Stirling Weekend Breaks And A Number Of Superb Places You Must See
The city of Stirling has featured strongly in the history of Scotland, especially during crucial moments. The city and surrounding area has a fantastic selection of superb tourist attractions and a mass of of photo opportunities. In the article below I provide information about 3 places to visit in Stirling; Argyll’s Lodging, Stirling Castle and Stirling Old Town Jail:
Stirling Castle
Set two hundred and fifty feet above the city of Stirling, and surrounded on 3 sides by steep cliffs is Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle is very important in Scotland’s history, there have been many coronations within the castle, including Mary Queen of Scots’ in 1543. Stirling Castle was also witness to a violent murder in 1452. The eighth Earl of Douglas was victim to James II in 1452. The castle is the home of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, even though they are, sadly no longer garrisoned at the castle. However, the regimental museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, is situated in the castle.
Stirling Old Town Jail
The Stirling Old Town Jail we see today is not the original jail, for 400 years, Stirling’s prisoners were secured in the Old Tollbooth Jail. This jail was awfully overcrowded, and smelled dreadful, with twenty four prisoners to each cell, and zero sanitary facilities. The Tollbooth jail was condemned, because of the fearful living conditions there, and in 1847 the new jail opened. Although the jail was classed as a custodial prison, from 1888 to 1935, it was also the only military prison in Scotland. Today the Stirling Old Town Jail is a visitor attraction, and was only restored in the 1990′s. As well as guided tours, there is a glass paneled elevator that rises to a viewing platform at the top of the jail. From this superb spot you can gaze out across the Forth Valley, and enjoy the spectacular view of the Highland mountains.
Argyll’s Lodging
Argyll’s Lodging can be found on Castle Wynd, located in the center of Stirling and is Scotland’s best existing renaissance house. The house was constructed around 1630, by Sir William Alexander, founder of Nova Scotia and Viscount Canada. Sir William Alexander who became Secretary of State for Scotland, and was then appointed the 1st Earl of Stirling. Argyll’s Lodging became the property of the Argyll family on his death and was added to by the ninth Earl in 1666. The rooms which include the dining room, bed chamber, drawing room and laigh hall, have all been expertly furnished and restored, as they would have been when the 9th Earl lived there, circa 1680.
If you are planning to have a holiday in Stirling you will discover a large amount of online Stirling hotels and guest houses and you will find a massive range at http://stirling.hotelreservationhelper.com/
Categories: Travel Tags: accommodation, city break, destination, destinations, Hotels, hotels in Stirling, recreation, Scotland, Stirling, Stirling hotels, Travel, travel and leisure, travel tips, vacation, vacation destinations, vacations
Scottish Vacations And Three Worthy Places To Visit Close To Dundee
As far back as the time of the Picts there has been a settlement on the site of Dundee. Dundee, the 4th largest city in the whole country, has long been associated with trade and commerce. The 3 main industries, in the city, were “jam, jute and journalism”. Even though the city of Dundee could be described as a post-industrial city it has an economy which is mixed and it still has a large proportion of its population employed in the manufacturing industry (compared to the rest of Scotland), about thirteen and a half percent. Over recent years tourism has begun to become a rather important element of the local economy and there are an increasing number of guest houses and hotels providing Dundee bed and breakfast accommodation and in the following text I discuss the reader to three visitor attractions in Dundee; Verdant Works, Discover Point Visitor Centre and Sensation Science Centre:
The Discover Point Visitor Centre
Discovery Point is a highly interesting and award-winning Dundee tourist attraction which explains the tale of one of the most adventurous voyages of exploration in history, the tale of the world famous Antarctic explorer, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and the famous ship used, the RRS Discovery. On the 21st of March, 1901, the Discovery was launched from the Panmure Shipyard, Dundee. Captain Scott and his crew set sail for Antarctica on August the 6th 1901, reaching there in January nineteen hundred and two. The RRS Discovery is a major part of the centre having been fully renovated from the top to the bottom. Steep stairs and narrow passageways can create problems for some, fortunately, you will discover there is an audio visual presentation on the dockside.
The Sensation Science Centre
If you are searching for an attraction that will provide entertainment for all the family, then Dundee’s Sensation Science Centre is the perfect solution. Sensation Dundee is the only UK science centre that focuses on the body’s five senses. You can discover the miracles of sciences through use of the body’s senses with the aid of over 80 interactive exhibits. Visitors will also discover live scientific experiments and on the spot demonstrations, which demonstrate how everyday household ingredients can be utilised to incredible effect. Budding surgeons are able to have an attempt at keyhole surgery. Sensation brings science to life in many of incredibly interesting ways.
The Verdant Works
Verdant Works was, in the past, a working jute mill. At it’s height, in the 1860′s and 1870′s, the jute industry in Dundee employed around fifty thousand people in over 60 factories spread across Dundee. Today, Verdant Works brings the industry to life, by utilising a range of displays including, interactive computers, film shows and original machinery. This remarkable museum once housed three incredibly large steam engines which powered 70 looms and nearly 3 thousand spindles. There was also a workforce of five hundred workers, preparing and spinning jute for it to be weaved across the road in a different factory. Restoration of the building commenced in nineteen ninety two and it first opened to the public the 16th of September nineteen ninety six.
If you are thinking about a city vacation in Dundee you will find a large amount of online hotels and guest houses offering Dundee bed and breakfast. You will discover a massive selection of Dundee hotels and guest houses at http://dundee.hotelreservationhelper.com/
Categories: Travel Tags: destination, destinations, Dundee, dundee vacations, leisure, Scotland, Travel, travel and leisure, United Kingdom, vacation destinations, vacations
Facts About Perth in Scotland To Help People Extract The Very Best Out Of Their Vacation
The ‘Fair City’ of Perth is also frequently called to as the ‘Gateway to the Highlands’. Built on the banks of the River Tay, the town of Perth was, for centuries, Scotland’s capital and in the medieval period the bustling little town was known locally as Saint Johnstoun (St. John’s Town). The name of Perth, or Peairt in the Gaelic, is a derivative of a word of the Picts which has the meaning of a wood or copse. Nowadays this beautiful little town is an awesome location for a vacation in Scotland with a large number of bed and breakfast accommodation in Perth to choose from.
Whether stay for a week or a fortnight you will quickly realise that there very many exciting things to see and do in the immediate vicinity of Perth and Perthshire. Tourist attractions include; restaurants, historical attractions, shopping and sport and leisure pursuits and many other types of entertainment. Not that long ago the town was a highly successful port mainly dealing in the export of leather, linen, bleached products and whisky. In more modern times tourism generates cash and much appreciated jobs for the local youth who happily take employment in the large number of guest houses and hotels in Perth and similar enterprises.
One of the most famous visitor attractions, not a great distance away from Perth, is one of the finest country homes in the nation of Scotland, Scone Palace. Here people are able to explore the fascinating past of Scone Palace, the place where the early Scottish kings were crowned including, Robert The Bruce (crowned in 1306).
Approximately 3m away, from Perth, tourists will find the 16th century Elcho Castle, which has the most glorious views of the River Tay. Elcho Castle can be dated back to 1570 when it’s building was commissioned by the Wemyss family who owned it until nineteen twenty nine. It is now in the hands of Historic Scotland.
Just a little distance west of Perth is the fine medieval structure of Huntingtower Castle. Constructed in stunningly beautiful it has, over the centuries, undergone many redevelopments and alterations. Huntingtower Castle started out as two separate tower houses however situated closely together.
Besides the tourist attractions discussed above the town of Perth has countless more, making it an awesome town for a family vacation. Tourist attractions and places, worth visiting, found in and around Perth include the following; Perthshire Visitor Centre, Perth Ice Rink, Kinnoull Hill, the Museum of the Black Watch at Balhousie Castle and Perth Art Gallery & Museum.
If you are planning to have a weekend break in Perth you will discover a large amount of online Perth hotels and guest houses and you will find a massive listing at http://www.perthhotelscotland.com/
Categories: Travel Tags: city break, destination, destinations, holiday, Holidays, hotels in Perth, leisure, Perth, Perth hotels, Scotland, Travel, vacation, vacation destinations, vacations