Arran and the Borders

Arran and the Borders

This is not an aberration or a Photoshopped picture – the sun shone!  And in spite of Scottish squalls, kept shining for most of the trip.  Of course, there were castles; this one is Hermitage – very solid and near to nowhere. And there were distilleries....
Faces and figures

Faces and figures

The Kelpies stand 30 metres high in the flat Falkirk landscape. A mix of myth and heritage, the kelpies are shape-changing spirits inhabiting Scottish and Irish lochs and also a tribute to the tough workhorses who pulled the barges and carried out other hard work in...
Celtic Fringes

Celtic Fringes

From Donegal to Brittany via Wales, you can see similarities – not least in the place names. Brittany is famous for its stone monuments, of course, and the closest we’ve come across in the UK are in the Orkneys and Outer Hebrides, though Avebury comes...
The Poetry Guide

The Poetry Guide

In this slim volume is the lifetime’s experience and wisdom of Bernard and myself distilled from three decades of blood, sweat and fun in classrooms, school halls and libraries. The underlying message is that poetry is not there to be studied and dissected but...
How far to Forfar?

How far to Forfar?

Quite far, is the answer. But worth the journey. The Three Witches take pride of place – they, along with six other sculptures on a Macbeth theme, are to be found in the woods next to Glamis Castle. Not merely woods but a Pinetum with, we are told, the tallest...

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