gothic memorial

 Logie Durno old burial ground The Dalrymple Horn Elphinstone burial enclosure is certainly one of the most attractive in rural Scotland, built just after 1798 on Logie Durno (meaning old or hollow place) old parish church yard, an impressive memento for a rich family. The Western façade is dominated by a typical large and looming pointed... Continue Reading →

keeping corpses safe

mortsafes in Logierait churchyard, Perthshire Considering things from a 21st century point of view it seems rather obvious: few things in life are as safe as a dead body. Who would want to steal a corpse? These days probably very few people. It is nothing really you can sell anywhere and where there is no... Continue Reading →

sacred places

Midmar, Aberdeenshire, rich farming land in Scotland's rural East. On first sight no particularly special place, no touch of holiness, not mythical or magical. It takes a second look to see what has been. This is a sacred place and has been for thousands of years. Midmar Stone Circle A stone circle dating back as... Continue Reading →

goodnight sweet prince

a prince drowned, a church gone and a Loch renamedThe Isle of Skye boasts an overwhelming richness of meaningful place names coming out of two linguistic sources: Gaelic and Old Norse, the latter because of the invading Viking forces. Norse names can be found all over the island but mainly along the coast where the Viking ships... Continue Reading →

wild bishop

This is a tale about a chapel, a saint and a bishop and rather surprisingly in that context, a tale about destruction, castration and a proud heart. The Isle of Skye at its wildest! The tale unfolds on graveyard on a small island in the river Snizort , just a few miles off Portree, and... Continue Reading →

Unveiling a Highland Noir of Secrets, Solitude, and Suspense

The thrilling and brilliantly narrated Highland crime series opens a fantastic new chapter in Scottish literature with its unique blend of haunting atmosphere, extraordinary characters, and emotional depth.***When Isabel Hartmann hikes to the idyllic Sandaig beach on Scotland's west coast, the last thing she expects to discover is the dead body of a German tourist. Suddenly, the translator finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.DI Robert Campbell faces a a tourist shot dead in a remote location and no motive for murder.The picturesque Highland village of Glenelg becomes the centre of the investigation, and Campbell soon discovers that everyone has a secret, and no one is who they claim to be.The icy solitude of a Highland winter draws Robert and Isabel into a deadly maelstrom of love, passion, and violence.***Highland Crime blends the classic detective genre with the challenges of relationships. Distinctive and emotionally complex stories set in the magnificent and awe-inspiring landscape of the Scottish Highlands.Nellie Merthe Erkenbach lives in the Scottish Highlands and takes her readers on a fictional journey to the places around shops, pubs, remote mountain bothys, original locations, there to be explored when visiting Skye and Lochalsh.

light on untouched graves

  This graveyard is a very peaceful one, snuggling between the river and the old town of Callander, the Parish church is long gone. But there is a small building in the old graveyard wall, that tells a gruesome story. Not by day but by night. Callander old kirkyard once was haunted by very creepy... Continue Reading →

Wife in Fife

It was in Fife that the first collection of Scottish proverbs was made by David Ferguson, minister of Dunfermline. Ferguson's collection, though published only in 1644, nearly fifty years after his death, had been made during his life in the latter half of the sixteenth century. This is a collection of sometimes odd and often amusing sayings.

The Highland’s sacred bard

    The path to Little Leny, the Buchanan burial enclosure starts here, in the floodplains of Callander Meadows in the Trossachs. To access the site you cross the former railway line. This field is the second step on the way to the ancient and picturesque graveyard. And thy skull is a sort Of garrison... Continue Reading →

Rhynie’s Gothic grave and sarcophagus

Rhynie is first and foremost known for its Pictish symbol stones, on display next to the graveyard in the adjacent car park under an open wooden construction. The graveyard itself is old, too. The place-name Rhynie or sometimes also spelled Rhyny derives either from the French word roinneau, meaning a small promontory or from the word rig, meaning... Continue Reading →

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