Clipmarks | Patty2007's 'scotland' clips

Holy Loch Scotland

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:08:32 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: The Holy Loch (Scottish Gaelic "An Loch Sianta/Seunta") is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Open to the Firth of Clyde at its eastern end, the loch is approximately one mile wide and between two and three miles long, varying with the tide. The town of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula lies on the shores of the Clyde just to the south of the loch, and houses continue round the villages of Kirn, Hunter's Quay at the point with the landing slip for Western Ferries, Ardnadam and past Lazaretto Point, the village of Sandbank, with open countryside at the end of the loch, then on the northern shore Kilmun, and at Strone Point the village of Strone continues round to the western shore of the Clyde, almost joining Blairmore on Loch Long.
from wikipedia.org

Clip Source: picasaweb.google.co.uk

Tags: scotland, holy loch

Islay Distillery Panoramas

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:46:18 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: www.armin-grewe.com

Islay Distillery Panoramas

A view over Loch Laphroaig with the Laphroaig Distillery (2MB download). This panorama was taken on a calm summer afternoon in August 2006, the clouds just breaking up a little. You can see a number of distillery buildings on the shore of the loch and also look out to the sea with Texa in the distance.

A view over Lagavulin Distillery (2MB download) from the pier in Lagavulin Bay. Taken on the same afternoon as the Laphroaig panorama just down the road. A good impression of how close the distillery buildings are to the shore.

You were expecting this, weren't you? Yes, the third panorama is the next one on the south coast of Islay, a view of Ardbeg Distillery in the late afternoon sun (2.6MB download). Taken on the same afternoon as the two above.

Tags: scotland, islay, distillery, whiskey

Islay Distillery Panoramas

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:42:42 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: www.armin-grewe.com

Islay Distillery Panoramas

Tags: islay, scotland, distillery, whiskey

Friday Islay Picture (31)

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:20:40 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: Sharing a interesting blog abotu Islay, Scotland.

Clip Source: www.islayblog.com

Friday Islay Picture (31)

That's the first stage of the journey to Islay done. Just before midnight and I've finally arrived in Carlisle. 6.5 hours for just over 300 miles. Yes, traffic was hell. Now I'm really looking forward to soon be driving over roads like this one:

My average speed will probably be not much different, while the roads on Islay are clearly not designed for much speed the motorways I spent most of this evening on in theory are. And the views weren't anywhere near as nice as on Islay.

Now I just need to get this posted (if you read this I obviously have been able to), then it's off to bed. With that I'm signing off for a week, I don't plan to post anything while I'm on Islay. Behave yourselves, enjoy the break and watch out for my return. I hope I'll have lots of stories to tell and pictures to post.

Tags: scotland, islay, pics, photos

The ghosts of Mary King's Close

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:38:54 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: heritage.scotsman.com

THE DARK, claustrophobic streets running off the Royal Mile lead away from the light and downhill into the shadows. These half-forgotten reminders of Edinburgh’s insanitary past provide a perfect setting for a suitably spooky atmosphere. Largely built upon the ruins of centuries gone by, it is not just those of a sensitive nature who feel a certain frisson when they walk past.

Picture: Courtesy The Real Mary King's Close" />

You never know who might appear on the close
Picture: Courtesy The Real Mary King's Close

Take a tour of the close, if you dare

Tags: ghosts, scotland, edinburgh

Clans: backbone to Scotland's culture

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:47:19 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: "The succession of the clan chief in the Celtic tradition was decided by the system of "tanistry", an ancient law that brought members of the ruling elite together to choose the next heir. This system ensured that a strong leader was always chosen, but inevitably led to conflict and fracturing of some clans. When Malcolm III became King in 1058 he adopted the English Feudal system and also changed the language of court from Gaelic to English. To some extent this was the start of the intensification of the struggle between Lowland Scotland and Highland Scotland that was to reach its zenith in Culloden."

Clip Source: heritage.scotsman.com

In days gone by, clansmen protected their land and their people, but reaching concensus on clans' historical accuracy is a challenge.

OUR UNDERSTANDING of a Highland clan is driven more by wishful thinking than by historical accuracy. If you are a "clansman" and share your surname with hundreds of thousands of people across the world, then the idea of you all being related in some distant way is extremely appealing.

There have been tribal groupings in Scotland, or Caledonia as it was then known, since records first started. Tacitus, the Roman historian, noted that these tribes had chiefs at the head and that the banded together to resist a common foe. But the idea of a clan functioning through its combined sense of "Kinship" is more of a medieval idea.

The word itself derives from the Gaelic clann, meaning children. In many ways this notion of a child, being protected within a paternal society is how clans are still regarded today.

The heritage of clans have their roots in the Highlands

Tags: scotland, kilt, culture, tradition

A whole Scottish way of life is under threat

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:24:20 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: Pictures of Aberdeen dock from the late 19th century are astonishing for the size and number of fish landed: table-sized halibut lie stretched out in rows interspersed with huge cod, skate and ling. But conflict boiled behind these scenes of plenty.

Scots who caught their fish mainly by hook and line fought to keep the new-fangled English steam trawlers out of their waters, forcing a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate their complaints.

Ultimately, they lost the argument and the more-efficient - and destructive - trawlers were embraced by the Scots. If they had prevailed and the trawlers were kept out, perhaps the state of Scottish fisheries and marine life would be different today.

Scientists estimate that only a tenth of the level of table-fish in 1900 remains in the seas around Scotland today. Some large species have all but disappeared, such as angel sharks and the once "common" skate.

Clip Source: news.scotsman.com

Cod in market: scientists estimate that only a tenth of the level of table-fish in 1900 remains in the seas around Scotland today.
Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

AS A teenager, I lived in Wick, a remote fishing port of 7,000 inhabitants moored at the far north-eastern extremity of Scotland. The land is low and the climate is bleak for much of the year.

My favourite weekend pastime was to hike along the ragged cliffs fronting Wick Bay to a ruined tower, and there contemplate nature and life.

Old Wick Castle was thick-walled and crouched on a narrow rocky promontory, three sides sea and one land. I would sit on the headland, the wind billowing waves through the grass and spreading windrows across the bay, enjoying my solitude.

Aloft, effortless fulmars rode the wind and kittiwakes returning with food wheeled and shrieked before finding their ledge among the thousands of others crammed with birds.

Tags: scotland, fish, environment, pollution

King of fish threatened

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:21:44 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: Surveys of the numbers of salmon going out to sea and returning have been carried out on the North Esk since 1964 by Fisheries Research Services staff. Scientists have noted a "marked upward trend in marine mortality rate over the period in which monitoring was carried out" (see graph).

And the new study by Professor Chris Todd of thousands of grilse - young salmon which have spent a single winter at sea - found that over the last ten years, the average weight of the fish fell by 11 to 14 per cent.

Prof Todd, a marine ecologist at St Andrews University who was speaking at an Atlantic Salmon Trust conference on the fate of salmon at sea in Edinburgh yesterday, told The Scotsman: "Our analyses indicate that this is closely linked to ocean climate warming in the north-east Atlantic. Probably we are seeing the effects of a lack of feeding for salmon at sea, arising from temperature-driven shifts in the distribution of the plankton communities upon which salmon depend.

Clip Source: news.scotsman.com

Forty years ago, nearly half the smolts leaving freshwater for salt would return to breed. Now as few as 10 per cent of fish are succeeding in making the same journey.
Picture: Ian Rutherford

THERE are few natural predators capable of catching a fully grown mature salmon. A dolphin is capable of hunting down the king of fish but would probably prefer easier prey; seals are a risk in confined areas where the salmon can be trapped, particularly during colder months. But this powerful creature, when fully grown, is superbly equipped to out-swim almost anything else in the sea.

Humans also pose only a limited threat: it is only "lightly fished" and while a few are caught in nets meant for the likes of mackerel and herring this is not thought to make a significant dent in their numbers.

Tags: scotland, salmon, fish, sea

An end to man's destruction of the 'web of life'

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:18:40 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: "Scottish waters are home to colonies containing more than five million seabirds, nearly half the total in the European Union. More than a third of the world's grey seals live in Scotland and it is home to 29 species of whales and dolphins, including the world's most northerly bottlenose dolphin population, in the Moray Firth.

Scottish sea lochs, such as Loch Sween and Loch Etive, are a unique environment within the EU, with the likes of maerl beds, reefs of flameshells and horse mussels, communities of northern sea fans and coldwater corals.

The sea contributes an astonishing amount to our livelihoods: the value of its "ecosystem services" - food production and the flows of nutrients, material and energy - has been put at £14 billion. In more concrete terms, some £370 million worth of fish were landed by Scottish boats in 2006, while Scotland accounts for 90 per cent of the UK's farmed fish, with a "farm gate" value of £300 million."

Clip Source: news.scotsman.com

An end to man's destruction of the 'web of life'

SCOTLAND'S seas contain some of the most special marine environments in the world, but they are almost completely unprotected from human exploitation.

Now a landmark report on conservation has identified 31 sites around the coast, including St Kilda, the Firth of Forth and Sound of Mull, which could become the basis for a network of marine reserves that would finally begin to redress this situation.

The document, called "Finding NIMAs" (Nationally Important Marine Areas), highlights how these parts of our waters are valuable to Scotland and vulnerable to destruction, with the sea treated as a "common resource" available to all.

It says human activities are beginning to change the fundamental "web of life" under the waves and warns of the economic and environmental consequences if this is allowed to continue. Reserves, or "marine protected areas", would form a central plank of measures taken to reverse this trend.

Tags: scotland, sea, environment, polution, loch, lake

Wizard laird's dance with the devil

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:49:29 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: heritage.scotsman.com

Wizard laird's dance with the devil

LOCH of Skene is a dark and forbidding place at the best of times, particularly so on cold evenings in the dead of winter - the type of weather there in Aberdeenshire that makes the waters freeze over. On such occasions those who dare venture to the lochside can gaze out at what seem like a mysterious set of curved tracks embedded in the ice. Tracks which look newly made by a coach or carriage.

Did Auld Nick pay a visit to the Wizard Laird of Skene?

Is it a trick of the moonlight? An unexplained natural phenomenon? Not according to local folklore and legend passed down over centuries by the farmers and travelling people who once populated the area. Stories were told of the sinister local landowner who was allied with the devil … those with psychic powers swear they can still feel his presence to this day.

And the tracks on the ice? A lasting reminder of the day Auld Nick himself paid a visit to his devil-worshipping friend the Wizard Laird of Skene.

Tags: wizard, evil, scotland, myth

Scotland - Mony Stone

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:30:45 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: www.darkisle.com

Mony Stone

The Mony stone is standing alongside a little farm road under some very large trees. The trees, Wellantonias, look like they have been there since the stone was raised, however they were planted along the track to a manor house. The house has since burned down.

There are three Pict symbols on the stone. Unfortunately they did not show up well in these pictures and I don't remember exactly which carvings they were.

The legend of the Mony stone is that is was raised to commemorate a Norse prince. He was killed in a raid on this glen and his treasure was buried along with him.

Tags: picts, stones, scotland

Scotland - Craignish Castle Area

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:28:41 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: www.darkisle.com

Craignish Castle Area

In the Argyll and Bute region, we went looking for the Craignish Castle. First we found a small kirk near Barravullin. It had this celtic cross at the entrance. Thought it looked nice!

Then we found the Castle. The castle had been modernized to provide apartment space. So no access was granted, even the road was private. That being the case, this is as close as we could come to seeing it.

After the castle there were some sculptured stones in a graveyard and kirk area. Some of them are very well preserved. The graveyard is located along the B8002, a very long single lane road.

Tags: craignish, castle, scotland, graves, stones

Scottish Myths and Legendssc

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:24:06 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007

Clip Source: www.rampantscotland.com

Scottish Myths and Legends

Scotland has a rich Celtic History going back over 2,000 years, at a time when superstition was rife and where unusual events were "explained" by stories and inventions which were then passed on by word of mouth. It is therefore not surprising that Scotland has an extensive heritage of myths and legends.

There is an introduction to Celtic Mythology and Celtic Folklore.

Finally, the Encyclopaedia of the Celts contains quotations from many of the historic and legendary events and people.

Spirits and Goblins
Encyclopedia Mythica is a huge Web site covering many of the myths and legends around the world. With a bit of digging, the specifically Scottish elements within the Folklore section can be uncovered :

Tags: scotland, myth, legends, celtic

Weaponry

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:20:51 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: And NO, Wallace NEVER used a Claymore in battle...

Clip Source: www.kilts-n-stuff.com

Weaponry

The Celtic Croft has a wide range of fine bladed weapons for your collection, whether for you plan to display them or use them for reenactment. Please compare prices - we are sure you will be back. We add new pieces now and then so please check back once in a while. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Stag Horn Sgian Dubhs

Dirks

Scramasax

Claymores

Lowlander

Back Scabbard

Celtic Sword

Tags: weapon, celtic, scotland

Great Kilt History

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:18:32 GMT

clipped by: Patty2007
clipper's remarks: "The Great Kilt was made from wool, often grown on one's own sheep. It could take a year for someone to shear and spin enough wool to make one kilt. The yarn would then be taken to the local weaver to weave into cloth. Looms of the time wove a piece of cloth 27" wide and up to 30" wide. And, like today, cloth is easiest to handle if it doesn't get to be too much of it. Today when you by cloth it comes on a bolt. The thinner the cloth, the more that is on the bolt; the thicker the cloth, the less is on the bolt. A finely made silk may have 30 yards on the bolt, but once folded and wrapped, it would constitute about 8" thick by 21"-30" long."

Clip Source: www.kilts-n-stuff.com

Great Kilt History & Info

The Great Kilt is also known as the "breacan an fheilidh" or "feile mor". The first known reference to this mode of dress was made in 1594 in The Life of Red Hugh O’Donnell in a description of a corps of Hebrideans who had come to The O’Donnell’s assistance: “They were recognised among the Irish soldiers by the distinction of their arms and clothing, their habits and language, for their exterior dress was mottled cloaks of many colours with a fringe to their shins and calves, their belts were over their loins outside their cloaks."

Tags: kilt, scotland, highlander