Place of interest Archive

Cullykhan Bay, Fort Fiddes and the Chimney to Hell

Cullykhan Bay is still very much an insider tip. A stop at this beautiful bay is worthwhile, and not just for the fantastic views. Along the coastal road, a little way past the famous fishing village of Pennan, lies Cullykhan Bay, nestled between two green headlands. Its floor is lined with the finest sand, and […]

Berneray West Beach – the Copied Dream Beach

Scotland has beautiful beaches. One of them lies on the small island of Berneray, and is apparently so enchanting that some Thais used it, without further ado, to advertise their own island. Ian McNamara was rather taken aback when he saw this photo on the information board at the visitor centre of the Thai island […]

Castle Stalker and Dugald’s Revenge

A castle, the sea, and the Isle of Mull in the background. Castle Stalker delivers a backdrop that has few equals. And of course it has a bloody history – what else! On the eve of battle – Castle Stalker, 1468 There is no forgiving, there is no forgetting. Dugald Stewart paced along the parapet, […]

Flora MacDonald’s Disputed Birthplace on South Uist

The memorial stone is clearly visible, but everything else is uncertain. Scholarship and local tradition disagree over the birthplace and origins of the heroine of the Highlands. Can it really be here? My car rattles over a cattle grid as I follow the signpost and turn off the main road into a driveway. This is […]

Mingary Castle – New Life for an Old Castle

A very old castle on Scotland’s west coast is soon to shine in renewed splendour and once again stand proudly overlooking the Sound of Mull. Until now, the castle has barely stood out. Tourists taking the ferry from the wild Ardnamurchan peninsula to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull may have glanced, puzzled, at the […]

Norse Mill & Kiln – Old Mill in a Blackhouse

Tucked into the gentle hills of the Isle of Lewis stands a mill whose roots reach all the way back to the Iron Age – the Norse Mill near Shawbost. Sweet peat smoke, rushing water, clattering mill wheels – visitors making their way down the hill to the mill would still have experienced all of […]

Navidale House Hotel – Sleeping in the Sutherlands’ Hunting Lodge

The Dukes of Sutherland once came and went here. Today, guests from all over the world can enjoy the ambience of the Navidale House Hotel. It was already windy and wet when we arrived here on our last trip – unusual for the fair-weather side of eastern Scotland – and by the time we pulled […]

Loch Eriboll – Fertile Ground and Explosive Depths

A dark, deep sea loch right in the far north of Scotland – that’s Loch Eriboll. It has a few stories of its own to tell. Whisky coming from the Highlands is, in a way, almost a contradiction. Whisky needs barley, and barley in turn needs fertile farmland to grow. But in the north of […]

Butt of Lewis – the Thick End of the Western Isles

At the Butt of Lewis, the northern tip of the Outer Hebrides, storm and sea lash the cliffs so relentlessly that the lighthouse standing there had to be built from special material. It feels like the Scots’ last outpost – after this, there’s only the sea, with all its eerie consequences. You sense immediately just […]

Dunstaffnage Castle – a Castle Like a Blueprint

If there were still a school for castle-building, Dunstaffnage would surely be on the curriculum. Because what remains of the castle looks like an architect’s cutaway drawing of a medieval building. Approaching Dunstaffnage Castle, you hardly notice much beyond a smooth and incredibly tall wall. And it’s every bit as intact and defensible as it […]