Scotland

I can’t believe that the last time I posted here was in April, how time flies when you’re having fun. Well I have been busy (well as busy as life gets up here in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland) with lots of things changing. Yes, like many, we have been forced to tighten our belts but I also decided to invest some time in a new venture creating sample CDs of classic and vintage electronic keyboards as I have managed to build up a respectable collection of synthesizers and sound modules over the years. I know that I have spent too little time updating my sites devoted to Scotland and the rest of the UK and, even though I hate to admit it, I have only made a few updates to the Enjoy Hebrides sites. Hopefully, as soon as Christmas is over, I will get back into writing about Scotland and these wonderful islands I now call home... Read More

It’s been a few years since I have been to Stirling Castle and last time we were there the Royal Palace was only at the very early stages of restoration. The exterior had been cleaned up, painted and virtually finished, but inside is was basically a shell awaiting the return of various items away to be repaired or restored. It was still an incredibly interesting visit and if you happen to be in Scotland this is definitely one of best castles in the country, many people actually prefer Stirling Castle to Edinburgh Castle (which is mainly a Victorian creation). The history of Stirling and it’s amazing castle is fascinating and, at one time, it was one of the most important cities in Europe. Today many tourist drive by the city only slowing to admire the spectacular view of the castle way up above with the road below. This really is a great shame as if you have not been before it should be high on your list of places to visit in Scotland and it is surprising how much you can pack into an hour or two... Read More

Scotland is an immensely inventive and creative nation. This small country, with a tiny population, has been a major driving force, over the last few hundred years, in the creation of the Western World as we know it. The Scottish were the “empire builders” which created the British Empire, during the Scottish Enlightenment Scotland was the world centre of thinking and to this day books published during that time remain in use and are still considered essential reading in such areas as economics. Do you remember Silicon Glen? Whatever happened to Silicon Glen? In the following article I hope to explain some of the points about this fascinating topic... Read More

Over the last few years we have all seen at least one story of a ruined holiday where a family have booked an extremely expensive vacation abroad after reading a lovely brochure at a travel agent’s office on the high street. Only when the family arrives at their chosen destination do they realise that they have been scammed, maybe the hotel is surrounded by construction sites, maybe the brochure said “sea views” but you can only really see the sea using binoculars from one room on the top floor. In some extreme cases the unfortunate tourists arrive at their hotel, which looked amazing in the brochure, to find that it is still under construction or that the photographs were many years old and the hotel is now in a ruined state of repair. It amazes me that this sort of thing still happens on an almost regular basis but I was shocked to discover that such things are more common than many of us assume and it happens right here in the UK in places such as Cornwall and even remote islands such as the Isle of Harris in the Western Isles of Scotland... Read More

As I sit here writing this quick post I am contemplating what should be a busy year ahead but I am also looking back at all of the things that I should have done during the winter months. Unfortunately I have been unable to do as much to my sites as I would have hoped. As the tourist season starts it looks like it is going to be a busy year in Scotland. There are many reasons why I would expect an increase in tourism in Scotland, not least the fact that many people will be in the unfortunate position of not being able to afford a holiday abroad this summer... Read More

The United Kingdom has a well earned reputation for bad weather. Unfortunately this reputation tends to give the impression that it is permanently raining here but, in truth, we have some incredibly warm and sunny weather at various times of the year. While the very south of England generally has the mildest temperatures and the least rainfall this does not mean that the rest of the UK is wet and cold. In fact, even in the Western Isles of Scotland, I have been known to be outside in little more than T-shirt and shorts (and I really feel the cold) in the middle of January. Admittedly this happens rarely but it highlights the point about Scottish weather in that it is “variable” to say the least... Read More

Living for a few years in the English seaside resort of  Southport created an intense dislike of the typical seaside resorts of England. Of course I would often visit nearby Blackpool with a bunch of friends but all our time was spent in either the funfair or one of the many pubs. The Scottish love to visit Blackpool and it remains as popular today as it has ever other British seaside resorts seem to have suffered severe decline and only Brighton springs to mind if I attempt to bring to mind another popular seaside resort. I had never really contemplated a seaside resort in Scotland until I visited the Isle of Harris in the Western Isles. Far from being anywhere near anything like a seaside resort this peaceful island has some of the finest beaches in Europe and it would be a complete disaster if they ever became too popular. However Scotland has a multitude of coastal beaches of outstanding beauty worthy of ultimate praise and there are, as I have found out while building my various web sites, a few Scottish seaside resorts... Read More

London is one of the most popular vacation destinations in Europe. Numerous factors work together to make the city appealing to a broad range of visitors most important of which is the enormous number of first class visitor attractions to be found. London is the largest urban zone in Europe and it is the capital of England. As such it is not surprising that there are countless places to stay each having their own unique appeal. Some people choose to stay right at the very heart of the city while others choose to stay somewhere on the outskirts and in the following article I will be taking a close look at some of the hotels near the London Eye... Read More