I have just returned after several weeks in Scotland with my daughter. We were impressed with several castles we visited. Officially, there are 1,103 castles protected by Historic Environment Scotland. About 750 are still standing, the remainder are low ruins. We only visited 5 which was all time allowed.

We found them all very photogenic as many are on the shores of a loch or at the end of a peninsula on the sea. The most photographed castle in Scotland is Eileen Doran that can be seen on the road to the Island of Skye.

But why are there so many castles in Scotland? For hundreds of years the English border with Scotland was a war zone and often fought over. As well there was a constant rivalry between feuding clans and these castles were built for clan defence.

The five castles which impressed us most were; Castle Dunnattar; Castle Dunnstaffnage; Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and Slains Castle on the East Coast. As well, Dunvegan Castle on Skye.

Slains Castle is a good place to start. Evidently, it was featured in the first season of The Crown (as a stand in for the Castle of May). Its real claim to fame was as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” when he visited Cruden Bay in the late 1800’s. It stands as a proud ruin on a point of land in the North Sea. A lovely walk leads up to the imposing ruin which is open for exploration. Both my daughter and I had recently re-read Dracula and were anxious to see the setting. We weren’t disappointed. Most castles in Scotland are well cared for. Slains is very interesting because it is and looks like what happens when nature takes over.

But few castles on the North Sea are as impressive as the striking location of Dunnattar. The parking lot leads to a long walk to the castle way out on a magnificent headland. It is a popular spot to visit and the lot was almost full the day we arrived. The striking site has been fortified since the early Middle Ages. Dunnattar Castle is today a ruin, surrounded by dramatic cliffs descending over 150 feet to the North Sea. It was in use until 1718 and is now a “Scheduled Monument” in Scotland. A sight to see!

Urquhart Castle, or what is left of it, sits high above Loch Ness and offers stunning views of the Loch. Loch tour boats are located at the pier beside the castle. Another popular site to visit. The lot was full when we arrived but fortunately we both had a 14 day “Explorer Pass” that allowed entrance to a number of Scottish castles and was well worth the investment. The castle ruins are striking especially with Loch Ness providing the background. I wanted to visit because the first recorded Chisholm shows up in 1359 at Urquhart as constable at the castle.

We were also fascinated by Dunnstaffnage Castle dating from the the 13th century making it one of Scotland’s oldest. Its very rich history dates back to the middle 1100’s when Norway controlled Scotland’s western seaboard. It remains in the Clan Campbell hands and has witnessed much of Scotland’s turbulent history. Its shape is dictated by the rock that it stands on that dates back over 400 million years and is built on a spit of land that guards the approach to Loch Etive near Oban.

Dunvegan Castle is one of only a few that are still lived in today. It’s the ancestral home of the McLeods and can be easily reached on the Island of Skye. The clan chief was in residence when we were there. They have marvellous gardens to tour and the castle has many interesting rooms open for viewing filled with historic artifacts. Besides the gardens and the castle tour we were attracted by their boat tours they offered of Loch Dunvegan. Since the site was very popular, we arrived shortly after opening so we could book a boat ride before they were sold out, usually by noon. The boat ride was a joy and the highlight for us was coming close to a small island of harbour seals that raised their heads and appeared to smile as we motored by. A wonderful treat.

Words only go so far in the description of these wonderful castles. Photographs help but being there and seeing these imposing historic ruins has a special impact.

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Earlier this summer on my way to visit family vacationing in France, I took a 3 day side trip to Montreux just over the border from France in Switzerland. I wanted a couple of days to recover from jetlag in a nice spot and was impressed with Montreux. It helped that the weather was perfect, giving me a great opportunity to explore the city and its beautiful waterfront. I had flown into Geneva and joy of joy, I was able to pick up a train right from the airport direct to Montreux, about 1 hour away. The train ride was smooth, efficient and perfectly on time.

My reservation was with the Eden Palace Hotel and it was quite a place. Right out of the Belle Epoque it was opened in 1896. It enjoys a fantastic location on Lake Geneva facing south towards the French alps, some mountains still covered in snow. At 45 miles long, Lake Geneva is one of the largest (and cleanest) lakes in Western Europe. It forms a large arc and Montreux is in the middle, on north side.

I had a balcony on the second floor facing the lakefront promenade with spectacular views of the lake and mountains, especially at sunset. Unfortunately for me, it was a small balcony, or I would have dragged my bed out there to enjoy the spectacular view, day and night. I soon learned an important lesson as I sat in the patio having lunch waiting for my room to be ready. To fill the time, I treated myself to a hamburger (35 Swiss Francs) and a couple of glasses of wine with desert. The whopping bill for one was over $110 US. I quickly learned how expensive things were in Switzerland.

Montreux enjoys a population of 26,000 and is situated in the center of the Swiss Riviera. Its mild climate has been welcoming tourists for well over 100 years. It is an important wine growing region that dates back to the bronze age, well before the Romans settled there in the 3rd century.

I learned that Montreux has a strong musical connection and is the home to a very popular jazz festival annually. Deep Purple recorded Machine Head there in 1971. As well, the town boasts a popular, larger than life statue of Freddie Mercury. He has one arm raised to the sky and everyone seemed to try and strike the same pose at the foot of the statue for their favourite photographer.

The hotel was on the beautiful lake front promenade which stretches nearly 4 miles from Villeneuve to Vevey which is another small, beautiful town to the east. This was an easy and enjoyable stroll along this flower lined walking and bike path. It was the weekend, and everyone was strolling past the food trucks and the main square in town, the Place du Marche. This was where I picked up the cruise boat the next day for an enjoyable 2 hour cruise across the lake with stops in villages on both the Swiss and French shores. People would get on at one town and off at another to hike the hills or explore the towns.

The highlight of the cruise was the stop at the Castle Chillon. The interesting castle was built on an island in the 11th century and was a summer home for the Counts of Savoy. They not only used the house as a residence but used it to house prisoners as well. It was faithfully restored at the end of the 19th century and today makes a beautiful historic site nestled on its small island. So photogenic from the lake framed with the mountains in the background.

Finding interesting restaurants was fun and I had several enjoyable meals. Both were in places just a few steps from the lovely waterfront promenade. But on the walking trail one needn’t reserve a restaurant seat as there were interesting food trucks doing a brisk business parked right on the promenade. Some blasted music and all offered a wide variety of local food treats.

I enjoyed my stay and reveled in the beauty and culture of this small but charming Swiss town.

te**@**jk.com

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It was time to travel again. After Covid, I had put off flying anywhere until this decision to travel to the UK to visit my daughter. Both of us had had a bout of cancer in 2024 and both of us had been promptly treated and recovered. What better reason to get together to celebrate our successful recoveries?

First, I learned you had to get an ETA approval to enter the UK.  I was coming from Canada, but it is also required for US travelers. This is not a visa, but similar in some ways and your approval lasts up to 2 years. The application required a lot of personal information and a weird session where you put your cell phone on the passport so the information on the chip in the passport can be loaded into the ETA application and in reverse, the application and approval is loaded back into your passport. Spooky, but it worked. When I arrived in the UK, I didn’t have to meet a border guard at Heathrow but merely placed my passport face down on a reader and the gate opened to let me into the country. I liked that part.

I knew the trip would go well when the owner of the apartment I rented for 6 days offered to send her husband to pick me up… bonus! That was so helpful. The beautiful apartment was in Chelsea, within walking distance of Chelsea Harbour on the Thames River.

Bonus #2. It turns out the “Uber” boat on the Thames stopped in Chelsea Harbour on its way east into the city and beyond to Greenwich. What an easy and spectacular way to get around the city. The views of the Houses of Parliament, tower bridge, and the London eye were all laid out before us as we cruised by in comfort.

After my daughter arrived and we explored our Chelsea neighborhood, we decided to visit Greenwich on the Uber boat.  Greenwich is a “Royal Borough” inside the city of London and a must-see spot. It has a rich history, groundbreaking architecture, vast parks and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Greenwich of course is the home of the historic Prime Meridian.

In Greenwich we first visited the restored Cutty Sark ship. The Cutty Sark was one of the last great clipper ships that raced around the world for the tea trade in the 19th century. By the 1920’s it was the last of the China tea clippers still afloat. One of the most beautiful sailing ships ever built and the fastest of its time. It was eventually saved from the brink of collapse and restored with donations from around the world and was now on dry land preserved in Greenwich for all to see.

Then it was off to the Maritime Museum, and we could have spent an entire day there. Its seafaring collections are unequalled and includes the world’s finest collection of artifacts and original paintings on the Royal Navy from the era of sail. It was so interesting that we ran out of time to see the striking Queens House that dates from the 1600’s and the beautiful Greenwich Park created in 1433. We also missed the Royal Observatory, and the spectacular Royal Naval College. All are within easy walking distance. Promise to myself: I must come back another day.

Although Greenwich was a highlight of our trip, we made a point of using the Uber boat daily to get to other attractions like the restored Globe Theatre, and the Houses of Parliament. We visited lots of museums in London and I was impressed that they offered free admission. It was good to have this cost saving as London can be a very expensive place to visit.

We were most impressed with the displays at the Victoria and Albert Museum which featured an extensive collection of medieval art. Where else could you find an original medieval door that was 700 years old? (How can a wooden door last that long?) Another great find was the Imperial War Museum that had whole floors dedicated to the two world wars that fascinated us for hours. We learned so much.

The trip was successful and despite traveling in February, the weather was perfect.

If planning a trip to London, don’t miss traveling on the Uber boat and visiting Greenwich and the amazing London museums.

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