Photos and the City

Tag: UK

  • Doune Castle

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    Movies

    Doune Castle looks very familiar to many, it´s been used for movies and tv-shows for many years. From “Ivanhoe” (Liz Taylor 1952 & BBC Adaption 1996) to “Monty Python & the Holy Grail”, “Game of Thrones” and more recently “Outlander”.

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    History

    Doune Castle was built at the end of the 1300s for Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. The exact date of construction is not known and it is believed that the end result is not exactly what was originally planned. But the combination of buildings that emerged met all the military and domestic requirements of a royal castle. (Undiscovered Scotland)

    It was probably (partly) destroyed in the Scottish Wars of Independence and rebuilt in the 14th century and hasn´t changed much since then. In 1425 the castle was passed to the crown and used as a royal hunting lodge (Mary Queen of Scots stayed several times in the suite of rooms above the kitchen) and dower house until it became the property of the Earls of Moray in the late 16th century.

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    Restoration was undertaken in 1883 and further repairs were made in 1970. In 1984, the 20th Earl of Moray placed the castle in the care of the nation. (Undiscovered Scotland)

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirlingdoune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    Upper Hall

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirlingdoune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    Lord´s Hall

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    The Great Hall

    Fests and banquets were celebrated in this vast room, just have a look at this huge hearth on one side of the room.

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

    Even so there many other visitors I wouldn´t have wanted to miss this place, Doune Castle really gives you an impression about life in these castles and you almost can feel the big banquets and parties happening.

    doune castle, scotland, loch lomond, uk, stirling

  • Loch Lomond

    Falls of Falloch

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, waterfall, nature, falls of fallochAlong the way to my next destination, Loch Lomond, I made a few stops to explore and stretch my legs a little bit. One of the first was this stunning waterfall near Crianlarich. It´s just a short walk through Glen Falloch along the river until one reaches the fall.

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, waterfall, nature, falls of falloch

    While I was there a guy went swimming and his dog, this super cute Boxer, was very nervous and couldn´t wait until he got out again safe and sound – just like Boxers are.

    Rest and be thankful

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, glen croe, rest and be thankful

    Glen Croe is known for its beauty, an ancient feature left by a glacier.

    The Rest and Be Thankful is quite literally named as a place where travellers in olden times would stop, rest and be thankful that they had reached the top of their steep climb, before continuing on to their destination. The original road was built by soldiers in the mid-18th century and a stone was erected, bearing the words Rest and Be Thankful, as a permanent monument, upon its completion in 1750. (Wanderwisdom)

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, glen croe, rest and be thankful

    The weather during my visit made it quite the dramatic view. Today there is parking and a food truck on this point and the perfect opportunity to walk around a little bit and enjoy the view.

    The road (A83) has to be closed sometimes because of landslides, like in October 2018 during the storm Callum.

    Looking down towards the valley you can still see the old road leading through the valley.

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, glen croe, rest and be thankful

    The highest point on the A83 is 803 ft above sea level and divides Glen Kinglas from Glen Croe. (Visitscotland)

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, glen croe, rest and be thankfullandscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, glen croe, rest and be thankful

    Luss

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, lake

    My next stop was already at the shores of Loch Lomond, I paid the model village Luss a short visit.

    Luss is a conservation village with picturesque rows of little cottages that housed workers.

    A settlement has stood on this site since medieval times although much of the current village dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, having been developed to house workers from nearby slate quarries. (Visitscotland)

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model villagelandscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model village

    Around 1,500 years ago, an Irish missionary, St Kessog, arrived at Loch Lomond, bringing Christianity to the area. At the time Luss was called Clachan Dhu (the dark village) because it lay in the shadow of the surrounding hills. St Kessog was martyred and his body embalmed with sweet herbs. Legend has it that the herbs grew and covered his grave, providing a new name for the village – lus is Gaelic for herb. (Loch Lomond)

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model village

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model villagelandscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model village, dog, boatlandscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model village,landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, luss, model village

    Balloch

    Balloch was the next village from my cottage and the gorgeous garden of Balloch Castle provided the perfect backdrop for some portraits.

    landscape, holiday, travel, scotland, loch lomond, nature, ballochscotland, portrait, photography, ursula schmitz, destination scotlandscotland, portrait, photography, ursula schmitz, destination scotland

     

  • Grey Mare Waterfall

    grey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the city

    On my way back towards Fort William I made another stop at a lovely waterfall just a short walk from Kinlochleven, Grey Mare Waterfall in the Grey Mares Tail Nature Reserve.

    grey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the city

    A spectacular waterfall named by King Edward VII because it reminded him of his horse during his stay at Mamore Lodge in 1909. (Discover Glen Coe)

    grey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the city

    Grey Mare is one of the highest waterfalls in Scotland and when you look at the tall, thin line of (white) water you understand how it reminded Edward VII of a horse mane.

    grey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the city

    The Victorians liked to travel here and visit this area and one still sees the old paths that were built for these travellers.

    grey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the citygrey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the citygrey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the citygrey mare´s, kinlochleven, waterfall, scotland, glen coe, uk, my british summer, ursula schmitz, photos and the city