Historical Adventures

If you are into history you have come to the right place.  There are many wonderful historical places to visit throughout Scotland.  Here are just a few suggestions:

Glamis Castle, Angus

Legends and myths have grown around the castle.  King Malcolm II was said to have been murdered there in the 11^th century.  Lady Janet Douglas, widow of Lord Glamis, was burned at the stake as a witch in 1540 by James V.  There is said to be a secret room where a nobleman played cards with the devil himself.

Glamis today looks more a French Chateau than a medieval fortress because it was extensively restored in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. 

It was the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (she being the youngest daughter of the 14^th Earl) and Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret was born there in 1930.

The restaurant is situated in the magnificent Victorian kitchens with their 19th century ovens, stoves and copper pans carefully restored.  As a working kitchen this area would have been a hive of activity in years gone by and visitors can still view the 'Service Bells' which would have been monitored by the sevants in the kitchen.  Fresh local produce is on offer including: Arbroath Smokie Pate, Forfar Bridies and Strathmore Berries.

The Scottish Crannog Centre, Kenmore, Loch Tay

Crannogs are a type of ancient loch-dwelling found throughout Scotland and Ireland, while one has been discovered in Wales in Llangorse Lake. Most are circular structures that seem to have been built as individual homes to accommodate extended families. Other types of loch settlements are also found in Scandinavian countries and throughout Europe.

Crannogs are also known as artificial or modified natural islands and they were as much a product of their environment as the period in which they were constructed.

The earliest loch-dwelling in Scotland is some 5,000 years old but people built, modified, and re-used crannogs in Scotland up until the 17th century AD. Throughout their long history crannogs served as farmers' homesteads, status symbols, refuges in times of trouble, hunting and fishing stations, and even holiday residences. Here in Highland Perthshire, the prehistoric crannogs were originally timber-built roundhouses supported on piles or stilts driven into the lochbed.

Scone Palace, Perth

There can be few places in Scotland as historically potent as Scone Palace.  Fifteen hundred years ago it was the capital of the Picts. In the intervening centuries, it has been the seat of parliaments and the crowning place of the Kings of Scots, including Macbeth and Robert The Bruce. It houses an outstanding collection of antiques, paintings and rare artifacts and the grounds are renowned throughout the world.

Poised above the River Tay, Scone Palace overlooks the routes north to the Highlands and east through Strathmore to the coast. The Grampian mountains form a distant backdrop, and across the river stands the city of Perth.

The Palace Food Shop provides  visitors with a culinary reminder of the range of quality Scottish produce.  Fully stocked with an impressive array of Scone Palace homebakes, marmalades and chutneys, these products are augmented with a range of products from further afield to provide a good gift selection range which promotes the best of Scottish produce.