Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland

This evening, I am focusing on Glamis Castle. This is a popular tourist attraction which is easily accessible from Edinburgh, St Andrews and central Scotland.

Glamis Castle has been the home of the Earls of Strathmore since 1372. The castle is perhaps best known for its links with the British Royal Family, in particular the late Queen Mother (1900-2002).

Regular tours of the castle last about 50 minutes and take visitors through the Victorian Dining Room, Medieval Crypt, 17th century Drawing Room, Chapel, Billiard Room and the Royal Apartments. Other facilities and attractions at Glamis include:

• Italian Garden
• Nature Trail
• Garden Walks
• Highland Cattle
• Exhibitions
• Shopping
• Food and Drink

Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland

Highland Cattle at Glamis Castle, Scotland

A visit to Glamis Castle can usually be incorporated in a tour of the the Fife Coast and St Andrews.

This morning we were collected by our driver Craig who was attired in full Highland Dress.

Tour Group at Edinburgh, Scotland

First, we drove across the Forth Bridge to Fife and then east to our first stop of Anstruther, a pretty former fishing village on the coast which now boasts a marina and is popular with visitors.

Anstruther Harbour, Fife, Scotland

Anstruther Harbour, Fife, Scotland

Anstruther Harbour, Fife, Scotland

Next to the historic town of St Andrews where we stopped to visit the ancient and ruined Cathedral and then the famous Old Course at opposite end of town. Before departing we managed to have a quick group photo shoot at the Swilken Bridge.

St Andrews Cathedral, Fife, Scotland

St Andrews Links, Fife, Scotland

Tour Group at Swilken Bridge, St Andrews Links

Next to Dundee and across the Tay Bridge to Glamis Castle which has connections with the British Royal Family and the late Queen Mother in particular. Group joined a tour of the castle which lasted about one hour.

Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland

Next we headed north to Crathes, near Balmoral in the Highlands. Objective was to visit Crathes Church but the interior was unexpectedly closed, possibly for security reasons. However, we did take exterior pics of the church.

Tour Group at Crathie Church, Highlands

Craithie Parish Church, nr Balmoral, Scotland

Finally, we headed north through some stunning scenery arriving at Inverness about 7.00pm.

The weather today was benign with no rain.

Anstruther Harbour, Scotland

This morning, we departed our lodgings at the Royal Hotel, Dunkeld and then proceeded as follows:

Approx one hour drive east through te rich farmlands  of Perthshire and Angus where we observed maturing crops such as barley and extensive soift fruit growing, mainly strawberries and raspberries. We duly arrived at our first objective of Glamis Castle, which has been in the same family for about 600 years and has connections with British royalty, particularly the late Queen Mother. The group undertook a guided tour of the Castle.

Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland

We next continued east, passing through Dundee and across the Tay Bridge to St Andrews which has its own Royal connection in the form of Prince William and Kate Middleton. St Andrews is also known for (a) its role as the home of golf and the famous Old Course (b) its ancient and prestigious university around which the town has grown up and (c) the ruined medieval Cathedral which in its day (pre-Reformation) was the most important religious establishment in Scotland. There is also the West Sands where opening shots of Chariots of Fire was filmed.  We had lunch at the University’s restaurant facilities.

St Andrews Links, Fife, Scotland

West Sands, St Andrews, Scotland

Next we continued along the Fife Coast to Anstruther, where we were able to enjoy all the facilities of this pleasant harbour town in the warm sunshine. A few of the group sampled fish and chips from the award winning Anstruther Fish Bar.

Anstruther Harbour, Fife Coast, Scotland

Finally, we continued aron dthe coast and across the Forth Bridge to our destination of Edinburgh where, after fond farewells, the group checked into lodgings in readiness for participation in the Edinburgh Fringe festival. This concluded a three day tour of key sites on mainland Scotland.

(Apologies for quality of images. These were taken using a cellphone due to camera malfunction.)