Kelburn Castle Having visited four castles in twenty-four hours, on the way back there was time to take in a fifth. Heading north up the west coast towards Largs – see blog post 151 in this series for a previous visit – there is Kelburn Castle and Estate. The castle is quite spectacular, due to … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 187
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
Dean Castle Took a trip down the West Coast and managed to visit four castles in twenty-four hours, with a fifth on the way back the following day. I will blog about each one in turn, starting with the first on route, Dean Castle. Set in a country park in Kilmarnock, this 14th century castle … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 183
The Clydeside Distillery Took a trip through to Glasgow on Friday last week to visit the Clydeside Distillery. I started the day by taking some time to wander around Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I saw the Dali again as usual – see Part 139 of this blog – along with Van Gogh’s Portrait of … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 176
One Hundred Thousand Words A milestone has been reached in this blog series. After publishing I always cut and paste a copy of my latest post into a word document as another backup. That word document containing all the posts from Inside the Fiction Factory to date, now amounts to a little over a hundred … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 170
Kinneil House I took a trip over to the Kinneil Estate in Bo’Ness over the weekend. I had no idea there was so much history dating over a period of 2,000 years on display here. There is a house, a museum, the Roman Antonine wall, renaissance wall paintings, James Watt’s Cottage, a Roman Fortlet, and … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 165
Inchmahome Priory This has been on my list for awhile, so I was excited to finally head up to the Lake of Menteith and see the Inchmahome Priory for myself. The remains of this Augustinian monastery are located on the largest of three islands in the lake, which means access is by boat. I’m becoming … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 163
St Fillan’s Church Next door to Aberdour Castle is St Fillan’s Church. He was a 7th century abbot of Pittenweem. Coincidentally, I visited Pittenweem last year as noted in Part 134 of this blog. As with all the early Saints, their back-story is scant and surrounded in myth. According to the guide book, St Fillan’s … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 162
The Fiction Factory 