Category: Featured Sites

Chanctonbury Ring

Chanctonbury Ring is a hill on the Sussex Downs some 700 feet above sea level and, until the hurricane, which swept across Southern England, was crowned with beech trees. Excavations at the site showed that the ramparts dated from 300 BC. Remains of several Roman buildings were found during the early digs, along with various items and fragments of pottery.

Gretna

The name Gretna derives origins from ‘Gretenhow’, an Angle term meaning gravel hill. Of course the Angles were not the first settlers in Gretna, they had been preceded by both the Romans and Norsemen.  The area surrounding Gretna has seen many battles between the English and Scots as they invaded each other. In 1376 Gretna was completely destroyed during one such battle.

Rosslyn Chapel & Roslin Castle

Rosslyn Chapel is touted as being one of the most mysterious places in Scotland, especially with the current gloat of books purporting to show how hidden secrets lurk within every crack of stone at this venerated place. Anybody who has ever visited the chapel may feel that it deserves its current status, and I must confess the atmosphere even on a busy day is something to be experienced.

Ruthin Castle

Before I begin I would like to say that I spent my honeymoon at Ruthin Castle, and found the accommodation and service exemplary. I would recommend staying in the castle to anybody, and I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed the Medieval Banquet which they host on a regular basis.

Dunadd

The ancient king seat of Dunadd – capital of the kingdom of Dalraidia (Dal Riata) – rises out of the barren flatness of Crinan Moss, the raised bog floodplain of the meandering River Add. This rocky outcrop was the power base of the Scotti tribe, who invaded from Ireland around the 5th century AD.

Inchmahome Priory

Situated on an island in the middle of Lake Menteith, the only ‘Lake’ in Scotland, Inchmahome Priory is a ruined Augustine (The Black Cannons) priory founded in 1238 by Walter Comyn, who was the Earl of Menteith. The Earl is likely to have founded the monastery for the good of his soul, and to show of his status as an important landowner.

Balnuaran of Clava

The Clava Cairns – or more correctly Balnuaran of Clava – is one of the best preserved Bronze Age burial sites in Scotland. There are three cairns here, two with passage ways aligned to the Midwinter sunset, and all with more subtle features, incorporated to reflect the importance of the South-west horizon.

Crossraguel Abbey

The ruins of this relatively little known abbey are remarkably intact, and stand in a part of Ayrshire steeped in history. As well as being historically interesting there are many enigmas associated with the abbey, which could well be worth further research. There may have been a Pictish site here, and some people suggest that the abbey may have a Templar connection.