Place of interest Archive

Rosslyn Chapel – the Legendary Church

It’s Scotland’s most famous, and perhaps most beautiful, church. But who actually had it built? The trail leads north. What splendour! Rosslyn Chapel shows off Gothic buttresses topped with pointed little turrets, so-called pinnacles. Ornaments adorn the exterior masonry, and statuettes peer down from their niches at the astonished visitor. And that’s nothing compared to […]

Clava Cairns – Bronze Age Burial Cairns and Stone Circles

Clava Cairns near Inverness bear witness to Scotland’s Bronze Age cults of the dead. The impressive site is barely visited. Yet it’s well worth the trip. It isn’t just the 4,000-year-old history of Clava Cairns near Balnauran – it’s also the stories of those who have visited it. First there’s a lady named Diana Gabaldon, […]

Glen Coe – A Dream Setting for Death

What a beautiful landscape, what a brutal story. The Highland valley of Glen Coe was the setting for Scotland’s most infamous massacre. Two lines in a letter can be this deadly: “You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebells, the McDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy.” In other words: […]

Maes Howe – Where the Dead Live on Orkney

This unassuming mound has been through a lot: death rituals, Viking graffiti and UFO researchers. And once a year, right on the winter solstice, the inside of Maes Howe even sees the sun. “Nonsense! Elvis was far too unfit to build that!” a woman scolds her husband. The historian who runs the tours at Maes […]

Skara Brae – Solid Stone Living on Orkney

Owning your own terraced house was in high demand even in the Stone Age. At Skara Brae, its residents made that dream come true. The interior: standard issue for the era, right across the board … She sighed contentedly, casting one more checking glance at the fish bait in the storage tank. Here in Skara […]

Dun Carloway – Broch on the Outer Hebrides

Dun Carloway rises up like a fang, jagged and sharp. The Iron Age tower is considered one of the best-preserved brochs in Scotland. And it once played a gruesome role in a clan feud. The Morrisons were mangy cattle thieves! And this time they were foolish enough to get caught. Donald Cam MacAulay and his […]

Duart Castle – Ancestral Seat of the MacLeans

Duart Castle keeps a fearsome watch over the narrow sound off the Isle of Mull. More than once it’s proven the undoing of ships and their crews. For the Spaniard, this was the end of the road; here, in the dark dungeon of Duart Castle. He was an officer of the crown, once part of […]

Ardvreck Castle – MacLeod, His Daughter and the Devil

It’s easy to overlook, the ruin of Ardvreck Castle. Yet tragic stories cling to these walls – like that of MacLeod’s daughter. MacLeod’s daughter fell far. She had thrown herself down from the tower of Ardvreck Castle. But it was her own father’s heartless betrayal that had driven her up there. Her father was one […]

Pennan – A Bay With a Film Legend

A bay, a village, a legendary film – the little settlement of Pennan is surely one of the most idyllic spots in Scotland, and famous for its role in the film Local Hero. The phone in the red telephone box outside the pub is ringing. It’s night. Nobody picks up. The caller’s longing goes unanswered […]

Balnakeil Village – Murder, Sea and Chocolate

This place unites opposites: a visit to the ghost village of Balnakeil and, right next door, a thoroughly lively artists’ community … So here lies the murderer Donald McMurdo, his grave fittingly marked with a skull. He’s said to have had 18 people on his conscience (the exact number of his victims isn’t entirely certain). […]