Of course you can’t visit Scotland without visiting castles!

This is Culzean Castle.

It had a fabulous clock tower.

It’s on the coast near Ayr.

The view up the coast was incredible!

I was fascinated by the erosion of some of the sandstone!

Probably the most famous castle in Scotland is Edinburgh Castle.  It totally dominates the city and you can see what a strategic vantage point it had.

Our first evening in Edinburgh we took this sunset shot.  It had been raining and the sun peeked through for just a few minutes and lit up the castle!

This is Cawdor Castle, still occupied by the Dowager Duchess of Cawdor, but she opens it in the summer for tours.

We spent more time touring the fabulous gardens than we did the castle!

This is the remains of Urquart Castle.

It was such a beautiful setting.

It was spread out over a very large area.

We climbed the tower and peeked through the windows.

I loved this tiny round one!

Stirling Castle.  Do you see a trend with the weather while we were in Scotland?  We were there for two weeks and saw very little blue sky!

This was a cool little ruin.  It must have been a tiny castle–just perfect for a princess!

Here’s a castle we snapped from the bus.

Those castle builders really knew how to pick the best real estate!

 

 

 

Bob and I went to Scotland this summer.  We wanted to see the town that his grandfather and great grandfather emigrated from.  The town is Kilwinning.  It is home to Kilwinning Abbey and the first Masonic Lodge, known as The Mother Lodge.

It was founded in 1140!  Bob’s ancestors were members here.

We knocked on the door and stated our reason for being there and were given a very warm welcome and a tour of the lodge.

But most exciting was that they were having a parade the day we were there!

It was called an Orange Walk or Orange March.

I had never heard of the Orange Order, but it’s a fraternal organization.

There were lodges represented from all over Scotland and Ireland.

Their name comes from Prince William of Orange.

Each lodge carried a big banner.

It was so interesting to see the way the different groups were dressed.

Some just marched, some had drums and some had fifes.

And a few had drum majors like this guy, who was very good!

I think there were about 75 units in the parade.

It lasted over an hour.

There were a few women’s groups, and I loved their hats!

The most dominant feature of the town is the ruins of the Abbey.

You see it from everywhere.

After the parade, we wandered over to the Abbey.

We were delighted to find that the tower was open and you could go up with a guide.  While we were stopped on the bell level, the bells chimed!  I just about jumped out of my skin!

The view was fantastic!

On the way down, I told the guide that Bob’s great-grandfather had been provost of Kilwinning (that’s like the mayor).  She said, “You know that we have the robe he would have worn when he presided at meetings.”  Well, we didn’t know, but what a thrill to see it and imagine all the times Bob’s great-grandfather donned it.

She told us there was even a street named for him…

…so we had to check it out, of course!