Rye has a long history. It was once a seaport but the sea has long retreated/silted up.

The older part of the town lies on a hill above the coastal plain. One of the approaches still retains the ancient Landgate:-

Closer view:-

View down towards gate from higher up the hill:-

Another very old building is the Ypres Tower/Rye Castle which now houses a museum. The tower has nothing to do with the Belgian town of the same name. It once belonged to a cloth merchant, Jean d’Ypres, and the name has stuck.

There is an old pair of stocks still standing just outside the east end of the Tower:-

On the way up to Peterhead we also stopped at Tolquhon Castle near Ellon in Aberdeenshire. The access road is quite narrow but still fine. The castle itself is fairly typical but has an impressive entranceway.

Castle Information Board showing how it looked back in the day:-

Castle courtyard:-

Information diagram:-

Entrance from above:-

Courtyard from above entrance:-

Fireplace:-

Part of interior (with another fireplace):-

Window and window seat:-

Courtyard from above looking back towards entrance:-

Steps up to solar:-

Methven is a village directly west of Perth, Perth and Kinross. It was the site of a small battle during the Scottish Wars of Independence but the exact location is uncertain, though there is a signpost on the main road pointing in its direction.

Methven Kirk and Graveyard:-

Lynedoch Mausoleum is a small building in the kirkyard:-

Methven Castle is a seventeenth century house to the east of the village and is privately owned but can be seen from the road:-

Methven Castle in its landscape:-

Annan is a town in Dumfries and Galloway. It is named for the river which runs through it:-

That bridge is well-proportioned:-

View from bridge looking north:-

Somewhere in the park beyond is the remains of Robert Bruce’s motte and bailey castle:-

A statue of Bruce adorns the Town Hall:-

The Town Hall itself from a different angle:-

This is the view south from the bridge. Another bridge (a footbridge) can be seen to top centre right:-

We walked down to get a closer look (and eventually walked over it):-

The footbridge gave a good view of the old railway bridge over the River Annan. the railway is now disused:-

The most outstanding feature of the Lindisfarne skyline is Lindisfarne Castle – instantly recognisable. It’s now in the care of the National Trust.

The castle entrance is very restricted, up a flight of fairly narrow wooden steps, but there is a wider plaza above:-

One of the rooms has a ship model hanging from the ceiling!

Fireplace in kitchen. (This is flanked by a cupboard and a settle):-

Kitchen cupboard:-

Settle:-

Reverse of settle:-

Walled garden from Lindisfarne Castle. The garden was designed by famous gardener Gertrude Jekyll. The surroundings on Lindisfarne are so bleak and windswept there has to be a wall round it in order for anything to grow.

From the island side the castle looks very different:-

Castle from walled garden. Apparently the area just to the left of the castle in the photo above was where the Vikings would coast up back in the day as the sea reached in further then:-

On the way back up from Northeast England last June we took a trip over the causeway (having looked up the tide-tables beforehand) to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, a place I’d always wanted to visit but somehow had never seemed to find the time before.

It’s an odd experience driving over the causeway – it feels quite long – but the trip was worth it. There was more to Lindisfarne than I’d imagined. Not just the castle and Priory.

Lindisfarne Castle from Approach Road:-

Closer view:-

From the road there’s a good view over the sea to Bamburgh Castle:-

I thought the objects in the next photo were a bit odd, but obviously with some age to them. Only when I got home and looked them up did I find they were Guile Point obelisks and lighthouse. (When lined up the obelisks indicate the safe channel into Lindisfarne harbour.) As seen from Lindisfarne:-

They can be seen again in the background here beyond Lindisfarne’s foreshore with these wooden stumps:-

There is a small village on the island (where lie the remains of Lindisfarne Priory) and a harbour.

Lindisfarne Harbour, Village and Priory from road to Castle:-

Fyvie Castle is in Aberdeenshire, close by the village of the same name (see previous post.)

Castle from southwest:-

Castle from south:-

From grounds:-

Courtyard and wing of castle:-

Clock:-

Entrance wing:-

Entrance:-

Arched ceiling:-

Stonemason’s circle mark:-

Frieze:-

Castle solar:-

Top of castle:-

Fireplace:-

Fireplace Information Board:-

Another fireplace:-

The obligatory toilet – every heritage building seems to highlight these. This one is covered with perspex: no doubt to prevent people using it!

Huntly is a town in Aberdeenshire.

Our visit there had a threefold purpose. To photograph the War Memorial, to look at the bookshop in the town and to visit Huntly Castle.

The War Memorial is unusual, a tapering obelisk above a group of granite columns in an elongated octagon:-

Showing elongated shape:-

Dedication. The obelisk has the date 1914. The dedication reads, “Men of Huntly who fell in the Great War 1914:1918.” Great war names on both side tablets, World War 2 on lower tablet:-

Looking towards the town:-

Epitaph. The obelisk bears the date 1918. The epitaph reads, “Their land they crowned with fame that shall not die: in death they died not, being raised on high to glory with the brave.” Great war names on both side tablets, World War 2 on lower tablet:-

Dining room:-

Ceiling of Library (formerly the servant’s Hall)

Window recess, Library. Note thickness of the wall, for defensive purposes:-

The muniments room was where the owner did his accounts and doled out money. The chair is said to be very old:-

Door to sitting room:-

Sitting room:-

Sitting room fireplace:-

Sitting room ceiling:-

van Dyk portrait of King Charles I in Drum Castle. Sadly photo did not turn out well:-

Bedroom:-

War Death Commemoration, Chapel, Drum Castle. Lieutenant Robert Hugh Irvine, the Gordon Highlanders, aged 22 years, killed at Singapore, 13/2/1942:-