This evening, I am presenting some images from a recent 3 day tour. We used Scotland's capital of Edinburgh as a base.

The following two images were taken at the 'Home of Golf' at St. Andrews, which is also a famous, historic city which also boasts a top university, castle and cathedral.

This is a view of St. Andrews taken from the Old Course Club House with Royal and Ancient in centre left.


View of famous Old Course. This is the Home of Golf where golf was first played some 600 years ago. It is venue for The 2010 Open Championship. St. Andrews links comprises six public golf courses including the Old Course.

Golfing is a major contributor to tourism in Scotland.





The following two images were taken at the quaint and historic fishing village of Crail located on the Fife Coast and just 10 miles from St. Andrews. Crail was once the largest fish market in Europe and today it is still possible to buy fresh lobster and shellfish here.


Note house with pantiled roofs

The following two images were taken at St. Monans Parish Church which was founded about AD 1265-67 and which may have been conceived as a thank-offering by King David II. The church sits close to the sea and location affords visitors a tang of the salty sea air.



Here is an image of the Alexander Selkirk statue at Lower Largo (Fife Coast). Alexander Selkirk was the real life role model for the fictional Robinson Crusoe.


The following four images are of the famous/historic Dupplin Cross which is situated in St. Serf's church at Dunning. This dates back about 1100 years and commemorates King Constantine.The heavy and intricate carvings appear to contain messages which we may not be able to fully understand today.





This is a view of the village of Dollar taken from atop nearby Castle Campbell. This is a prosperous community with a famous fee paying school. The name Dollar has nothing to do with money and originates from the ancient word for field ,'Dal'.

This is an image of Castle Campbell which is located high in the Ochills atop Dollar Glen. Originally known as 'Castle Gloom', the stronghold was acquired in the 15th century by the senior branch of the Campbell family, who over the years became earls, marquises and dukes of Argyll. In 1489 the place was renamed Castle Campbell and remained occupied until partly destroyed by fire in 1654 during the Civil War.

This is a view of the centre of the attractive little village of Dirleton which is dominated by the ruins of Dirleton Castle.

The following three images are of the stunning formal gardens at Dirleton Castle.



This is the main entrance to Direlton Castle which originated in the 12th century and was added to over the following three centuries until destroyed by Cromwell's army in the 17th century.
Dovecot at Direlton Castle. Pigeons were an important source of food in medieval times.


More garden scenes at Direlton Castle which include the world's longest herbaceous border.



The following three images were taken at Glenkinchie Whisky Distillery near Pencaitland. We enjoyed a guided tour describing the process of whisky making from malting. mashing, fermentation, distillation through to maturation.




The final three images were taken at Rosslyn Chapel, about 12 miles south of Edinburgh. This 15th century chapel is famous for its stone carvings, including the Apprentice Pillar. Regrettably, photography is not allowed inside the chapel. More recently, the chapel has attracted new visitors through the connection with the Da Vinci Code.



Overall, we had a good tour. Weather was OK but could have been better!

Labels: Scotland tour

posted by Nigel Cole @ 9:07 AM  0 comments

This evening I am posting some images from a recent visit to Housesteads Fort on Hadrian's Wall.

This is one of the most iconic sites of the Roman Empire and was known as Vercovicium. The fort was an addition to the Wall and covers two hectares. The overall layout of the fort changed little over nearly 300 years of occupation.

Here is an image of the granaries which are above ground level to keep the grain dry and free form vermin.



Here is the Wall passing through the landscape.

Foundations at the Fort

Labels: Roman Britain

posted by Nigel Cole @ 1:41 PM  0 comments

This afternoon, I am presenting an image taken at a just-completed tour of Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands.

Glencoe is a 'must see' on a Scotland Tour. The scenery is awesome and there is added dimension in that Glencoe was the location of a famous massacre in 1692 when a detachment of Campbells serving in the British Army massacred 38 members of the Maclan MacDonalds on Feb 13th 1692.

There is a good Visitor Centre operated by the National Trust which focuses on the local ecology and scenery.



Glencoe also has a heritage museum and is very popular with hikers and climbers.

Labels: Highlands

posted by Nigel Cole @ 4:50 AM  0 comments

This evening, I am presenting some images from a just completed two day, small group tour of Scotland taking in some key sites.

Here is the quaint heritage village of Luss. The houses were originally built to house workers at a nearby slate quarry.


Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond in the distance.


Here are some images of the famous Glencoe landscape. We just arrived at the right time-as the sun was shining!


Here are some views of Loch Ness and Castle Urquhart. Loch Ness comprises the largest inland body of water in the U.K.


Happy travellers
Another view of Castle Urquhart. This is a magnificent ruin in its own right.

The following are some images from a tour of Edradour Distillery near Pitlochry. The tour is free and covers the whole whisky making process from malting, mashing, fermentation to distillation and maturation.




The following are images taken at Stirling Castle.

This is a handwoven tapestry located on the wall of the chapel. Tapestry weaving is still undertaken on-site.

The Chapel Royal. This was built in 1594 for the christening of Prince Henry.


Exterior of the Great Hall This is very impressive both inside (hammer beam roof) and outside (authentic gold coloured exterior).
The Palace
Outer Defences
Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum Glasgow. This is one of the finest civic attractions in Europe and attracts over 1.0m visitors per annum.

Glasgow University.This is one of Scotland's premier university's and located in the West End of Glasgow.
Overall, a good tour. Weather was reasonably clement.

Labels: Scotland tour

posted by Nigel Cole @ 11:45 AM  0 comments

This evening I am presenting some images of Loch Lomond taken today from the pier at Luss.

Loch Lomond is a freshwater loch which sits just 27 feet above sea level. It was the actions of a glacier some 10,000 years ago which created this landscape.

Loch Lomond's proximity to the populated lowlands of Scotland means it well suited to meeting then leisure needs of recreational users of many kinds, including boating, hiking,angling and birdwatching.

The images show Ben Lomond

Labels: loch lomond

posted by Nigel Cole @ 3:04 PM  0 comments