Clava Cairns is a prehistoric complex not far from the Culloden battlefield. There are actually two parts to it. At Balnuaran are three well-preserved burial chambers, two with entrance passages, each one surrounded by standing stones. The cairns are of a type of which around 50 examples have been found in the Moray/Inverness region. They
Hardraw Force is England’s highest unbroken waterfall above ground. Allegedly, it featured in the scene in the film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), in which Kevin Costner in the title role bathes naked under a waterfall. Hardraw Force can only be visited in safety via the Green Dragon Inn in Hardraw, where you will
There is a tradition that the origins of Culross were as a 6th century Christian community, headed by St Serf. St Mungo, or St Kentigern, is reputed to have been born here and a chapel, the ruins of which can be visited, was built on the site of his birth. An abbey was founded in
Eilean Donan simply means ‘Donan’s Island’. Donan was a 6th-7th century Celtic saint, a contemporary of St Columba, who is said to have built a church there. Much of the history of Eilean Donan is wreathed in the mists of elusive legend and violence. The castle was built in the 13th century and was the
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Montacute House is one of the foremost Elizabethan mansions in England, set in 300 acres in Somerset and built of warm local limestone in the classic symmetrical Elizabethan ‘E’ for Sir Edward Phelips lawyer, in the late 1590s. Inside, Montacute is a mixture of décor, from Tudor to Regency with a bit of early 20th
The Glenfinnan Monument marks the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, raised his father’s standard at the head of Loch Shiel and began the 1745 Jacobite rebellion that ended in defeat at Culloden a year later. The monument was built in 1815, is 59 feet (18 metres) high and has a lone,
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Arbury Hall is an Elizabethan manor house, originally built on the ruins of a 12th century Augustinian Priory and transformed into the Gothic style by Sir Roger Newdigate during the second half of the 18th century. It has been the seat of the Newdegate family for over 450 years and is the ancestral home of
The Lakeland Motor Museum is something for the petrol-heads, the nostalgists – and a great rainy day option for the Lakes. This is a serious motor museum. 30,000 exhibits are claimed, including wonderful classic cars, bicycles (who knew there were so many types?) and what is possibly the largest collection of ‘automobilia’ (motoring memorabilia) in
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Castle Howard is an 18th century Baroque stately home in North Yorkshire, one of the grandest and most over the top in England, with 145 rooms and set in 1,000 acres of gardens and parkland. It is owned by the Howard family, and has been for over 300 years. The house was started for the
IWM Duxford is mainly an aviation museum housed on a historic RAF airfield, which was also used by the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. It houses the Imperial War Museum’s huge collection of historic aircraft and other large items, such as tanks. Permanent exhibitions include the American Air Museum, Battle
Shaftesbury’s Gold Hill is a magnet for visitors and one of the most famous and photographed streets in Britain. It appears in countless guides and is generally believed to have been launched on an unsuspecting universe via a 1973 television advert for Hovis bread. The advertisement was an early directing endeavour by Ridley Scott before
Inveraray Castle is the imposing ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of the Clan Campbell and one of the must-see visitor attractions on the West Coast of Scotland. With a spectacular location on Loch Fyne, there has been an Inveraray Castle for around 500 years. The present castle was begun by the 3rd
