Sloten, in Friesland, is another of the eleven “cities” of the Elfstedentocht and the last one we visited on our day trip last June when we were in the Netherlands.

Canal at Sloten, with bridge:-

In the other direction is this bridge and a windmill:-

The windmill:-

The canal beyond the windmill:-

The Protestant Church, Sloten:-

Sloten’s Elfstedentocht fountain is a small pillar of containers of various sorts surmounted by two figures. It’s apparently called the ‘Peewit’:-

St Mary’s Collegiate Church, Haddington is a fine example of church architecture.

Church from approach path:-

The next two photos are stitches:-

The River Tyne flows past the rear of the church and under the Nungate Bridge:-

I assume at one time nuns passed through the Nungate on their way to and from the church.

It always seems odd to find modern companies like Boots and Vodafone in old Tudor style buildings like this:-

Tudor Style from Gates of Church of St Giles:-

Gates to Church of St Giles – the Wonder of Wales apparently:-

St Giles Church tower:-

We didn’t go in – as I recall there was something going on – but the inside is very distinctive.

Memorial altar:-

Leuchars was home to an RAF base for almost 100 years starting in 1916 and ending in 2015. It now hosts an army base.

The RAF had a close association with St Athernase Church. The refurbishment going on (see previous post on St Athernase) meant the memorials had been temporarily removed from the walls.

Memorial to ex-cadets of 1302 (St Andrews) Squadron Air Training Corps who died in World War 2:-

547 Squadron Memorial:-

Memorial to the hospitality shown by the people of Leuchars to Dutch members of the armed forces during World War 2:-

Parts of St Athernase date back to the twelfth century. It was undergoing renovation when we visited and it looked like a long project. It seems to have reopened in March this year.

Church from the gateway:-

That apse is a very distinctive feature.

From path:-

Close to:-

While we were looking round its grounds the incumbent Minister, a former RAF chaplain, came up to talk to us and invited us inside.

Ancient archway. Note large crack:-

Within the apse there are several carved heads which give the place a Viking feel:-

A lot of the stonework had apparently been hidden behind wooden panelling for a long time.

Stonework Detailing::-

Pictorial stonework:-

Figural stonework:-

Carved panel:-

Tower and spire from Oakham War Memorial:-