Author Archives: Graham Stephen

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Inveraray Castle

The entrance porch was designed in 1871 by English architect Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt (1820-1877)

Date

20 August 2018

Location

Inveraray, Argyll and Bute
NN 09555 09313; 56.23806°N, 5.07455°W

Information

The Category A listed Inveraray Castle is set in 6.5 hectares of gardens with the overall estate covering an area of 24,000 hectares. The mansion replaced an earlier 15th-century castle and was designed in 1746 by English architect Roger Morris (1695-1749). The property is located on the shore of Scotland’s longest sea loch, Loch Fyne, and in the 1770s the village of Inveraray was moved in order to secure a more secluded position for the castle.

Inveraray Castle is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Argyll, the chiefs of Clan Campbell. The dukedom was created in 1701 in the Peerage of Scotland and in 1892 the 8th Duke was also created Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Parts of the castle are open to the public with private apartments being occupied by Torquhil Ian Campbell (b 1968), the 13th and 6th Duke of Argyll, and his family. Campbell is also captain of Scotland’s national elephant polo team.

The castle featured as the fictional Duneagle Castle in the 2012 Christmas special episode of the television series Downton Abbey.

Further Reading

Inveraray Castle

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Scotch Whisky Experience

Gaelic coffee

Date

19 August 2018

Location

Royal Mile, Edinburgh
NT 25421 73524; 55.94891°N, 3.19579°W

Information

The Scotch Whisky Experience opened in 1988 as The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre in a joint venture by 19 different Scotch whisky companies. The visitor attraction changed its name to the present one in 2006 and in 2008 it became home to the Diageo Claive Vidiz Whisky Collection – a collection of over 3,000 bottles built up over 35 years by Brazilian whisky enthusiast Claive Vidiz. The centre offers tours and whisky tutoring and features a shop and the Amber Restaurant & Whisky Bar.

Further Reading

The Scotch Whisky Experience

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Harry Potter Shop (Diagon House)

Harry Potter Shop

Date

19 August 2018

Location

Victoria Street, Edinburgh
NT 25508 73472; 55.94846°N, 3.19439°W

Information

Victoria Street in the Edinburgh is said to be JK Rowling’s inspiration for the magical shopping zone Diagon Alley. And Diagon House is a Harry Potter-themed merchandising outlet located in Victoria Street. The building was occupied by Robert Cresser’s Brush Shop from 1873 to 2004, with the ground floor serving as the shop, the first floor as a brush-making workshop and the second floor as the family’s private accommodation.

Further Reading

Diagon House

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Harrison’s Garden – Penrhyn Castle

Harrison’s Garden, Penrhyn Castle

Date

4 August 2018

Location

Penrhyn Castle, Llandegai, Bangor
SH 60219 71962; 53.22624°N, 4.09534°W

Information

Harrison’s Garden by Bristol-based installation artist Luke Jerram (b 1974) is an “imagined landscape and garden of clocks”. The ensemble of over 2,000 clocks, many of which were donated by the public, is currently (16 June – 4 November 2018) on display on the derelict third floor of Penrhyn Castle‘s keep as part of its tour of National Trust properties.

The inspiration for the installation was the clockmaker John Harrison (1693 – 1776) who spent much of his life developing a series of marine chronometers in the pursuit of the Longitude Prize. Although the prize was ultimately never awarded, Harrison’s contributions led to major improvements in safety at sea. His timepieces provided a reliable means of keeping a reference time to which the local time, as determined by astronomical observations, could be compared in order to establish a vessel’s position east or west of the Greenwich meridian.

Further Reading

Penrhyn Castle;
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