The coast road north from Edinburgh to Saint Andrews and Tayside is for part of its route a series of links between small medieval fishing villages of similar appearance: St Monance, Pittenweem, Anstruther and, the most north-easterly, Crail. James VI called these royal burghs the...
In Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy, Andrew Fairservice, the loquacious gardener, refers to the kingdom of Fife as ‘just like a great combined city – Sae mony royal boroughs yoken on end to end… Kirkcaldy, the sell o’t, is langer than ony town in England.’...
There is a large impressive mound, with the ruins of the castle, near the village of Duffus. It is in Moray, and worth a visit on any tours of Scotland. The village is quaint and nearby Gordonstoun School is famous as the choice of British royalty. The mound...
The village of Saddell is on the rocky East coast of the long promontory of Kintyre. It is interesting to see on tours of Scotland because of the ruins of Saddell Abbey. This abbey was founded in 1160 by Somerled, Lord of the Isles. It was finished by...
This is an 18th century mansion near Strangford in Northern Ireland. It is a spectacular place to visit on any tours of Ireland. Strangford is a small village that was a Viking trading post in the 9th century. It is a beautiful wee place. Castleward house is the most...
Glenmore or Glen of Albyn or Glen Mor nan Albyn or just the Great Glen; whatever you chose to call it, is the result of a geological fault 420 million years ago which split the country in two. It contains Loch Ness, Oich, and Lochy,...
By Baron Delvine - Own work, Public Domain, Link This is a real hidden gem on any tours of Scotland. It is the site of a Roman Legionary Fortress and lies on the banks of the River Tay. The fortress was in existence around 83 A.D. Coins have been...
As you take a tour of Ireland it would be easy to pass by Kildare. But this is a great stop, particularly if you are interested in horses. There is also a very decent coffee shop! The National Stud is one of Irelands main breeding centres. Some of the...
Not everyone on tours of Ireland visits this interesting town. But you should! It has a lot of boating traffic that is on the Shannon, and a great mooring situation. The town sits at the southern end of Lough Ree, one of the Shannon’s three major lakes. That brings...
Mainland is the largest in Orkney and Kirkwall is the county town. Roughly one-third of Mainland’s 14,000 population lives in this seaport on the neck of land which divides the island into 2 unequal parts. St Magnus is one of only two in Scotland to retain...