Place of interest Archive

Kenmore and Taymouth Castle – Seat of the Campbells of Breadalbane

They were one of the most powerful clans: the Campbells of Breadalbane, and Taymouth Castle in Kenmore was their seat. The story begins with a beheading. Sir Colin Campbell himself wielded the sword that cost Gregor MacGregor his head. This brutal act drew a line under a long-running feud, and was certainly one of the […]

Drovers Inn – 300 Years of Hospitality on Loch Lomond

An ancient building stands by the road at Loch Lomond – the Drovers Inn has offered hospitality for centuries. Even to ghosts and celebrities, they say. Careful when you step inside! Right behind the entrance a grizzly bear lies in wait. It rears up threateningly, jaws wide open. Just a little stiff, though. No wonder: […]

Commando Memorial – Heroes’ Memorial for Special Forces

They were fighters behind enemy lines, brave soldiers. In their honour, the Scots erected a memorial near Spean Bridge: the Commando Memorial. Just past Spean Bridge, where the A82 climbs the hill towards the Isle of Skye, stands a plinth bearing three grim-faced figures. The Commando Memorial looks out over a wide plain, at the […]

Corrour Station – the Scottish Railway Station in the Middle of Nowhere

Moorland, mountains and a train station – Corrour Station is one of the most remote railway stations in Britain. Both beautiful and grim events have played out here. The diesel train struggles a bit here. From Rannoch Station, there’s still quite a climb ahead before Corrour station appears. At 408 metres, it’s the highest railway […]

Samhuinn: How Edinburgh Celebrates a Hauntingly Beautiful Halloween

Edinburgh celebrates Halloween a bit differently. Here it’s called Samhuinn. In a procession with a stage show, the changeover between summer and winter is symbolically enacted. We were there. The goddess is weeping! Today, summer comes to an end, and the king of winter takes power. The goddess is weeping – or, more prosaically put: […]

Hùisinis on Harris – Scenic Road to a Sandy Beach

Sometimes the journey is the destination – on the road to Hùisinis, drivers get plenty to see along the way. This scenic route builds up to its climax: an enchanting sandy beach. Leaving Tarbert, Harris’s main town, to drive towards Lewis, the road runs along the coast for a while longer. Then, just before it […]

Lochranza Castle on Arran – A Piece of Island Romance

Lochranza Castle never saw any great battles, was never the seat of a clan chief, and yet it’s famous. A Belgian comic-book hero helped make it well known. And at sunset, it gets some wonderful visitors. A bay, the sunset, a ruin – it’s hard to get much more Scottish romance than here in Lochranza […]

Kilmartin Glen – Scotland’s Valley of the Dead

Burial mounds, stone circles, fortresses – Kilmartin Glen was a hotspot of prehistoric human culture in the west of Scotland. The glaciers of the Ice Age carved this beautiful valley into the landscape of Argyll more than 11,000 years ago. And a broad river, flowing from nearby Loch Awe into the sea at Crinan, added […]

Islay Woolen Mill – Braveheart’s Tailor

Braveheart, Rob Roy, even Forrest Gump – the clothing worn in all these films has one thing in common: it was woven at the Woolen Mill on Islay. “Islay decided to have me!” – in 1979, a businessman offered Gordon Covell the chance to take over a weaving mill on the island in the west […]

Mull of Oa and the American Monument on Islay

These stunning cliffs became a cold grave for many soldiers. On the Mull of Oa stands the American Monument. Here’s the story behind it, and why a visit there is well worth it. It’s the end of Islay – and what an end. At the Mull of Oa, the south-western tip of the Hebridean island, […]