Once more it is time for our weekly trip to Scotland to visit our Castle of the Week and this time, by popular demand, we are at Castle Urquhart. I love a romantic ruin and Castle Urquhart ticks all the boxes. It stands on a promontory overlooking Loch Ness and commanding the Great Glen. It’s [...]
Congratulations to Georgina, who has won the April website contest and to Julia who has won the special contest for newsletter subscribers. The prizes are on their way to you! I’d also like to thank everyone very much for signing up to the newsletter again. I appreciate it very much. The May website contest is [...]
It’s now only 3 months until book 1 in my new Scottish Brides series comes out. Yes, I’m counting the days! The Lady and the Laird will be out in the middle of July and I’m planning all kinds of Scottish-related goodness here on the blog. There will be photos, recipes, and history galore. It’s [...]
It’s a while since I blogged about Ashdown House, the National Trust property where I work as a guide and historian. Today I would love to share what has been going on at Ashdown and what we have planned for the season ahead. As many of you know, I feel so lucky to be able [...]
If one is looking for continuity through different periods of history, one of the most interesting buildings that can provide it is the inn. One of the oldest inns in England is The George in Stamford. I had the pleasure of staying there a week ago and I was completely fascinated by the history (and [...]
I’m not sure what it is about ruins that attracts me. They can be lonely places. Going around a stately mansion that has been restored to its former glory or has never lost its burnish is very different from visiting a place where the roof is off and the birds are nesting in the fallen [...]
Today’s post is a little bit eccentric! I’ve been out and about in the last few weeks and I’m posting up a couple of wood carvings I have seen recently, very different from each other, both beautiful and meaningful in their own way. The first is from the carved room at Petworth House, a National [...]
I’m at the UK Regency Authors’ blog today talking about my recent visit to Ashbourne, a country town in Derbyshire. Do you enjoy Georgian and Regency romances set outside London? Drop into the blog here and tell us those books you like that are set in a country town!
Today, 25th January, is the birthday of Scots poet Robert Burns. He was born in 1759 in a small cottage near the Bridge of Doon two miles from the town of Ayr. His birthday is celebrated by people of Scots descent all over the world. Tonight in this house we’ll be eating Cock-a-Leekie soup made [...]
Firstly, congratulations to HJ on winning the blog contest and thank you to everyone who entered! Today I’m talking about a trip to London I made this week to see the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery entitled The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart.There are a number of historical characters who [...]