The HNLMS Buffel

1 October 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Museums, Exhibitions, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© S.J. de Waard/cc-by-sa-3.0

© S.J. de Waard/cc-by-sa-3.0

HNLMS Buffel is a 19th-century ironclad ram ship. She was one of the main attractions of the Maritime Museum Rotterdam, also known as the Prince Hendrik Museum, named after its founder, Prince Henry (Hendrik) “The Navigator”, who had a naval career and established the basis of the museum back in 1874. In October 2013 the ship moved to Hellevoetsluis and is again open for public.   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…

Grassmarket in Edinburgh

9 April 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Pubs at Grassmarket © Reinhold Möller/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pubs at Grassmarket © Reinhold Möller/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Grassmarket is a historic market place and an event space in the Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage Site) of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. The Grassmarket is located directly below Edinburgh Castle and forms part of one of the main east-west vehicle arteries through the city centre. It adjoins the Cowgate and Candlemaker Row at the east end, the West Bow (the lower end of Victoria Street) in the north-east corner, King’s Stables Road to the north west and the West Port to the west. Leading off from the south-west corner is the Vennel, on the east side of which can still be seen some of the best surviving parts of the Flodden and Telfer town walls. The view to the north, dominated by the castle, has long been a favourite subject of painters and photographers, making it one of the iconic views of the city.   read more…

Arbroath in Scotland

23 October 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Arbroath Harbour © Fraser Muir/cc-by-3.0

Arbroath Harbour © Fraser Muir/cc-by-3.0

Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 24,000. It lies on the North Sea coast, around 16 miles (25.7 km) ENE of Dundee and 45 miles (72.4 km) SSW of Aberdeen. While there is evidence for settlement of the area now occupied by the town that dates back to the Iron Age, Arbroath’s history as a town begins in the High Middle Ages with the founding of Arbroath Abbey in 1178. Arbroath grew considerably during the Industrial Revolution owing to the expansion of firstly the flax and secondly the jute industries and the engineering sector. A new harbour was built in 1839 and by the 20th century, Arbroath had become one of the larger fishing ports in Scotland. The town is notable as the home of the Declaration of Arbroath, as well as the Arbroath smokie. The town’s football team, Arbroath Football Club, hold the world record for the highest number of goals scored in a professional football match. They won 36–0 against Aberdeen Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup in 1885.   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…

Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh

21 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  12 minutes

© Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining. Queen Elizabeth spends one week in residence at Holyrood Palace at the beginning of each summer, where she carries out a range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th-century Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence.   read more…

Theme Week Scottish Borders – Hawick

27 October 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Dovemount Place © geograph.org.uk - Walter Baxter/cc-by-sa-2.0

Dovemount Place © geograph.org.uk – Walter Baxter/cc-by-sa-2.0

Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is 10.0 miles (16.1 km) south-west of Jedburgh and 8.9 miles (14.3 km) south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick’s architecture is distinctive in that it has many sandstone buildings with slate roofs. The town is at the confluence of the Slitrig Water with the River Teviot. Hawick is known for its yearly Common Riding, for its rugby team Hawick Rugby Football Club and for its knitwear industry.   read more…

Theme Week Scottish Borders – Peebles

26 October 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Tweed Bridge © Kjetil Bjørnsrud/cc-by-2.5

Tweed Bridge © Kjetil Bjørnsrud/cc-by-2.5

Peebles is a royal burgh in Peeblesshire, of which it is the county town, within the Scottish Borders region with a population of 8,400. In 2014 Creative Scotland named Peebles the most creative place of its size in Scotland, presenting the town with a Creative Place Award and £100,000 to enhance arts events, festivals and arts commissions. Most arts performances take place in the Eastgate Theatre on the High Street which has a year-round programme of music, drama, dance, talks and classes for children and adults. The town also has four major annual festivals – the Beltane Festival, Peebles Arts Festival, Tweedlove Bike Festival and Imaginarium.   read more…

Theme Week Scottish Borders – Melrose

25 October 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Market Square © geograph.org.uk - Walter Baxter/cc-by-sa-2.0

Market Square © geograph.org.uk – Walter Baxter/cc-by-sa-2.0

Melrose is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area. The town’s name is recorded in its earliest form as Mailros, ‘the bare peninsula’ (Old Welsh or Brythonic), referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by Bede, in a bend of the river Tweed. The original monastery at Melrose is referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle with the name Magilros. In the late Middle Ages, when the monastery had been re-founded in its present position, its name was symbolically represented by the visual pun of a mell (mason’s hammer) and a rose (symbolising the Virgin Mary, to whom all Cistercian abbeys were dedicated).   read more…

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