Promontory

I will tell you of the solstice,

If I find you,

at the promontory...

Firth of Tay, from St Andrews Castle, Scotland

T... is for Tantallon Castle!

No theme of Scotland is complete without at least two hundred pages on Castles! And so, as I racked my brains before the challenge began, about which one was going to be my highlight(s), I had to choose Tantallon, probably because I like the lesser known ones :)
This was the first castle I visited and by far, the best. So far I have been to six other ones, and not one of them can compare to the view from this one! They are much better in terms of political/strategic importance, yes, and even how well maintained or imposing they are. But the view, oh the view!
From Wiki, "Tantallon Castle is a semi-ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to be constructed in Scotland, Tantallon comprises a single wall blocking off the headland, with the other three sides naturally protected by sea cliffs."
I was there on the last day of last year, watching the last sunset of the year, the sun sinking down beyond and  the Bass Rock in the sea slowly being taken over by shadows of the night. Very poignant place. Must go again.

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis, Old Man of Storr, Portobello, Queen of Scots, Robert Burns, Stirling.

Q... is for Queen of Scots, Mary!

The history of civilisation is bloody and torturous. Death, murder, villainy, and tragedy... Mary's life, like the lives of many women before us, was difficult, and much more than what makes us complain. For one, she became Queen when she was 6 days old! What a joke... anyway, Scotland was ruled by regents while she grew up in France, married the french Dauphin, and came back to reign.
Imagine being 19 - 20, married, and expected to come and rule over a land that she was in for the first time! Anyway, when he died, she was heartbroken. But I don't think there was ever any place for personal emotions for Monarchs. She remarried, and soon after, that man died too or was murdered, but not before she bore him a son.
Following this, she made a mistake in marrying the prime accused of her ex-husband's murder. Two, he had divorced his earlier wife very recently. Three, he was Protestant! The Catholics were outraged, obviously! She was imprisoned and forced to give up her crown in favour of her one-year-old son. She escaped and fled to England, where she sought asylum from their Queen (her first cousin, once removed). But instead, her claim to the English throne politically meant that she was imprisoned, for 19 years! Finally, found guilty of plotting the assassination of the Queen, she was executed! Her son had her exhumed from her initial burial place, though, and re-interred in Westminster Abbey.

Edinburgh Castle: Entry to where the crown jewels of Scotland are kept

Phew! What a life to have led! Her story always makes me somber...

Born: Linlithgow Palace (to go),
Crowned: Stirling Castle (been!),
Gave birth to son: Edinburgh Castle (been!),
Recuperated from illness: Craigmillar Castle (to go),
Married both second and third husbands: Palace of Holyroodhouse (to go),
Imprisonment (Scotland): Loch Level Castle (seen),
Buried: Peterborough Cathedral (seen),
Re-interred: Westminster Abbey (been!)

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis, Old Man of Storr, Portobello.

O... is for Old Man of Storr!

At 719 m, the Old man is the highest point of the Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye. An old man and his wife, that lived close to the foot of the hill climbed up everyday and when they reached the summit, they told stories to the faeries. They told great lovely stories and the wee folk loved them! This went on for years and years until every fairy in the fairy land came to listen to their stories every evening.
Then one day, the Old man announced that this was his last visit to the top because he was old, his knees weren't so good anymore and he needed rest. The faeries were very sad, they pleaded, but he couldn't have done anything about it. That evening, the Old Man and his wife stayed longer. It was pitch dark by the time they began their descent. The nasty faeries, however, are very nasty. They did not share the love that the good faeries had for the old couple. And they charmed them! As the man and his wife began walking, they slowly turned to stone...
To this day, the Old Man of Storr stands tall and proud. His wife stood beside him for many many years; but in the late 19th century, her knees finally gave way and she crumbled.

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis.

I... is for Isle of Skye

Last weekend, I went on a three day trip to the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. The entirety of Sunday was spent in exploring the Isle. I loved it. It was an organised trip, so we had a lovely guide explaining to us what on earth it was that we were looking at, where it all began, and how everything was beyond pretty!
According to Wikipedia, Skye  is the largest and most northerly large island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillins, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. It isn't very tiny really, it's just that there's not much to do. The island is 67 miles long, there are 3 -4 small towns, and the total population is about 10,000. It is connected to the mainland by way of the Skye Road Bridge.
The scenery is stunning. It is dotted with bens (mountains) and glens (valleys). The hills are not very high (certainly for me, I have been to the Himalayas too many times), but they are older and more rounded, no spikes. And they get snow because of the latitude rather than their altitudes. It is also home of Drambuie, a fine Scottish whiskey liqueur. It is said that Bonnie Prince Charlie's supporters gave the recipe away to the islanders as a way of saying thanks for sheltering him and helping him escape after the Battle of Culloden (which, by the way, is the last battle to have taken place in the UK).
Most of the rivers are enchanted, they are dotted with the wee folk (faeries), and they glitter and gurgle. Skye is very very beautiful; all of you that have been expressing their wishes to visit Scotland should know that your visit would be incomplete without your footprints in Skye.

The River Sligachan

On top of the Old Man of Storr

Trotternish Peninsula 

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish.