the forces of the establishment-and won.

The image below is a memorial to the battle and is located on the battle site which is some 6 miles south west of Strathaven in Lanarkshire.



This is the Drumclog Memorial Kirk which was built in 1912 and is named in remembrance of the Battle adverted to above. During June of each year a service is held to remember the Battle.

Labels: South Lanarkshire

posted by Catswhiskers @ 10:22 AM  0 comments

This evening, I am posting some images to record our recent visit to the site of the Battle of Drumclog in 1679 when the Covenanters (defenders of Presbyterianism) won their only victory against the Government forces under John Graham of Claverhouse. However, the victory was short lived as defeat followed at the subsequent Battle of Bothwell Bridge.

The battle site is located in a scenic, rural area six miles south west of Strathaven.


This semi-derelict building is the Old Drumclog School which is located on the actual site of the battle.


Inscription on memorial plinth
Memorial stone at Drumclog Church

Labels: battlefields

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:02 PM  0 comments

This afternoon, I am posting a collection of images from a just completed four day tour based in Edinburgh.

Here are some views of Edinburgh taken from and including the Castle. This stands on 443 feet above sea level on a plug of volcanic rock. The buildings range in date from the 12th century St. Margaret's Chapel to the 20th century Scottish National War Memorial.



View with Mons Meg in the foreground



St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh.

Palace of Holyrood House Architecture is mainly late 17th century to the design of Sir William Bruce.

Abbey at Holyrood

View of Edinburgh with Waverley Railway Station in foreground.


Former Royal High School. This was designed by Thomas Hamilton 1825-29 and is a building of international stature.
View of old Observatory dating from 1776 This is one of James Craig's very few surviving buildings.


View of Holyrood House from atop the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill

View of Princes Street from Calton Hill (Nelson Monument).



Rosslyn Castle This was destroyed by Cromwell during the Civil War period.




View of herbaceous garden at Dirleton Castle. This is the longest such border in the world.

Vaults at Direlton Castle. In the middle is a family enjoying a picnic. Dirleton Castle dates to the 12th century when it was built by the Anglo-Norman de Vaux family. The building was occupied through to 1650 when Cromwell's troops occupied and ruined the castle.


Ruins of Dirleton Castle
The following are images of a distillery tour at Glenkinchie.


Tour guide with copper stills in the background.

Guide explaining the spirit safe.

The following are images of the famous Rosslyn Chapel. Interior photographs are no longer allowed so the pictures are taken from previous visits.



This is the Apprentice Pillar at Rosslyn


Highland Cattle

The famous Govan Stones which date back 1000 years and represent some of Scotland's most important early medieval sculptures. These marked a major ceremonial and administrative capital of the kings of Strathclyde.


This is a Viking influenced 'Hogback' grave marker


Images of Glasgow Cathedral which dates from the 12th century



Inside the Blacadder Aisle (chapel)
The Nave
Rood Screen. One of the few in Scotland which escaped the Reformation.


View from the Wallace Monument near Stirling. This is dedicated to William Wallace aka 'Braveheart'.



View of the Wallace Monument

Site to commemorate the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 at which a Scots army under Robert the Bruce defeated a much larger English army under Edward II

Aspects of Stirling Castle. The castle mainly dates from the 15th and 16th centuries when it was principal royal residence, witnessing thye birth of James III, the childhood of James V and the crowning of the infant, Mary Queen of Scots.

Here is the tour guide in full flow.

Inside the Great Hall. Note hammer beamed roof.

Tapestry inside the Chapel
Original decoration inside the Chapel at Stirling Castle

View of the Palace buildings at Stirling

Overall, we a great tour. Good food and good company. Haste ye back!!

Labels: Scotland tour

posted by Catswhiskers @ 7:56 AM  0 comments

Today, I have just returned for a four day, Edinburgh centric tour. I will post a full picture record tomorrow. In meantime here is an image taken from atop the Wallace Monument ('Braveheart') near Stirling. This entailed a long climb; firstly up the hill to get to the base of the monument and secondly up the 246 steps to get on the on monument roof. We all made it! Fortunately, weather was reasonably clement.

The picture shows the beginning of an ox-bow lake on the River Forth and, in the background, Stirling Castle which we also visited. A great end to a enjoyable tour.



Watch this space tomorrow.

Labels: Scotland tour

posted by Catswhiskers @ 2:10 PM  0 comments

Today we are visiting Edinburgh with a tour to include Castle, Cathedral, Old Parliament, New Parialment and Holyrood House.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 12:24 PM  0 comments

This afternoon, I am presenting some images of the prehistoric cemetery near Inverness.

This dates back 4000 years and was used in two distinct periods: 2000BC and 1000BC.

The cairns extend along a gravel terrace raised above the River Nairn. The site may have been used for farming prior to construction of the cairns. Probably only one body would have been placed in the central chamber of each cairn.

South West Cairn

Central Cairn

North East Cairn

Labels: prehistory

posted by Catswhiskers @ 5:32 AM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting a photo record of a just completed eight day Scotland tour.


Here is Craigmillar Castle, a former home of the Preston family, which is located a few miles S.E.of Edinburgh and dates from the 1400s. This is not in such a ruinous state as many Scottish castles and is worth a visit.


Herbaceous garden at Dirleton Castle

Vaults at Dirleton Castle. Our visit coincided with a wedding.

Dirleton Castle with wedding reception in progress.


Rosslyn Chapel. This dates from the 1400s and took 40 years to build. Temporary roof facilities drying out of the stonework and will be removed in 2009.The Chapel is famous for its internal carvings and connection with the Da Vinci Code.




The National Monument at Calton Hill, overlooking Edinburgh


View of the Royal Mile at Edinburgh. This is the historic part of the City and best seen on foot.

View of Edinburgh from the Castle


St. Margaret's Chapel at Edinburgh Castle


Intrepid mountaineers atop Arthur's Seat


View of Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat

Dunfermline Abbey which dates from the 12th century.

King Robert the Bruce's tomb in Dunfermline Abbey


St. Monan's Church on the Fife Coast. This is a fascinating building dating to the 13th century.

Inside St. Monan's Church, which has strong links with the local fishing and shipping industries.

Famous fish and chip bar at Anstruther. We had a good lunch here.



View of quaint but working fishing village at Crail

Swilken Bridge at Old Course, St. Andrews


St. Rule's Tower at St. Andrew's Cathedral. The energetic can climb this tower and benefit from great views of the City.

View of St. Andrews from atop the Tower.


Intrepid Tour Guide!
Carved Pictish stones from the collection at Meigle in Perthshire


Edradour Distillery, near Pitlochry. An excellent free tour is provided for visitors.

Whisky Still at Edradour

Culloden Battlefield near Inverness. This was the site of the last battle on British soil-in 1746. There is an excellent visitor centre with detailed information on the famous battle.


Memorial to the fallen clansmen at Culloden.


Who is this? We are on the banks of Loch Ness, so no prizes for the correct answer!

View of Loch Ness from Castle Urquhart

This is a likeable beast. Big horns but very placid. We got very up close whilst touring on Mull.


Iona Abbey viewed from the approaching ferry. A very quiet and spiritual place.

Inside the Abbey
Carved stone with Pictish influence at Iona.


Cloisters at Iona

This is not the Canadian Pacific. However, it does provide a fun ride from Craignure on Mull to nearby Torosay Castle, a distance of about 1.5 miles.


Local vegetation, which reflects the warm, damp, mild climate.

Torosay Castle. Here we encountered an unusual dog-a Labradoodle!

Images of Tobermory, the capital of Mull. Note the very colourful buildings-and tame sea birds!



View of the landscape ( or seascape) from near our lodgings.


View of Inveraray. This is an unusual planned town dating from the 18th century. This town makes an excellent base for touring Argyll and Kintyre


Inveraray Maritime Museum aka Arctic Penguin

Images of Auchindrain Township near Inveraray.
This is a reconstruction of an original West Highland village.


View of Loch Lomond
The following images are of the quaint village of Luss which sites on the shore of Loch Lomond.

Here is a 'hogback' grave marker at Luss church which dates from Viking times.


A greedy bunny completely unpeturbed by the locals.

Colourful gardens at Luss village

View of Luss with the Loch in background.

Now we are in Glasgow. Our first visit was to the famous Cathedral which dates from the 12th century and managed to survive the Reformation relatively intact.

Glasgow's emblem

Inside the Cathedral

Glasgow Necropolis ( City of the dead). On this site close to the Cathedral are buried the great and good of Victorian Glasgow.



Inside Glasgow's oldest house, Provand's Lordship

Templeton's carpet factory at Glasgow Green. A very unusual piece of architecture.

Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. We took the opportunity to watch a display of Scottish Country Dancing inside.

Labels: Scotland tour

posted by Catswhiskers @ 12:01 PM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting some images of a Scottish Country Dancing demonstration provided at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow. We were in Glasgow so we popped in to have a look.

This form of dancing originated in the 18th century. It is social dancing which involves groups of 6-10 people who dance to various reels, jigs and strathspeys with music provided by accordions, flutes or piano but rarely bagpipes.

In the event we witnessed there was both demonstrations by experts and opportunities for the public to join in. A nice event to round off the day-and tour.



View from first floor.
Demonstration team in action

Labels: Scottish Dancing

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:47 PM  0 comments

This evening, I am posting some images of this afternoon's visit to Luss. This is a quaint heritage village having its origins as a community of workers for a nearby slate quarry but now used for social housing. The village also featured in a TV soap 'Take the High Road'.

Here is a view down the main street towards Loch Lomond.


Luss is known for its very neat and colourful gardens. Here are a couple of images.



The village church. This dates from Victorian times but sits on a very ancient Christian site possibly dating back 1500 years.

Hogback grave marker in the churchyard which indicates links with the Viking era.


Here is a just-married couple having pictures taken.

View of Loch Lomond which vies with Loch Ness for largest loch status.

View from the end of Luss pier looking towards the village.

Labels: Luss

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:49 PM  0 comments

Today we are visiting Iona Abbey which has a history dating back to the sixth century when Saint Columba introduced Christianity to Scotland.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 10:45 AM  0 comments

Today we are visiting Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness. Weather OK but no monster in sight.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 7:27 AM  0 comments

These date from the time of the Picts around ninth century AD.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 8:53 AM  0 comments

Today we have visited the twelfth century Abbey. Nearby is the remains of a royal palace which was capital of Scotland until 1603.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 9:36 AM  0 comments

Today we are visiting Edinburgh Castle parts of which date to the 12th century.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 9:00 AM  0 comments

Today we visited Dirleton Castle which has the longest herbaceous border in the world.

posted by Catswhiskers @ 10:08 AM  0 comments

This evening I am posting a few images taken during a brief visit yesterday to Dunkeld. This is a very popular small town, very centrally situated inside the Highland Line on the banks of the River Tay. The scenery is stunning and the atmosphere full of history.

The name Dunkeld means 'Fort of the Caledonians'.

Around AD 700 followers of St. Columba founded a monastery at Dunkeld. In 878 AD the bones of St Columba were moved to Dunkeld from Iona for safety and remained there until 1560. The Cathedral, which stands on the site of the former monastery, was started in AD 1318 and was completed in 1448. During the Reformation the Cathedral was largely destroyed but partially re-roofed in 1600 when it became a parish church. In a battle following that at nearby Killiecrankie in 1689 most of the town was burned during the conflict between Jacobite and Government forces.

The Dukes of Atholl rebuilt Dunkeld in the 19th century with further restoration work carried out by the National Trust and the County Council since 1950.

Perthshire is a garden county-and my favourite!. The scenery ranges form luxuriant valleys to high craggy peaks and is a mecca for people who love the outdoors. Nearby are faculties for white water rafting, hillwalking, bird watching, fishing, golfing and stalking. Other places of interest include castles, lochs, historic monuments, battlefields, theatre, Beatrix Potter sites and lots of history.

Most of the above background information was obtained from a brochure produced by The Pend B&B

The following two images are of the Square including the Atholl Fountain


River Tay looking upstream from Dunkeld

River Tay looking downstream towards Birnam

Taybank pub-well renowned as a centre for traditional Scottish music.

View of Bridge Street with its many and varied shops.

Dunkeld's central location makes it ideal as a base for touring Scotland.

Labels: perthshire

posted by Catswhiskers @ 10:39 AM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting some images of a visit today to Kinnaird Estate, Perthshire.

Kinnaird is an upscale country house hotel focusing on scenery and sporting pursuits including fishing.

Here is a view across the Tay valley


Main entrance
Gardens
Aspect of Keeper's Cottage
View of Keeper's Cottage which is a just a few steps down from the main entrance
Ghillie's dog enjoying a swim on the fast flowing Tay

Hut (cabin) at the Lower Kinnaird fishing beat.

View of Kinnaird House from the fishing beat.

River Tay at Lower Kinnaird
We were met by Jimmy the Ghillie and introduced to the Lower Kinnaird beat. This is 2 miles long double bank which starts at the junction of the Tay and Tummel Rivers and ends at Dalguise. Lower Kinnaird beat is at its best in low water when it is a lovely fly beat. Today nine salmon had been caught.

Labels: Fishing

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:43 PM  0 comments

This heritage property is located just a few miles from the centre of Glasgow. Holmwood was completed in 1858 and is considered to be the finest domestic design by the Glasgow architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. Interior conservation work is in process, including the original stencilled wall decoration in the dining room. The house has 5 acres of landscaped gardens to explore and a small kitchen garden planted with a range of Victorian herbs, fruits and vegetables.




This site is a "must" for followers of 'Greek' Thomson.

Labels: Glasgow Architecture

posted by Catswhiskers @ 1:44 PM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting some images from a recent visit to Melrose Abbey in the Scottish Borders.

This is a ruined Cistercian Abbey founded by King David I of Scotland around AD1136. It was largely destroyed by an English army in 1385 but was rebuilt in the early 15th century.

The Abbey is famous as the burial place of the heart of King Robert the Bruce.

The site now ranks as one of Scotland's most famous ruins because of its elegant and elaborate stonework . Nearby is the Commendator's House which contains a large collection of objets trouves including Roman artifacts.

Next to the Abbey is Priorwood Garden where plants are grown specifically for dried flower arrangements. There is also a dried flower shop on site.


Melrose itself is a pleasant little town and well worth a visit

Labels: scottish borders

posted by Catswhiskers @ 9:19 AM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting some images of Govan's famous carved stones. There is a total of 31 monuments which date from the 9th to 11th centuries and represent one of the largest and most interesting collections of early medieval sculpture in Scotland.

The stones range from a sarcophagus and recumbent stone slabs to free-standing crosses and cross-slabs together with a fascinating collection of five hogback monuments.

These stones are situated inside Govan Old Church which is no longer used for worship but is now a qu