Travel Tales

Scotland, Part Two - Fairy Tale Tour

Travel Tale No. 6 - Vol. 3

For those of you who like to enjoy beautiful objects d’art, tour castles and listen to ghost stories, I am putting together a list of castles you can visit.

Starting in Edinburgh castle, the 12th century castle is a maze of halls, prisons, and repository for the Scottish crown jewels. Afterwards, tour the Royal Mile, take photos of St. Giles’s Cathedral and Parliament House, but hold on to your credit cards before you buy cashmere sweaters (jumpers as they are called there,) wait until you get to places like Pitlochry or Perth, where you can find them for half the price.

Edinburgh CemeteryIf you are touring by car you might want to stop off next at Glamis Castle, the childhood home of HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and birthplace of HRH The Princess Margaret. The present owner is Michael, the 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised.” Shakespeare’s setting for Macbeth.

Daffodils I visited it in the spring time as you can see by the beautiful daffodils in full bloom.

Also, don’t miss the guided tour revealing a rich variety of furniture, tapestries, and many works of art, including the ghost in the chapel. Plan on having lunch in their food shop where you can buy honey and shortbread and light refreshments, and then visit the lovely gift shop to buy souvenirs of tartans, lace, and other local crafts.

EdinburghStep back into time and relive history by visiting Scotland’s Castle trail and enjoy an incomparable collection of treasures in all these castles rich in romanticism, legend and ghosts. Proceed driving on A93 to Drum Castle to see admire the work of 21 generations of the Irving family who lived in it for 650 years. Next stop Castle Fraser, built in 1575 to 1636. Then towards Inverurie, Toquhon Castle, Haddo House, with its Georgian architecture and late Victorian interiors. Fyvie Castle, past Turiff to Delgatie Castle, and then up on A947 to Macduff near Banff.

Continue in your castle circle to Duff House, on A97, an important historic house with world class collections of fine art and furniture. Drive on to Huntly Castle, keep going on A97 to Leith Hall past Rhynie to Kildrummy Castle on A944 towards Strathdon onto Corgarff Castle, 1537, with its history of Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745. You can then back track on A944 to Alford and on to Craigievar Castle, (which will be closed to the public from autumn 2006 for about one year for restoration,) and on to A980 to Crathes Castle, to search for the Green Lady, their resident ghost; and full circle back to Aberdeen.

Other castles to visit include, Balvenie Castle, Balmoral, Dunnottar, Glenbuchat, Drumin and Brodie, to name a few more.

As I said before, it would be impossible to visit Scotland in just one trip as there is so much to see and do with a variety of attractions packed into such an accessible country, but the architecture, history, oil paintings, tapestries, old leather books, and countryside scenery make it a country you want to visit often.

Alinka

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