Category: Scotland

Castle Campbell sunset

A browse through some of our 19th century books made us decide to take a drive to Airth to explore Airth Old Parish Church that stands in the grounds of Airth Castle. Disappointingly, our trip was in vain as the ruined church is entirely cordoned off with Heras fencing.

With no plan B, we decided on the spot to drive on, crossing the River Forth over the Clackmannanshire Bridge heading for Dollar with the intention to have another wander around Dollar Glen and one of our favourite castles, Castle Campbell.

The castle, also known as Castle Gloom, is managed by the National Trust for Scotland and stands imposingly at the top of Dollar Glen where the Burn of Sorrow and the Burn of Care join to form the Dollar Burn. Simply a stunning medieval castle in a stunning location.

After exploring the waterfalls on the Burn of Sorrow and admiring the views from above the castle, we headed back down when the sun started to set. A slight detour onto the hillside above the Born of Care rewarded us with a stunning sunset.

Tappoch Broch

Tappoch Broch, also known as Torwood Broch lies in the woods above Torwood.

Torwood Castle

Torwood castle…

The crannog on Loch Tay

An afternoon walk from Killin to the shore of Loch Tay…

Autumn colours

Autumn colours at Ballagan.

Aniseed toadstool

The aniseed toadstool is a regular mushroom in the forest behind our garden.

There’s been a murder…

Call Taggarrrt! Therrre’s been a murrrderrr.

Shortly after catching the murderer in the act and putting the phone call in to Maryhill Police Station, the murderer disappears into the deep, dark forest, taking the body with her.

Taggart arrived swiftly and expertly starts the investigation of the little evidence that is left behind on our lawn.

Taggart confirmed in a press conference this afternoon that a female pheasant, positively identified by its distinct down feathers, has been brutally murdered by a yet to be identified hungry female goshawk.

Frosty mornings

There is nothing nicer than an early morning walk with Lola when the ground is frosty.

Spout of Ballagan

The Spout of Ballagan in the Ballagan Glen nature reserve that is managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Ballagan House

Ballagan House at the foot of the Campsie.

Maggie’s Cove

Maggie’s Cove is a delightful cove on the South shore of Loch Tay some 5 miles East of Killin.

Sunlight striking Dumgoyne and Dumfoyne

The walk along a short stretch of the West Highland Way between Easter Carbeth and Dumgoyach is becoming one of our favourite short walks for a Sunday afternoon wander. The views to the Campsies and even Ben Lomond in the far distance when meandering down the well trodden track towards Dumgyach are simply stunning. I will never tire of these views. Especially with the ever changing and unpredictable Scottish weather. The light hitting the mountains and the atmospheric cloud formations are just never the same.

This is the view to Dumgoyach, Dumgoyne and Dumfoyne taken early on in the walk on a dreich day with flat lighting at the end of June.

Two weeks ago, a mixture of sunshine and fast moving clouds created a spectacle of light spots and light trails travelling across the forrests and the mountains. The monochrome photo above is, without a doubt, my favourite shot of the day, capturing a narrow band of light moving swiftly across the trees and foot of Dumgoyne and Dumfoyne. Below is the colour version.

It is not just the views that make this a wonderful walk. A slight detour from the track into the field to the South East of Dumgoyach is well worth it to explore the standing stones and admire Dunthreath Castle in the shadow of Dumgoyne. But I’ll keep those for a future post.