Pretty Birds and a Long Drive
Day 7: The Big Loop
Day 7 was a long, but worthwhile day. Driving the "big loop" meant we were able to drive through Glen Coe a second time during sunset. But we also saw three castles, two cathedrals, a peahen or two and a dam. Please re-read that while humming 12 days of Christmas =)
Laggan Dam
"Laggan Dam is a dam located on the River Spean south west of Loch Laggan in the Scottish Highlands. The dam is 700 feet (213 metres) long and rises 170 feet (52 metres) above its foundations, and is part of the Lochaber hydro-electric scheme. The structure was built by Balfour Beatty for the British Aluminium Company and construction was finished in 1934."
Blair Castle
"Seat of the Atholl dukedom, whitewashed, turreted Blair Castle, surrounded by parkland and dating from 1269, presents an impressive sight as you approach it up the drive. You might even spot a piper, one of the Atholl Highlanders, playing in front of the castle; this select group was retained by the duke as his private army -- a unique privilege afforded to him by Queen Victoria, who stayed here in 1844.
"Thirty of so rooms display a selection of paintings, antique furniture and plasterwork that is sumptuous in the extreme. Highlights are the soaring entrance hall, with every spare inch of wood panelling covered in weapons of some description, and the vast ballroom, with its timber roof, antlers and mixture of portraits."
~Rough Guide to Scotland
Dunkeld Cathedral
"Dunkeld's partly ruined cathedral is on the northern side of town, in an idyllic setting amid lawns and trees on the east bank of the Tay. As early as 570, missionaries from Iona built a wattle monastery here; construction on the current building began in the early twelfth century and continued throughout the next two hundred years, but it was more or less ruined at the time of the Reformation. The present structure consists of the fourteenth-century choir and the fifteenth-century nave; the choir, restored in 1600 (and several times since), now serves as the parish church, while the nave remains roofless apart from the clock tower. Inside look ogy ut for the effigy of the Wolf of Badenoch, Robert II's son, who was born in 1343. The Wolf acquired his name and notoriety when, after being excommunicated for leaving his wife, he took his revenge by burning the towns of Forres and Elgin, and sacking the latter's cathedral."
~Rough Guide to Scotland
Scone Palace
"Almost as well known as Perth itself is Scone (pronounced "skoon"), one-time home of the Stone of Destiny and the first capital of a united Scotland. Scone Palace exudes graceful Scottish country living and there are some pleasant walks in the grounds that surround it. Owned and occupied by the Earl and Countess of Mansfield, whose family has held it for almost four centuries, the two-storey building on the eastern side of the Tay is more a home than a monument: the rooms, although full of antiques and lavish furnishings, feel lived-in and used.
"Scone was once the capital of Pictavia, and it was here that Kenneth MacAlpine, first king of a united Scotland, brought the famous Coronation Stone of Destiny, or Stone of Scone, which is now to be found in Edinburgh Castle. A replica of the (surprisingly, small) stone can be found on Moot Hill, immediately opposite the palace. Moot Hill, as its name suggests, was the place where Scottish earls came to swear loyalty to their king and discuss the affairs of state in an early form of national parliament. In a symbolic gesture, oak trees from the estate were used in the construction of Scotland's parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh."
~Rough Guide to Scotland
Dunblane Cathedral
"Dunblane Cathedral dates mainly from the thirteenth century, and restoration work carried out a century ago returned it to its Gothic splendour. Inside, note the delicate blue-purple stained glass, and the exquisitely carved pews, screen and choir stalls, all crafted in the early twentieth century. Memorials include a tenth-century Celtic cross-slab standing stone and a modern, four-sided standing stone commemorating the tragic shooting in 1996 of sixteen Dunblane schoolchildren and their teacher."
~Rough Guide to Scotland
Stirling Castle
"Stirling Castle presented would-be invaders with a formidable challenge. Its impregnability is most daunting when you approach the town from the west, from where the sheer 250ft drop down the side of the crag is most obvious. The rock was first fortified during the Iron Age, though what you see now dates largely from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. On many levels, the main buildings are interspersed with delightful gardens and patches of lawn, while endless battlements, cannon ports, hidden staircases and other nooks and crannies make it thoroughly explorable and inspiring."
~Rough Guide to Scotland
