Tag Archives: Scotland

Travel, Videos, Views

Scotland Views: Shetland Islands In Winter (Video)

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Simon Parker braves the rain and wind to see Shetland’s wonderful wildlife and stunning landscapes minus the summer crowds.

Shetland Islands, also called Zetland or Shetland, group of about 100 islands, fewer than 20 of them inhabited, in Scotland, 130 miles (210 km) north of the Scottish mainland, at the northern extremity of the United Kingdom. They constitute the Shetland Islands council area and the historic county of Shetland. Among the settlements on Mainland, the largest island, is Scalloway, a fishing port. Lerwick, also on Mainland, is the islands’ largest town and commercial and administrative centre.

Adventure, Stories, Travel, Views

Travel: Ten Best Road Trips In The World (Condé Nast)

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Our list of the 10 best road trips in the world covers everything from Alpine mountain passes and arid desert drives in western America, to lush forests in Japan and India, and the rugged coastlines of Norway and Scotland. 

Blue Ridge Parkway, USA

Afton to Cherokee, 469 miles (755km)

Just over three hours southwest of Washington DC lies the start of the most phenomenal scenic byway that carves its way through the lush, mountainous forests of Virginia and North Carolina. 

Great St Bernard Pass, Italy

Turin, Italy to Montreux, Switzerland, 143 miles (230km)

For movie fans, this road is a must-drive after it was immortalised in the iconic opening scene of the original Italian Job, starring Michael Caine. The film opens with a Lamborghini Muria dancing its way over the Great St Bernard Pass, which, aside from a few safety improvements, is still as unspoilt and spectacular as it was back in 1969. 

The Carretera Austral, Chile

Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins 770 miles (1240km)

Patagonia is a place that should appear on everyone’s bucket list. This remote, pre-historic wilderness is made of mountains, lakes, forests and fjords, which can all be absorbed from the comfort of a car driving down Chile‘s Southern Highway (Route 7) – the ‘Carretera Austral’. 

The North Coast 500, Scotland

Inverness to Inverness loop around Scotland’s coastline, 516 miles (830km)

One of the best road trips the United Kingdom has to offer is the North Coast 500. As the name suggests, the 500-mile route loops its way around Scotland‘s rugged northern coastline, taking in everything from white sandy beaches to mountains and remote fishing villages. 

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Green Energy, Sustainability, Travel, Videos, Views

Views: Green Energy On Scotland’s Isle Of Eigg

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The community living on the Scottish Isle of Eigg were the first in the world to set up their own off-grid energy system powered by wind, water and the Sun. The tiny island has shown it’s possible to rely almost entirely on renewables. Since it was launched in 2008, they have received visitors from several other countries wanting to learn more about the project. Community Energy Malawi, who help to set up renewable energy systems across Malawi, used their experience to set up a solar minigrid in Sitolo village, a community that previously relied on fossil fuels and firewood.

Cities, Travel, Videos, Views

Walking Tour: Edinburgh – Capital Of Scotland (4K)

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Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials. 

Travel, Videos, Views

River Walks: Inverness – Northeast Scotland (4K)

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Inverness is a city on Scotland’s northeast coast, where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth. It’s the largest city and the cultural capital of the Scottish Highlands. Its Old Town features 19th-century Inverness Cathedral, the mostly 18th-century Old High Church and an indoor Victorian Market selling food, clothing and crafts. The contemporary Inverness Museum and Art Gallery traces local and Highland history. 

Architecture, Buildings, History, Travel, Views

Scottish Country Houses: 18th C. ‘Wedderburn Castle’ In Berwickshire

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Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, is one of Robert Adam’s less familiar commissions — yet just as extraordinary as many of his more famous buildings. Recently rescued from neglect by owners David Home Miller and Catherine Macdonald-Home, it has a fascinating story to tell about the development of his castle style.

Roger White, September 5, 2021

The ‘castle style’ of the Georgian era might be said to have been invented by Vanbrugh, who aimed to give ‘something of the castle air’ with his additions to Kimbolton Castle, Huntingdonshire, in 1707–10 .

In practice, that amounted to little more than a battlemented parapet applied to a completely symmetrical building. In the late 18th century, the architect Robert Adam was undoubtedly influenced by Vanbrugh, whose mastery of what he called ‘movement’ in architectural composition — ‘the rise and fall, the advance and recess with other diversity of form, in the different parts of a building’ — he admired (although he deplored the Baroque master’s ‘barbarisms and absurdities’).

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Cities, Travel, Videos, Views

Walking Tour: Inverness – Northern Scotland (4K)

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Inverness is a city on Scotland’s northeast coast, where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth. It’s the largest city and the cultural capital of the Scottish Highlands. Its Old Town features 19th-century Inverness Cathedral, the mostly 18th-century Old High Church and an indoor Victorian Market selling food, clothing and crafts. The contemporary Inverness Museum and Art Gallery traces local and Highland history.

History, Homes, Travel, Views

Scottish Country Houses: Ardhuncart In Alford

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Ardhuncart Estate has been owned since 1952 by Col Harold Phillips, who bought the estate that straddles the River Don in the foothills of the Grampians as a summer retreat for his wife, Georgina (later Lady Kennard), and their five children.

For the Phillips family, Ardhuncart was a much-loved holiday home, where they fished for salmon and sea trout, shot grouse on the Ardhuncart moor, played tennis and hosted parties at Ardhuncart Lodge, a manageable, 5,400sq ft, nine-bedroom country house built in the Arts-and-Crafts style in 1901.

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