Scotland Part 2: Castles & History

All around Scotland are reminders of the history that has shaped the country ... there are so many castles here that you lose count. Some are ruins, some are still homes. Some try to recreate a long-gone era, some keep moving with the times. In and among the castles are many monuments, gardens, and other historical homes.

Our first truly dramatic castle sighting was on the ferry from Oban to Mull. Duart Castle (below) sits alone as you turn the corner toward the Craignure ferry dock. We later visited it, passing the MacLean clan cemetery on the way in to the castle.

Some of the castles have extensive gardens and grounds to explore. Pictured below are: Cawdor (is this where Duncan died in Macbeth?), Crathes (we didn't see the ghost of the Green Lady), and Glamis, with it's nice photo exhibition of the Queen Mother.

Ruins abound across the country. Many of the castles were destroyed to ensure they couldn't fall into enemy hands. Two of the ruins we visited are pictured below. Urqhart sits on Loch Ness ... we didn't see Nessie, but perhaps the rain scared her away. Loch Leven sits on an island (in -- you guessed it -- Loch Leven), and is one of the castles where Mary, Queen of Scots was held. To get to the island you take a ferry (in this case, a very small boat); the poor ferry driver was getting soaked this day!



We visited a few historic buildings as well. Our favorites were the Hill House in Helensburgh (designed by the famous Glasgow architect Charles Rene Mackintosh) and the 18th-century Duff House in Banff.

Scotland doesn't immediately leap to mind when we think of WWII, but there is a lot of world war history around the country. The Commando Memorial looks out across a sweeping view of Lochaber and Glen Nevis. Outside of Poolewe is an old training ground with old gun hides; many Russian sailors set out from here during the war.

It wouldn't be a vacation without a visit to some gravesites, right? At least not for us. The Clava Cairns might not look like much, but it is amazing to think that we were viewing burial mounds and standing stones that date back to 2000BC. A little more recent, but still old, were some of the gravestones in the Stirling Holy Rude cemetery, like this one dated 1696.

Some of the cities were protected by impressive fortresses. Unfortunately, the weather kept us from snapping impressive pictures. Below are Stirling Castle, the view from Stirling to the Wallace Monument, and Inverness Castle.

We'll leave with the most scenic of our Scottish castle stops. First is Castle Stalker (Rochelle loves the name); it's privately owned but there is a great viewpoint from the highway. If you're a Monty Python fan, you might recognize it as Castle Aaaarrrrggghhh!

Second is Eilean Donan, restored in the early 1900s by the MacRaes. It's no wonder why this is one of the most photographed spots in Scotland. Luckily the weather held for us as we toured the castle.


Stop by next week (August 6) for our final Scotland installment on the wildlife (as in animals, not pubs)!