Castles, A Fort, and A Few Things Uniquely Scotland
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| The Wee Bakery and Pizza Shop |
How does the old saying go about best laid plans? They can change or go awry or something like that. I guess you could say that about the places we will visit in this post. You see, when we were planning our trip to Scotland, we thought that we might see a couple of castles. You know, the most famous ones: Edinburgh and Stirling. Castles just aren't our thing. As fate would have it and a little item called an Explorer Pass, we ended up touring not only these two castles, but the ruins of 6 more! Oh, and a fort too!
Didn't see that one coming!
So, I guess you could say that this post will introduce you to sites you may or may not have ever heard about. We didn't think there could be much to the ruins, but they are really fascinating, plus the settings are incredible. After all, these places were constantly under siege as dueling forces fought for control of ownership, so the occupants had to be able to see the enemy coming from every possible angle. To further learn about each historical site, click on the highlighted name of each site as you scroll down the page. Each should provide a link to that individual site's place in Scotland's history.
Fans of the movie Braveheart know about this place
Sitting proudly atop Castle Hill
Statues surround the courtyard
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Queen Anne's Garden
The ceiling of the chapel used same construction as the hull of a ship
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Standing 220' into the air, The Wallace Monument is grand tribute to one of Scotland's most heroic figures: Sir William Wallace. If you're game, climb the 246 steps to the top. Once you catch your breath, the views are spectacular!
The imposing tower
Look Ma! We made it!
Wow! What a view!
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Sir Wallace ready to fight
Something peaceful on the
wooded trail to the
tower
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Not too far from the Wee Bakery (pictured at top of page) lies Eilean Dolan Castle. A popular stopover for tourist groups on their way to the Isle of Skye or up the road to Loch Ness. We arrived too early to take a tour, but the setting sure is lovely.
The ruins of the castle sit right on the famous Loch Ness. Didn't see Nessie, but sure saw a lot of people!!
  
Look how thick the walls are
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The big slingshot
A prison cell
Can you imagine the conditions?
This little fella sure was chatty
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Here it is, ladies and gentleman, the one fort we visited. Would have never even known about it without the Explorer Pass. Just outside of Inverness, Fort George was built shortly after the Battle of Culloden. It's a fantastic place for military and history buffs. In fact, The Highland Museum on the grounds is one of the best military museums we have ever visited. When you visit Scotland and have the Culloden battlefield on your itinerary, be sure to add Fort George. The two go hand in hand.
Entry to the fort
The Fort Chapel
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The Highland Museum is housed in this building
Chapel Interior
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St. Andrews Cathedral and Castle
Of all the ruins we visited, the St Andrews Cathedral is by far the most impressive. I think it is the sheer scale and size of what remains that makes it so amazing. The original must have been massive.
Nearby is the St Andrews Castle
Of all the ruins we visited, the St Andrews Cathedral is by far the most impressive. I think it is the sheer scale and size of what remains that makes it so amazing. The original must have been massive.
Nearby is the St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Cathedral
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St Rules Tower stands 33m tall
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St. Andrews Castle
Dirleton Castle
Sitting on the North Sea, this castle has gorgeous vistas including Bass Rock. The day was indeed picture perfect as these are some of my personal favorite photos from our trip.
On the edge of the North Sea. Bass Rock can be seen in the background
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Situated on Blackness Bay, this castle is fascinating because of its shape. It was built to look like a ship. A little trompe l'oiel for those out at sea looking for any possible targets to attack. The castle would become a prison for low threat prisoners. In fact, many families were allowed to live with the prisoners.
The 'ship' Blackness Castle
Prisoner Tower
The Pier to Blackness Bay
Things Uniquely Scotland
Rising 90 ft. out of the water, these impressive sculptures by Andy Scott
are a sight to behold.
"Kelpie or water kelpie is the Scots name given to a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. It is usually described as appearing as a horse, but is able to adopt human form."
source: Wikipedia
source: Wikipedia
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Simply put, The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift. It makes up for the height difference between two canals by lifting and lowering the boats from one canal to another. Quite an engineering feat.
A Highland Cow or Coo
Well, maybe not uniquely Scotland as they once were, but so darn cute that I thought one more picture wouldn't hurt. Plus it's a great way to end this post and this trip to Scotland!!
How can you not love that face??
Hope you have enjoyed this 3-part series. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you can link to them here:
So long for now and until next time:
Happy Travels! 🚗✈🚢
Melody
