Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

This evening, my focus is on the often overlooked town of Dumbarton, a place of great historic significance. The name derives from dun breatainn or ‘fort of the Britons’ from the time when the place was capital of the ancient British kingdom of Strathclyde which covered S.W.Scotland and parts of northern England during the 7th-9th centuries AD. At that time the language spoken was a form of Welsh.

The successor to the ancient fort of the Britons sits atop a volcanic outcrop on the bank of the River Clyde. It has a long tradition of military usage from the Wars of Independence, to Mary Queen of Scots, the Jacobite uprisings and defence against possible French attack. The castle was last occupied by the military in World War II when it was bombed by German aircraft.

The castle is open to the public and offers superb views  over the Clyde and to the Trossachs to those who are prepared to undertake the steep climb to the top.

The town of Dumbarton came to prominence in the 19th century with industries such as glassmaking, shipbuilding and whisky manufacture. Today, there still remain whisky bottling plants and bonded warehouses, with latter distinguished by the black fungus which covers the warehouse buildings..

Surprisingly, Dumbarton is by-passed by the hordes of visitors in coach and car which year go past Dumbarton en-route to/from Loch Lomond and points further north. However, the more discerning visitor will be rewarded by a visit to the Castle and its attendant views and direct connection with a long period  of history.

When time permits I include a visit to Dumbarton Castle in my private tours.

Below is a view of the Clyde from a former gun battery.

This evening, I am focusing the popular town of Callander which sits on the banks of the River Teith and on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. This area is also known as the Trossachs which benefits from some stunning scenery comprising lochs ( such as Venachar and Katrine) and mountains. This area has long associations with the legendary ‘outlaw’  Rob Roy Macgregor. Within a short drive range of Callander can be found:

• Kilmahog, home of the famous ‘Hamish’  Highland Cow.

• Doune Castle
• Stirling Castle
• Killin and the Falls of Dochart.
• Loch Katrine
• Loch Lomond.
• Lake of Menteith
• Blair Drummond Safari Park

Overall, a great base for sightseeing whilst avoiding the need for travelling long distances.

 This evening I have complied a composite of the first two days of a recent photography tour of Scotland during winter. At end of day 1 the town where we stayed had no electricity and hence I was unable to collate and post images which in turn placed my blogging sequence in arrears. Tonight’s exercise is a ‘catch up’.

After collecting guest at Edinburgh Airport we drove north-west past Doune Castle (above) to Callander where we had a brief stop for photographs and refreshments. 

 Next we continued through Strathtyre, Crainlarich and on to Rannoch Moor passing through some interesting Trossachs scenery en-route.

 

 Rannoch Moor provided some wonderful photo opps.

 

 

 After Rannoch Moor, we cotinued north through Glencoe, one of Scotland’s most stunning scenic areas.

 On arriving at Corran on Loch Linnhe we took the ferry and then continued on the west side of the loch up to Glenfinnan and then our final destination of Mallaig where there was no elctricity due to the recent hurricane strength gales.

After a cold night with no hot water we caught the 8.40am ferry to Armadale, Skye which took us past the spectacular Knoydart Peninsula- and more photo opps.

 On arrival on Skye we stopped first at Knock Castle and then Isleornsay.

 

 Further on we stopped for pics of a small herd of Highland Cattle  before going on to Kyleakin and its ruined castle.

 

 Next, we travelled across the Skye Bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh and then a short distance to the famous Eilean Donan Castle- and more photographs.

 

 Next, we continued trough increasingly wintry Highland scenery via Glen Shiel, Invergarry and Loch Laggan.

 

 

 On arriving at Pitlochry, we called in briefly at Edradour Distillery, Scotland’s smallest such whisky producer but just missed the last tour of the day.

 

Finally we drove on south and then west, first to Aberfeldy and finally to our destination of Kenmore on the northern tip of Loch Tay.

Overall, a great 2 days during we benefited from a very fortunate combination of winter scenery and sunshine- ideal for photography.