ICONIC IMAGES OF SCOTLAND (Part One)

The Scottish thistle is but one of many iconic images of Scotland--those sights which call up other mental visages of the Scottish experience.  Even if you’ve never traveled to the land of haggis, broadswords, and heather certain pictures clue you that you are seeing Scotland or will come to mind when someone mentions Scotland.

In this series of posts I will share some of what I believe are the most Scottish of images, starting with the structures which seem to crowd the landscape, Scotland’s castles.  Whether lived in or recently lived in, such as castles Methven, Glamis, Menzies, or Craigievar,

Methven Castle near Perth

Glamis Castle, the home Queen Mum and childhood home of Elizabeth II. 

Menzies Castle in the Highlands.

Craigievar Castle, lived in until the 1960s.

or ruins like Balvenie, Loch an Eilein, or Stalker, these castles represent the history of a nation whose culture is both violent and enlightened.  

Balvenie Castle near Balvenie and Glenfiddich Distilleries.

Loch an Eilein Castle in Cairngorm National Park.

Castle Stalker on the west coast.

Historic castles, particularly Stirling and Edinburgh, are major tourist draws and bustle with crowds year round.  

Stirling Castle of Braveheart fame.

Edinburgh Castle seen from the old shopping district below.

And yet other castles become picture postcards for Scotland tourism-- Eilean Donan and Dunnottar being the best examples.  

Castle Eilean Donan, seen with hot air balloon as an opening for BBC programming in America.

Dunnottar Castle near Aberdeen on the North Sea.

Look on any map of Scotalnd and you will notice the dots of castles--touristy, lived in, ruined, and almost forgotten--in every corner of the country.

Next, an important image that comes to mind when Scotland is mentioned is golf.  As the Home of Golf, where the game was developed if not invented, golf and Scotland are almost synonymous. 

Anne pitches out of the bunkers backwards at Kingsbarns GC near St Andrews.

The British Open, especially when played at St Andrews Old Course, and this year’s Ryder Cup venue Gleneagles are known to many more than weekend duffers.  Golf in Scotland, though is not relegated to the famous courses, but instead infects the country like a plague--a plague many of us relish.  Scotland, about two-thirds the size of Oregon, has at last count 595 golf courses while Oregon has but 260.  

St Andrews from St Andrews Castle Course.

St Andrews Castle Course, newest of the seven St Andrews Links Trust courses. 

Every village, even some of the smallest, will have a golf course.  

Anne at Isle of Skye GC, where else but the Isle of Skye.

Scenes of golf courses, famous or unheralded, will forever represent Scotland.

Whereas New York may be known for its skyscrapers, Scotland is better known for quaint villages where people still walk to the butcher and bakery shops daily.  

Comrie Village, Perthshire, Central Scotland.

The village of Crieff is our home base when we're in Scotland. 

Comrie in the Autumn.

Filled with little shops and tea rooms, these villages, such as Crieff and Comrie in central Scotland, are a joy to visit to see everyday life in Scotland.  

The village of Portree, the main town on the Isle of Skye.

Tarbert on the Kintyre Peninsula in the evening.

Others become picture postcards to the memory.

         And while the quaint villages of Scotland are home to many Scots, there are other locals you’ll meet in the country--which in most cases is not far from the villages.  Most iconic is the "Hieland Coo" (Highland Cow), 

a hearty breed able to withstand the rigors of wet Scottish summers and cold winters.  Sometimes you get to meet some of the locals in the road, this is affectionately known as a Scottish traffic jam.  

The other local resident, responsible for the Scottish Clearances where many crofters were thrown off their land to make room for more profitable production, is the Scottish sheep.  

So iconic (and cute are the sheep and lambs) that Anne has managed to bring a herd of them home over the years. 

Last in this first part of Scotland images is an unsuspected figure, the Queen.  With very little love of things English by the Scots--and for good reason, just read a little history--it is amazing how much love and respect there is for the Queen. 

The Queen visiting Balmoral Castle (her Scottish summer residence) after a storm.  Photo taken by a Austrian friend we met at Merlindale B&B in Crieff.

Elizabeth II may be an English monarch, but she is The Queen to the Scots and thus an image of great importance.

Next: Part Two and then Part Three...were you expecting anything else?