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Tour Highlands, Tour Scotland

May 20, 2012 catswhiskers Comments off

Cairngorm Mountains, Aviemore, Scotland

This morning, we departed our lodgings at Ballifeary Guest House, Inverness after breakfast and drove south to our first stop at Aviemore. This small town is located in the Cairngorm mountain region and is popular with hikers, birdwatchers and outdoor enthusiasts. We had coffee at a high elevation restaurant which offorded superb views over the snow-capped mountains. Our visit coincided with the scheduled departure of the Strathspey Steam Train from Aviemore which was an added bonus.

Next we drove down the A9 to our next stop of Dunkeld with a photo stop for Blair Castle en-route..At Dunkeld tour guest played his Scottish Small Pipes in the Taybank Pub which itself is a popular music venue. We also had a light lunch here. After a short walk around the centre of Dunkeld we continued south to our next destination of Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s top visitor attractions.

We visited all main aspects of Stirling Castle including Great Hall, Royal Chapel and Kitchens. The recently restored Royal Apartments were of particular interest with assistance from actors in period costume.

After departing Stirling Castle, we continued south to our final destination of Edinburgh but first availing of a light meal at the Granary Pub on Leith’s popular waterfront.

Final drop-off was neraby where we exchanged fond farewells at conclusion of a fascinating 10 day round Scotland tour with emphasis on the Outer Hebrides.

Strathspey Steam Train, Aviemore, Scotland

Blair Castle, Perthshire, Scotland

Piper, Taybank Pub, Scotland

Atholl Fountain, Dunkeld, Scotland

Main Entrance, Stirling Castle, Scotland

Period Reenactment at Royal Apartments, Stirling Castle

Leith Waterfront, Scotland

Blair Castle, Buildings, Castles, Culture, Edinburgh, Highlands, Inverness, Locations, Mountains, Music, Scotland tour, Stirling Castle, Stirlingshire, Tours none

Visit Royal Apartments, Visit Stirling Castle

December 19, 2011 catswhiskers Comments off

Royal Apartments, Stirling Castle, Scotland

This evening, I am focusing on the recently refurbished Royal Apartments at Stirling Castle in Central Scotland.

Stirling Castle has been transformed into one of Scotland’s top tourist attractions. Until the 1960s the castle was a British Army base but after the Army vacated the historic experts moved in and commenced a long programme to take the castle back to something approximating its former splendour-as a combined Royal residence and military fort.

Recently, a long-running project to restore the Palace building (effectively a shell) to its former mid-16th century (specifically 1545) glory was completed. The result is a stunning display of colour and craftsmanship to replicate the living conditions on King James V and his French wife Mary of Guise. There are six rooms in all which are brought to life by the presence of actors in 16th century dress and language.

Royal Apartments, Stirling Castle, Scotland

Royal Palace, Stirling Castle, Scotland

Overall, the new Royal Apartments serve to enhance the visitor experience at Stirling Castle, albeit at cost to visitor of a higher entrance fee.

Buildings, Castles, History, Locations, Scotland tour, Stirling Castle, Stirlingshire, Tours none

Photography Tour Scotland

December 11, 2011 catswhiskers Comments off

This morning was the start of the final leg of the 48 hour photography tour of Scotland in winter. We had been incredibly fortunate with the previous two days as manifested in a combination of sunshine and snow covered landscape. The one downside being electricity cut in Mallaig as a function of damage caused by the recent hurricane force winds.

This morning, we departed our lodgings at Kenmore Hotel in central Scotland. The weather was not on our side in that it was raining and dark. First stop was the nearby Croft Moraig Stone Circle which we viewed in the dawn half light. This circle has its origins around 3000BC and is one of the more important such Neolithic sites on mainland Scotland.

Croft Moraig, Stone Circle, Scotland

Next we drove back to Kenmore and then tracked the northern edge of Loch Tay through to Killin at the southern end of Loch Tay and our immediate objective of the Falls of Dochart which were in full spate after the recent rains.

At this stage we were still experiencing heavy rain and so decided to drive on to Stirling Castle. Fortunately, the rain progressively eased and were able to stop for photographs of Loch Lubnaig en-route to Stirling.

Loch Lubnaig, Trossachs, Scotland

Nearer to Stirling we came across a part frozen flooded field which proved an interesting subject. Then we stopped to photograph an old stone built pack-horse bridge which straddles the River Teith.

Pack Horse Bridge, River Teith, Scotland

We duly arrived at Stirling about 11.30am. We started by taking some images of the south aspect of the castle sittig on its volcanic stump and then went on to visit the castle proper which entailed a a quick tour including the recently refurbished royal apartments,latter being very colourful and impressive.