Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

This evening, I am focusing on Glasgow’s Italian Centre in John Street off Ingram Street. Glasgow has a reputation as second only to London’s Oxford Street as a U.K. shopping destination. Here, at the Italian Centre can be found such high end outlets as Versace and Armani together with various eateries. Location is convenient to such high footfall areas a George Square and Argyle Street. 

Inside the Italian centre can be found a fascinating courtyard with water feature and a collection of intruiging art works which are the subject of this post.

Above image shows one of Jack Sloan’s metal ‘Guardians’ which stands above a glass canopy whilst immediately below is a sliding window shutter depicting  the story of Phaeton,a human who stole the Apollo’s chariot and rode across the sky.

Phaeton, Italian Centre, Glasgow

This image shows the inner courtyard with foreground statue of man and his dog by Shona Kinloch entitled ‘Thinking of Bella’.

Internal Courtyard, Italian Centre, Glasgow

Here is the statue of the dog connected to the above.

Dog by Shona Kinloch, Italian Centre

Here is a frontal view of the ‘Thinking of Bella’ statue.

View from Isleornsay to Ornsay Lighthouse, Skye

View from Isleornsay, Isle of Skye, Scotland

This evening, I am focusing on of my favourite spots, namely Isleornsay  (Eilean Iarmain in Gaelic) on the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. This comprises a village loacated in an old harbour and which is situated roughly half way between the town of Broadford and the ferry connection at Armadale. The village is deceptively large with a number of  white painted houses tucked away in various places. However, the dominant bilding is the traditonal hotel loacted close to the water. Also in the immediate vicinity can be found:

• Praben na Linne, a Gaelic whisky shop open for tastings and sales.
• A Tweed shop focusing on Harris Tweed and velvet.
• A picture gallery, Gallery An Talla Deag, which houses a range of exhibitions by various artists throughout the holiday season.
• Pub.

Other places of interest within a 10 min (aprox.) drive of Isleornsay include:

• Armadale Castle and Gardens incorporating nature trails and the excellent Museum of the Isles with its library and study centre.
• Upscale hotel, Kinloch Lodge which is home to celebrity chef, Claire Macdonald.

Overall, Isleornsay is an ideal location for visitors wishing a quiet spot to enjoy the scenery and facilities of south Skye. When possible, I include a visit to Isleornsay during my tours of Skye.

View from Eilean Iarmain, Skye, Scotland

Today, our small group departed Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital and proceeded as follows:

• Across the Forth Road Bridge and the north to Pitlochry in central Scotland. Here we visited Edradour Distillery, Scotland’s smallest distillery where we joined in a standard tour to learn about the manufacturing process including malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation.
• Next we stopped for some pics of Pitlochry and then called in at the Moulin Hotel for a light lunch. Very cosy next to an open wood fire, especially as temperature was beginning to fall.
• After lunch we continued north, past Blair Castle and arrived Inverness, capital of the Highlands, mid afternoon. Here guests called in at Highland House of Fraser to experience Highland Dress, with kilt, etc.
• Next, we proceeded to Culloden Battlefield, site of the last battle on British soil which took place in April,1746. This was where the Jacobites, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, were finally defeated in about 1 hour by a Hanoverian army under General Cumberland. An important site in the history of Britain. There is an excellent information centre to assist understanding of the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself and events post battle.
• Next we drove a couple of miles round to Clava Cairns, an important prehistoric site dating back 3000-4000 years and comprising burial cairns and associate stone circles.
• Finally, we returned to our lodgings for the night in Inverness and then dinner at the Royal Highland Hotel.

Overall a productive and busy day. Tomorrow, we head south to Inveraray.

Weather today was very favourable, mainly sunny but with a tang of cool air signalling autumn is with us.