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My Instagram photos of bonnie Scotland. Created by Reiner. German with a Scottish heart and soul.

08/11/2026

Castle Tioram, Loch Moidart.

The ruins of Castle Tioram stand on the tidal island of Eilean Tioram near the point at which the River Shiel flows into Loch Moidart. Castle Tioram is pronounced „Cheerum“ as far as I know.

The castle was the traditional home of the MacDonalds of Clanranald. Castle Tioram was built in the early 13th century on a rock on the tidal island. It is very possible that there was a much older fortress before but the castle was mentioned for the first time in 1372.

Castle Tioram was recorded as being in a poor condition when occupied by a garrison of government troops during the 1715 Jacobite uprising. It was recaptured by Allan of Moidart, who then, it is said, set fire to it to prevent its future use, before departing to meet his death at the Battle of Sheriffmuir.

25/10/2026

Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire near Turriff.

Fyvie Castle started life as a royal castle some time around 1200, probably as a square wooden structure surrounding a keep within which Scottish kings would stay when touring their kingdom. Although the surroundings today seem to comprise simple tranquil parkland, the site was chosen because it lies in a bend in the River Ythan, which sweeps round to its west, and most other approaches were protected by extensive areas of marshland.

It is possible to track the wanderings of many of Scotland’s medieval kings by the locations given against their signatures on royal charters that have survived. As a result we know that Alexander II was staying at Fyvie Castle on 22 February 1222. He seems to have been the second Scottish king to have used the royal castle at Fyvie, because William I (William the Lion) was also here in 1214.

Following the Battle of Otterburn in 1390, it ceased to be a royal stronghold and instead fell into the possession of five successive families – Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon and Leith – each of whom added a new tower to the castle. The oldest of these, the Preston Tower, dates to between 1390 and 1433. The impressive Seton tower forms the entrance, and was erected in 1599 by Alexander Seton. He commissioned the great processional staircase several years later. The Gordon Tower followed in 1778 , and the Leith in 1890.

20/09/2026

Callanish Standing Stones, Isle of Lewis.

The stone circle was set up between 2900 and 2600 BC – before the main circle at Stonehenge in England. Ritual activity at the site may have continued for 2000 years. The area inside the circle was levelled and the site gradually became covered with peat between 1000 and 500 BC.

The central monolith is 4.8 metres high, 1.5 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick. The largest sides of the stone are almost perfectly oriented to the north and south. The monolith probably weighs about seven tonnes.

13/09/2026

Dryburgh Abbey, Scottish Borders.

The graceful ruins of Dryburgh Abbey nestle secluded in woodland by the River Tweed. The abbey was established by Premonstratensian canons in 1150. Hugh de Moreville, Constable of Scotland and Lord of Lauderdale, had invited them to this idyllic spot from Alnwick Priory, Northumberland.

The abbey did suffer four savage attacks, however – the most famous in 1322. Edward II’s soldiers turned back to set fire to Dryburgh having heard its bells ringing out as the English army retreated.

The Protestant Reformation of 1560 effectively ended monastic life at Dryburgh Abbey. Now Historic Scotland is taking care of the ruins.

Sir Walter Scott was buried there on 26 September 1832. His tomb is in the north transept which he called St Mary’s Aisle. Another great Scot, Field-Marshal Earl Haig, was interred beside Scott in 1928.

06/09/2026

Dunrobin Castle near Golspie.

Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland’s great houses and the largest in the Northern Highlands with 189 rooms. Dunrobin Castle is also one of Britain’s oldest continuously inhabited houses dating back to the early 1300s, home to the Earls and later, the Dukes of Sutherland.

The Earldom of Sutherland was created in 1235 and a castle appears to have stood on this site since then, possibly on the site of an early medieval fort. The name Dun Robin means Robin’s Hill or Fort in Gaelic and may have come from Robert, the 6th Earl of Sutherland who died in 1427.

Sir Charles Barry was retained in 1845 to completely re-model the castle, to change it from a fort to a house in the Scottish Baronial style that had become popular among the aristocracy, who were inspired by Queen Victoria’s new residence at Balmoral. Barry had been the architect for the Houses of Parliament in London and was much in demand.

The Castle was used as a naval hospital during the First World War and as a boys’ boarding school from 1965 to 1972.

30/08/2026

Midhope Castle,
in Outlander used as Lallybroch, home of the fictional character Jamie Fraser.

The property was owned by the Martin family in 1478, and they had a castle here, but passed to the Livingstones soon afterwards. James Lindsay, Lord Lindsay, had a ratification of 1592 for the lands of Midhope, with the tower and fortalice thereof. Midhope belonged to the Drummonds of Midhope, who were in possession during part of the 16th and 17th centuries, and Alexander Drummond of Midhope remodelled the tower in 1587 and his initials with those of his wife Marjorie Bruce are on a former lintel now above a gateway. Alexander Drummond of Midhope is on record in the 1640s, then Sir Robert Drummond of Midhope in 1647 and 1661.

The property passed to the Livingstones in 1664, and the intials of George Livingstone, 3rd Earl of Linlithgow are on a lintel, then went to the Hopes in 1678 and they remodelled the building. In 1710 the place was described as ‘a fine towerhouse with excellent gardens, one of the seats of the Earls of Hopetoun’. Midhope Castle was used to house farm workers after the building of nearby Hopetoun House, and in 1851 53 people lived here, but it was later abandoned and is now semi-derelict, although the outside was consolidated in 1988. The castle lies on the extensive Hopetoun estate.

23/08/2026

Melrose Abbey, Scottish Borders.

David I founded Scotland’s first Cistercian monastery in 1136. Being so close to the border, Melrose Abbey suffered at English hands during the Middle Ages. Melrose’s location put it on the front line of conflict with England during the later Middle Ages.

Melrose was attacked by Edward I (1300 and 1307) and Edward II (1322) required major repairs. Also Richard II’s attacked Melrose in 1385 led to a complete rebuilding of the abbey church.

The Abbey suffered from the Protestant Reformation in 1560. Afterwards, the existing monks were allowed to stay on: the last died in 1590.

In 1996 during excavations of the abbey ruins a urn was discovered and confirmed to hold the heart of Robert the Bruce. A circular marker on the east side of the Abbey indicates the supposed final resting place.

16/08/2026

Falkland Palace, Fife.

Inspired by the grand châteaux of France, in the 16th century James IV and his son, James V, transformed this favoured retreat of the royal Stuarts – the palace became one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Scotland.

One of Falkland’s most famous royal residents – Mary, Queen of Scots – was enchanted with the palace, and took advantage of Falkland’s vast estate to pursue falconry and hunting, while also enjoying a game of tennis in what is now the oldest surviving real (or royal) tennis court in the world.

Although it fell into disrepair after 1660, Falkland Palace was saved from ruin in the 19th century by the 3rd Marquess of Bute. The National Trust for Scotland is taking care of the palace today.

Did you know?
Johnny Cash played a televised concert at Falkland in 1981.

Cash learned upon researching his ancestry, that he was of Scottish royal descent. After the opportunity of meeting with former Falkland, Fife laird, Major Michael Crichton-Stuart, he traced the Cash family tree to 11th-century Fife, Scotland.

09/08/2026

Inchcolm Abbey

Inchcolm Abbey sits on the small island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth, between Edinburgh and the coast of Fife. Despite being only a short boat trip from the mainland, the island feels wonderfully remote and peaceful.

The story of Inchcolm began in the early 12th century. According to tradition, King Alexander I was caught in a violent storm while crossing the Firth of Forth in 1123 and was forced to take shelter on the island. After being helped by a hermit who lived there, Alexander reportedly vowed to establish a religious community on Inchcolm.

After Alexander’s death, his brother King David I brought Augustinian canons to the island and a priory was established. In 1235 it was raised to the status of an abbey.

Because of its exposed position in the Firth of Forth, Inchcolm was far from untouched by Scotland’s turbulent history. The island was repeatedly attacked by English forces during the medieval wars between Scotland and England, and the monks eventually had to live with the constant threat of raids.

Today, Inchcolm Abbey is considered one of the best-preserved medieval monastic complexes in Scotland. Its remarkable octagonal Chapter House, cloisters, church and other surviving buildings give a fascinating impression of monastic life in the Middle Ages.

The island later gained a completely different military role. During both World Wars, Inchcolm formed part of the defences protecting the Firth of Forth, the naval base at Rosyth and the strategically important Forth Bridge.

With medieval ruins, wartime fortifications, sea views and plenty of seabirds, Inchcolm is a fascinating mixture of Scottish history and island atmosphere – and it’s easy to understand why the abbey is sometimes called the “Iona of the East.”

02/08/2026

Dunfermline Abbey, Fife

In 1070, Margaret founded a priory in Dunfermline on the site where she had married Malcolm III. She introduced a small community of Benedictine monks from Canterbury, and so laid the foundations of the first Benedictine house in Scotland.

David I made the priory an abbey in 1128. He had a new church built on a grand scale, of which the magnificent nave survives. The Romanesque pillars are similar to those of Durham Cathedral, and it’s likely that the same masons carved them.

In 1250, St Margaret’s remains were moved to an elaborate shrine at the east end of the church. A 19th-century parish church (Abbey Church) now stands on the site of the choir and presbytery. This is the location of the tomb of Robert the Bruce and the other royals buried here.

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