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
Aberdour Castle There are a number of locations that were used in the filming of the Outlander series, and I visited another one recently. Aberdour Castle is one of the oldest in Scotland and well worth a visit. It is a strange combination of preserved buildings and ruins, along with a restored walled garden and … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 161
Glasgow Transport Museum As noted in Part 139 of this blog, I’m a big fan of Dali and always like to view St John on the Cross in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow whenever I can. I managed to fit in another visit, before heading over to the Transport Museum. This is one of … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 160
Edinburgh Futures Institute I’ve attended two cyber security in-person conferences this summer as part of my day job. It’s always good to get away from my desk and hear what is current in the industry. Even better when I’m an attendee and not a presenter. Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy presenting, but it … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 159
Croatia I took time out to head over to Croatia, staying in a small place called Mlini. It’s a beautiful place on the coast and a half hour boat ride from Dubrovnik, which was my main reason for the trip. The television series Game of Thrones used Dubrovnik as the main filming location for King’s … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 158
Canine Connection I often cut through the grounds of St Cuthbert’s Parish Church while out and about during my lunch hour. Aside from being a useful shortcut from the bottom of Lothian Road into Princess Street Gardens, it’s a picturesque and fascinating corner of historical Edinburgh and well worth a visit. One feature to keep … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 156
Linlithgow Palace Revisited I’ve renewed my membership for Historic Scotland which means I now have free entry into Linlithgow Palace. When I visited last year I walked around the grounds which is free, but this time I took the car all the way in and parked up in the grounds and spent time wandering around … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 155
Wemyss Bay On the way back from Largs I stopped off at Wemyss Bay. This was a quick visit simply to see the train station. I have spent decades commuting by train and have written millions of words while travelling, so it’s a fair question to ask why would I spend time at a station … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 153
Isle of Cumbrae Great Cumbrae (Scottish Gaelic: Cumaradh Mòr) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is sometimes called Millport, which is the name of its main town. You can hop aboard, or even take your car, onto the Caledonian … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 152
The Fiction Factory 