A few days in Scotland June 2018

At the end of June I went to Scotland to stay with a friend. She picked me up from Glasgow station and drove to her home in Drymond and then drove North to Dunkeld on the Tay where we were booked into a hotel for a couple of nights.
On our way North we stopped at Killie Crankie which is a very pretty wooded ravine with a river at the bottom. The site is more famous as the site of the battle of Killie Crankie between the government soldiers and Jacobites. The Jacobites won but were never able to take advantage of this.

After arriving at Dunkeld we had a look at the grounds along the banks of the Tay.

The next day we travelled North again to Blair Atholl castle, where there was a piper to welcome everyone.

There were all sorts of interesting things around the castle including Native American bead work.

I particularly liked these tabards on display in the great hall.

There was a display of the costumes from the TV series Victoria.

The walled garden has been restored and I was amazed at the size containing an orchard, ponds and perennial beds.

The next day on the way back to Drymond we visited Stirling once the most important town in Scotland. It was an exceptionally hot day and possibly the hottest in Scotland ever.
The castle is set on a high crag with a commanding view over the surrounding town and countryside.

The castle is undergoing extensive renovation and restoration.  This seems to have been done with sensitivity. The restored hammer beam roof is below.

The altar cloth had been embroidered with care and looked beautiful.

A series of tapestries had been woven around the tale of a unicorn hunt.

The gardens were very bright and cheerful.

We finished the visit with an ice cream to cool us down!
The next couple of days were taken up with exploring the local area around Drymond. Because of the good weather Scotland was on show at her best and it was a very enjoyable few days and no insect bites!!!!!!