Highland Main Line in Scotland

11 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Culloden Viaduct © geograph.org.uk - Peter Moore/cc-by-sa-2.0

Culloden Viaduct © geograph.org.uk – Peter Moore/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is 118 mi (190 km) long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edinburgh, Glasgow and London use the line. At Inverness the line connects with the Far North Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line. All trains are diesel-powered.   read more…

Castle Stalker in Scotland

14 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Markus Trienke/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Markus Trienke/cc-by-sa-2.0

Castle Stalker (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal an Stalcaire) is a four-storey tower house or keep. It is set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe. It is about 2 miles (2.5 kilometres) north-east of Port Appin, Argyll, Scotland, and is visible from the A828 road about midway between Oban and Glen Coe. The islet is accessible with difficulty from the shore at low tide. The name “Stalker” comes from the Gaelic Stalcaire, meaning “hunter” or “falconer”. The island castle is one of the best preserved medieval tower houses to survive in western Scotland and is a Category A listed building. It stands in the Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area, one of forty such areas in Scotland.   read more…

Glenfinnan in the Highlands of Scotland

13 August 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Glenfinnan Monument © Flaxton

Glenfinnan Monument © Flaxton

Glenfinnan is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”) raised his standard on the shores of Loch Shiel. Seventy years later, the 18 m (60 ft) Glenfinnan Monument, at the head of the loch, was erected to commemorate the historic event.   read more…

Loch Torridon in Scotland

6 May 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

House on the Loch © flickr.com - Chris Combe/cc-by-2.0

House on the Loch © flickr.com – Chris Combe/cc-by-2.0

Loch Torridon is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon to landward, east of Rubha na h-Airde Ghlaise, at which point it joins Loch Sheildaig; and the main western section of Loch Torridon proper. Loch a’ Chracaich and Loch Beag are small inlets on the southern shores of the outer Loch, which joins the Inner Sound between the headlands of Rubha na Fearna to the south and Red Point to the north. The name Thoirbhearta has a similar root to Tarbert and indicates a place where boats were dragged overland.   read more…

Theme Week Scotland

14 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  4 minutes

Welcome to Scotland sign - A1 road © flickr.com - Amanda Slater/cc-by-sa-2.0

Welcome to Scotland sign – A1 road © flickr.com – Amanda Slater/cc-by-sa-2.0

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In addition to the mainland, Scotland is made up of more than 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. Edinburgh, the country’s capital and second-largest city, is one of Europe’s largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, was once one of the world’s leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe’s oil capital.   read more…

Inverness and Loch Ness in Scotland

29 July 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Inverness Castle © Mlm42

Inverness Castle © Mlm42

Inverness is a city in northern Scotland. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. It lies near the site of the 18th century Battle of Culloden and at the northeastern extremity of the Great Glen (An Gleann Mòr), where the River Ness enters the Inverness/Moray Firth making it a natural hub for various transport links. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom. A settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim (King David I) in the 12th century. The Gaelic king, Mac Bethad mac Findláich (MacBeth) nicknamed Rígh Dearg (The Red King) held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross.   read more…

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