Stirling Castle I’m currently a member of Historic Scotland and my membership gives me free entry to Stirling Castle. The last time I visited was in between lockdowns during the pandemic, with masks and social distancing still in place, so I was overdue another visit. I’ve often mentioned in this blog about following in the … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 191
Whisky Revisited In Part 154 of this blog series, I wrote about my first visit to 28 Queen Street, a four-storey Georgian building, home of the Edinburgh branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I was fortunate to be invited back for another networking dinner, consisting of a five-course taster menu accompanied by five whiskies, … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 188
Portencross Castle Having had decent weather while on the Isle of Bute, on reaching Portencross Castle it was cold, wet and windy, but that didn’t dampen my excitement on seeing this impressive structure perched right on the coast. It was closed for the season now and won’t be open again to visitors until next year, … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 186
Rothesay Castle Next castle on the list involved catching a boat from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. I had visited Wemyss Bay earlier this year and had noted in part 153 of this blog that I had this trip on my list of things to do. The crossing took around thirty-five … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 185
Ardrossan Castle In complete contrast to the beautifully restored Dean Castle, the next one to visit on my list was Ardrossan Castle. To get there, you have to drive into town, and then take a side road and it’s situated on the outskirts on a hill, overlooking the Firth of Clyde. There is a small … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 184
Kinderdijk Windmills Last leg of the Rhine journey on way to Amsterdam and a flight back, allowed for a stop in Kinderdijk in the Netherlands. In previous posts I have mentioned some of the windmills I’ve visited in Scotland and noted these in Part 110 and Part 135 of this blog series. This time I … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 182
Museum Wallraf Having visited the Ludwig, I managed to fit in the Wallraf on the same day. This had a different vibe and was so worthwhile. Again, I’m only scratching the surface here. As with all the galleries and museums I’ve visited, there is so much to take in. So, in keeping with earlier posts, … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 180
Museum Ludwig While in Cologne, I discovered two art museums in close proximity to each other and with limited time, these were the obvious ones to visit. The first of these was the Museum Ludwig, which was perfect given my love of modern art and the collection it houses. The second was the Wallraf, which … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 179
Cologne Cathedral If there is one thing you need to see when visiting Cologne, it is Cologne Cathedral. At 157 m (515 ft), it is the tallest twin-spired cathedral in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster in Germany, and it is the third tallest church building of any type in the world. … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 178
Koblenz The weather had been very hot on this trip, but on arriving in Koblenz, the rain came down in an absolute deluge. With limited time, there were a couple of things to see, so despite a little flooding here and there, it was a matter of getting on with it. The town is a … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 177
The Fiction Factory 