Motoring around Scotland

As I type this I'm back offshore at work again. I can't really complain as it's been an excellent time off with plenty of things looked at. The whole situation has been vastly improved by having a set of wheels again after 7 years. Do I look pleased? I think I might.

Now that I'm able to get to places, I've bought myself a membership of Historic Scotland which at £3.56 a month isn't at all expensive. I've been into 5 different places with entrance fees so far which means it's already paid for itself easily. Most of these places will appear here as their own blogs sometime soon but travelling around by car means it's easier to stop and see other things as they appear. 

It was quite by accident that I passed the Torhouse stone circle. I visited this a few years ago with Bev and we thought at the time that it was a remarkable neat and circular stone circle. Unusually there are three boulders in the centre of the circle.

Here we are looking though the circle directly at the boulders in the centre. I think that they are probably an alter but there is a local legend that says that central stone marks the burial spot of King Galdus who is believed to have fought the Romans in 80 AD. While we're in the area of dubious facts, there's also a theory that it is from King Galdus that Galloway takes it's name.

 

In the field across the road there are another three boulders which the same local legend says are three of Galdus' generals.

Back at the ranch, a very pleasant bottle of beer from Alloa if the label is to be trusted - I'd nearly finished it by the time I remembered to photograph it.

 Here's a cute little critter.................

............and friendly too.

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 These two standing stones are in a field a short walk from the head of Lock Striven in Argyll

When you look at the larger stone (you can't really see it in this picture) the grain of the rock is very wavy and over the thousands of years, as pieces have fallen off the stone it has given it a rather curvy appearance.

Some tadpoles in a flooded area of the same field as the standing stones.

After my cup of tea served on a platter at the Coffee Angel in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, it seems the idea has caught on with a cafe on Dunoon.

This is Huntingtower castle just outside Perth. I happened to pass it and popped in since my Historic Scotland membership covered it.

 

Of architectural interest but other than that it's very empty except for this original medieval ceiling which was discovered in 1912 when the castle went into trust.

 As I was in Dunoon visiting the kids just before I went to work, I decided to take the scenic route to Aberdeen through the Trossachs. Here's some scenery to prove it.

I bought a cup of tea and a scones from a wee cafe at the side of Loch Lomond which had this view. There are far better views of Loch Lomond. I nearly got run over crossing the road to get this picture - the road's not the best. The scone on the other hand was the best - well worth stopping for.

 Just to finish off, a few pictures of the sun setting over Galloway.