Scottish Tour Guide's Blog » Newark Castle

Explore Firth of Clyde, Explore Scotland

catswhiskers — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:32:01 +0000

Sailing on Firth of Clyde, Scotland

This evening, I am focusing on the Firth of Clyde, S.W.Scotland. Firth is a Scottish word meaning bay or estuary which in this case means the broadening stretch of water where the River Clyde enters the sea. This area has a long history dating back to Roman times, has numerous castles dotted along the edges, was at the forefront of the Iindustrial Revolution but today is perhaps best known for activities such as sailing and as a cruise ship destination (Greenock). A summary of some of the more important places and sites is as follows:

Tour Glasgow, Tour Scotland

catswhiskers — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:38:37 +0000

This morning, I collected my tour group from the Queen Elizabeth at Greenock, Firth of Clyde and then proceeded as follows:

First to Bearsden Roman Bath House. This was connected with a nearby fort on the Antonine Wall which dates from around AD 142.

River Clyde, Scotland

catswhiskers — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:53:40 +0000

River Clyde at Greenock, Glasgow

This evening, I am focusing on the River Clyde, west of Scotland. This river rises in the Lowther Hills in South Lanarkshire and runs for 106 miles, passing the city of Glasgow and into the sea past Greenock.

Scotland’s Tower House Castles

catswhiskers — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 20:57:47 +0000

This evening my theme is Scotland’s Tower Houses including a selection of illustrative images.

Tower Houses date from the 14t to 15th centuries and evolved out of earlier timber structures. Although built to give an impression of defence, the actual driver was status, to impress and demonstrate wealth as, by this time, Scotland was generally a peaceable country. The actual tower was invariably not adequate in size to accommodate the household retinue and hence was generally supplemented by other buildings and accommodations which often included a large hall for entertainment purposes.

Visit Newark Castle, Scotland

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:21:00 +0000

This evening, the theme of my posting is Newark Castle which I will address in greater detail later. Firstly, here is an update on today:

Glasgow Weather: Temperature in high single digits (centigrade) with no rain and a blue sky. Good conditions for cycling and photographs. However, temperature has dropped to freezing this evening.

Today’s Outing in Glasgow: Through the unusual medium of a Google Alert, I connected with a local Glasgow Tour Guide who I met for coffee and provisionally arranged for her to assist a client I have who is seeking a Charles Rennie Mackintosh themed walking tour of Glasgow. Coinciding with this meeting, I paid a visit to Glasgow’s Necropolis where I learned more about the local Heritage Trail and undertook some ancestry research. Encountered one Victorian family memorial which lists the deaths of six children of which five died under the age of eight years. A sad reflection on the high rate of infant mortality at the time, even the wealthy were not immune to the very poor public health conditions prevailing in Glasgow at the time.

Cycling in Glasgow: Whenever possible I cycle on my various trips. This activity highlights the deteriorating state of the roads in Glasgow, particularly the rising incidence of deep potholes, no doubt aggravated by the extreme cold weather of late. Road surface conditions in Glasgow are increasingly dangerous for cyclists-and probably serve to damage quite a few car suspensions as well!

Scotland Tour Arranging: Quite a lot of activity, viz: