SUTTON Travels: Scotland

Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts

30 August 2022

Greenock, Scotland

Victoria Tower/Geoffrey Sutton/ 2022

Greenock is a Scottish port town by the Firth of Clyde and a gateway city for those on cruises who want to visit Glasgow.

The attractive town centre includes a 245 foot Victoria Tower built in 1886 (pictured above).

On the hillside is a pleasant park and impressive memorial.

I arrived by cruise ship and quickly headed for the railway station to board a train to Glasgow. The journey through the attractive countryside takes nearly an hour.

On the return, I stopped by the mall.

Perhaps the most famous Scot from Greenock is the engineer, James Watt (1736-1819) known for the Watt Steam Engine and the unit of power called the watt.

Visit my website suttong.com

Visit other places in Scotland

and

the United Kingdom

Glencoe, Scotland

Glencoe is a popular scenic spot in the Scottish Highlands.

Historically, it is the site of the Massacre of Glencoe on 13 February 1692. Government forces attacked men from the local Clan MacDonald who were not supportive of King William and Queen Mary.

The glen is a popular place for hiking. The Glen is named after the nearby River Coe.

Google Map Link to Glencoe https://goo.gl/maps/h6uei44BXKyUd2ve8

Visit my website suttong.com

Visit other places in Scotland

and

the United Kingdom

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow, Scotland

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum opened to the public in 1901. I visited for the second time in 2022 after a pleasant walk from the Glasgow Central railway station.

The entrance hall is impressive.

Following is a video clip panning the entrance hall and the ornate ceiling during part of the 1 pm organ recital.

There's a large collection of Scottish and other art works in the galleries.

Burns Cottage by Bough

Mary Queen of Scots by Herdman

The Last of the Clan by Faed

There's a large collection of animals as well.

Notes

Learn more about Kelvingrove

I used Google maps - here's a link

There are places to purchase lunch and snacks.

And there are places to eat your own lunch.

Visit my website suttong.com

Visit other places in Scotland

and

the United Kingdom

Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland

On a cruise around the UK, we stopped at Lerwick on the Main Island of Shetland, Scotland.

For many, the island has come alive in the Shetland book series written by Ann Cleeves. Also, a visually rich TV series is based on the books or Cleeves' characters and features many scenes throughout the island.

We were anchored off shore and arrived by a shuttle boat into Lerwick harbour where we saw the view above.

The harbour itself is an attractive scene before even viewing the picturesque island.

We were planning to visit Scalloway Castle but learned it was closed so we took the local bus south to the amazing ruins at Jarlshof. There's a lot to see so I created a separate post for Jarlshof.

See the amazing Jarlshof villages.

Near Lerwick harbour is Fort Charlotte.

Here's a brief video overview Fort Charlotte.

Signboards tell the story of the Fort with a 350-year history guarding the Bressay Sound.

For lunch, I wanted fish 'n chips. When I attempted to place my order at the first chippy, the woman peered out the window and said the haddock hasn't arrived yet. Truly a place where you can get a fresh catch of the day. So, I walked away from the waterfront and had a nice bit of fish from the shop below as I watched the tourists and locals.

As an aside, the shop is featured in one of the Shetland TV episodes.

As a fan of the Shetland series, I couldn't resist a photo of the police station where detective Jimmy Perez and his team solve many mysterious crimes.

Lerwick Police Station/ Sutton 2022

Nearby is the Town Hall--often seen in Shetland stories.

Town Hall, Lerwick

A local shop, Shetland 2022

Of course, the courthouse is critical to Shetland crime stories.

Court/ County Buildings Lerwick/ 2022

This war memorial on Hillhead in Lerwick is near the police station and often seen in the background in Shetland stories. The memorial commemorates WWI and WWII Shetlanders who killed or missing.

The memorial was completed 6 January 1924.

War memorial in 2022

Lerwick's Library was once St. Ringan's United Free Church built 1885-1886. The change to a library was completed in 2002. The photo below is from my 2022 visit. Most of the stained glass windows were in the church. The library is another fine building adding character to the Shetland stories.

St Ringan's Church, Lerwick

Lerwick Methodist Church

A typical Shetland scene includes water, hilly landscapes, and sheep.

Leaving Shetland

Learn more about Shetland at https://www.shetland.org/

Notes

Shetland is 123 miles north of the Scottish Mainland and 222 miles west of Bergen Norway.

There's evidence on the islands of early settlers from the Stone Age.

The bus service is reliable and a good value.

There is a special cultural event in Lerwick, which you'll read about in the Shetland novels called Up Helly-Aa (Up Holy Day), which is celebrated the last Tuesday of January ending the Yule season.

For a summary and review of the Shetland Book series, see my reviews.

You'll find some of the Shetland and Scots vocabulary in Mind the Gap

available on AMAZON and GOOGLE BOOK STORE

Visit my website suttong.com

Visit other places in Scotland

and

the United Kingdom

Gretna Green & the Scottish Border

Gretna Green is a famous wedding and dining stop just north of the Scottish border. They proclaim themselves as the gateway to Scotland.

Below is the famous Blacksmith shop where many tourists enjoy shopping for gifts. There's food as well.

Gretna Green has hosted weddings since 1754.

The Wedding History Story

In 1754 a new law, Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, was brought into force in England. This law required young people to be over 21 years of age if they wished to marry without their parents’ or guardian’s consent. The marriage was required to be a public ceremony in the couple’s parish, with an official of the Church presiding. The new law was rigorously enforced and carried a sentence of 14 years transportation for any clergyman found breaking it.

The Scots however did not change the law and continued with their centuries-old marriage customs. The law in Scotland allowed anyone over the age of 15 to enter into marriage provided they were not closely related to each other and were not in a relationship with anyone else.

This marriage contract could be made wherever the couple liked, in private or in public, in the presence of others or no-one at all.

Source: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Gretna-Green/

Learn more at Gretnagreen.com

Isle of Skye Scotland

Floors Castle, Kelso, Scotland

Floors Castle is in the southern part of Scotland known as the Scottish Borders. Located in Kelso, Roxburghshire, it is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland.

Architect William Adam built the iconic Floors Castle between 1721 - 1726 for the first Duke of Roxburghe.

The rooms house collections of fine art, porcelain and tapestries.

Through the windows you can see the gardens, the River Tweed, and the Cheviot Hills.

Notes

There are places to eat and shop.

There is a play area for children.

In 2022, they were open between April and September.

Find more information on their website. https://www.floorscastle.com/

Visit my website suttong.com

Visit other places in Scotland

and

the United Kingdom

Appreciate the differences between British and American English and culture, including common Scot's words in

Mind the Gap 2

Available on GOOGLE

and AMAZON

29 August 2022

Jarlshof, Shetland, Scotland

After our ship anchored at Lewick, Shetland, we got bus 6 south to the Jarlshof settlements at Sumburgh Head by the southern end of Mainland Shetland.

With an audio guide, we wend our way through Neolithic houses, to a Bronze age village, an Iron broch and wheelhouse, a Norse longhouse, a medieval farm, and a laird's house from the 1500s.

Stone Age house site

Bronze Age Smithy

Iron Age Broch

Broch Signboard

Iron Age Wheelhouse- named for the spoke-like wall structures.

Wheel House Signboard

The size of the settlement is not obvious from the road. A person helps appreciate the size of the dwellings.

The Norse Settlement reveals a preference for rectangular houses. The Vikings may have arrived about 850.

Remains of a Medieval Farmhouse

The Laird's House is what was visible when Sir Walter Scott visited in 1814.

There are some fantastic views of the site from the tower at the east end of the Laird's House.

Notes from our visit August 2022

We took bus 6 from Lerwick to Sumburgh.

The entrance to Jarlshof is marked by a sign and is only a short walk past some Shetland ponies.

We paid a small fee at the visitor's centre, which accepted our English Heritage pass.

The audio guides are excellent. You enter a number corresponding to the sign board along the trail from the oldest settlements to the more recent Laird's house.

Sir Walter Scott is the person who named Jarlshof, which he saw when on a cruise in 1814. At the time he only saw the Laird's house. Jarlshof is the setting for Scott's novel, The Pirate.

A broch is a stone structure that dates from the Iron Age, which in Scotland dates from about 300 to 900 (historic-uk). There are many brochs in the Scottish isles.

A Scottish Laird was an owner of a large Scottish estate. A Laird is not exactly the same as an English Lord--Lords, but not Lairds, are members of nobility.

Bus and bus stop