Through the Round Window........

....and up the back stairs ...and out into the Duke's Study...

 I love the detailing on this chair back

 

 I fell in love with the furniture in this guest bedroom, especially the wardrobe!

How's this for an en suite bathroom?

 

 Lots of love for this chest of drawers. Who wouldn't?

 Want a peek inside?.....

 how adorable is the rocking chair and the little bath beside the fire. Pity the poor maid who had to come and light it at a stupid-o'clock-time, though while trailing coal buckets up those back stairs!

 

Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to Dunrobin Castle. This portrait of her is gigantic and hangs on a staircase wall.

 And these are the daughters of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland. My Photobox pics never turn out so good!

 

 I loved the 'Scandi' look of this little chair.

 Here,of course, hangs the ubiquitous Stag's Head which welcomes visitors at the stair entrance, though I wouldn't like to bump into him on a very dark night.

These floral arrangements were all done by the Housekeeper of the Castle and all on a very grand scale.

 

 The Duke's Armoury.

 

 

 The Duke's Study, complete with photographs of past Royal Visitors on the side table.

 Quite cosy really, apart from the real leopard-skin rug adorning the floor.

 Beautiful marble busts glimmering in the sunbeam escaping through the blinds.

 A mask of Mary Queen of Scots. Not her best look!

And then, with a backward glance at the splendour that was Dunrobin Castle, we say goodbye and all pile into the car for our next outing. Hope you're enjoying the tour. Catch-up next time.

xoxoxoxo

Highland Fling II .....or Castles in the Air....

 So, on the second leg of our journey to the Highlands of Scotland, we stopped to visit Dunrobin Castle, country pile of the Dukes of Sutherland (the present Duke and Duchess live elsewhere, obviously to avoid paying vast amounts of council tax!) and which is a very big castle indeed. It was originally built as a standard, common-or-garden castle but later restyled and re-built to emulate the French Chateaux model. Worth bearing in mind next time you want to make improvements to your own homes! The gardens were spectacular and stretched for eternity. I particularly liked the fact that beyond the last line of trees in the background of the above pic, one could easily step on to one's own private beach! Every home should have one, n'est pas??

 A balcony fit for any visiting Juliet.

 The back of the building.

 

 Walt Disney would have been so proud of this silhouette!

 The orchard (well, one of them).

 And here is the impressive gateway to your own personal beach.

 
Take a seat, we may be a while!

 Hope you've enjoyed your wee tour of the outside. Next time, we'll go inside and see how the other half live and yes, there was tartan carpet throughout the entire place!

 Thank You for Visiting with me.

xoxoxoxoxo

Highland Fling........

So my younger sister says, 'Let's take a slow train to Inverness, let's get away from it all and have a long weekend in the Highlands' so I say, 'Yes, that's sounds like a plan' so off the three of us toddled (my sister's partner came along too, to carry our bags, just kidding!)on a bright Friday morning, a couple of weeks ago and set about our quest. Leaving the city behind (the station was filling up with 'hen' and 'stag' revellers all ready for a fun-packed weekend and some of their outfits were very interesting. If you look very closely at the first pic, you can just about see a figure clad in bright pink, sporting a fashionable blonde wig and if that person could turn around, you would see that he was also the proud owner of a very 'Hipster' beard, matched only in quantity by his very hairy chest which was trying its best to escape from the neckline of his party frock!! His diamante tiara was divine too!








All aboard now and slowly passing through some pretty stations along the way......








....until eventually the snow-capped beauty of the Cairngorm Mountains rolls into view....

along with some other pretty scenery.....







...and then it's time to pick up the hired car and be on our way by road for a while....

...until the greenery scenery turns various hues of blue.....



....and at last, journey's end....


....to the pretty little town of Dornoch.....

which was put on the map by the nuptials of Madonna and Guy Ritchie a while and one divorce ago but that fact notwithstanding, it's rather a lovely church...

.....these were the 'best' chairs all covered in tapestry which was beautifully done. This one was my favourite.

 This was rather a lovely tribute to a rather Royal couple who died within days of each other from pneumonia and they were subsequently buried together in Edinburgh at Holyrood Palace. They must have been very popular among their subjects judging by the inscription.

 I liked these candlesticks!

 ..and someone must have forgotten to take down the Easter Tree which was still in evidence.

 Lucky Woman's Guild, a whole stained glass window to themselves.

 Then we popped into a cute little antique shop further along the street and I was quite taken with some of this pottery in the window. I wonder who thought up the quotes on them?

 

More of the same trip another time but for now hope you are all well and enjoying the advent of Summertime or Autumn, depending on where in the world you are. May blue skies abound for everyone.

xoxoxoxoxo