Category Archives: United Kingdom

Leicester Square (London, England, UK)

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Leicester Square

On our third day in London, we all woke up early and, after breakfast, walked all the way to King’s Cross Underground Station were we took the Piccadilly Tube Line, to Leicester Square Station.  From there, Leicester Square, a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, is just a 5-min.walk away.

The square lies within an area bound, to the north, by Lisle Street; to the east by Charing Cross Road; to the south by Orange Street; and to the west by Whitcomb Street. The park at the centre of the square is bound, to the north, by Cranbourn Street; to the east by Leicester Street; to the south by Irving Street and; to the west, by a section of road designated simply as Leicester Square.

Shakespeare Fountain and Statue

At the center of the square is a statue of William Shakespeare standing on a pedestal flanked by dolphins at the center of a fountain. Sculpted by Giovanni Fontana (after an original by Peter Scheemakers), since 1874, it formed the centerpiece of Leicester Square Gardens.

VUE Theater and the Hippodrome

Laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, the square was named after the Leicester House (itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester). Originally a gentrified residential area for nobles (tenants including Frederick, Prince of Wales and the artists William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds), the square became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, quickly evolving into a hub for entertainment and culture.

Odeon Theatre

Surrounding the iconic and vibrant square are renowned West End theaters (Wyndham’s Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre, etc.), cinemas, fashion boutiques, music stores, souvenir shops, bars, hotels  and restaurants including a Jollibee store which was opened last May 20, 2021.

Map of the interactive “Scenes in the Square”

Upon arrival at the square, we checked out the interactive “Scenes in the Square,” a film-themed sculpture trail which emphasizes Leicester Square’s long association with cinema. Since 1930, the site has been home to cinemas, hosting its first film premiere in 1937.

TKTS

The free exhibition, depicting recognizable classic and contemporary film characters (some even brought to life, at night, with lighting) from the last 100 years of cinema, was organized by the Heart of London Business Alliance, in partnership with Westminster City Council, and is supported by major movie studios. It originally consisted of 8 quirky bronze sculptures.

Mary Poppins Statue

Grace and Paula with the statue of Mary Poppins in the background

On ground level are the statues of Mary Poppins, with her hat, coat, and her bottomless Mary Poppins Bag (depicted landing from flight with her umbrella raised, as featured in the 1964 film Mary Poppins);Looney Tunes’ Bugs Bunny (depicted popping up out of a hole in a flower bed, in front of his mailbox, while eating a carrot); Gene Kelly (depicted, in his role as Don Lockwood, in the 1952 film Singin’ in the Rain), swinging around a lamppost with his raincoat, hat and umbrella smiling for all to see, in an iconic scene where the character sings the title song in the film (Patricia Ward Kelly, Kelly’s wife, granted permission to make the statue).

Bugs Bunny Statue

Statue of Gene Kelly in Singin’ In The Rain

Seated on a benches in the square are the iconic British and well-loved Paddington Bear (Paddington movies premiered in Leicester Square in 2014 and 2017) wearing his signature hat and duffel coat (but has no boots) and eating one of his favorite marmalade sandwiches) and Mr. Bean, who was portrayed by versatile comic performer Rowan Atkinson on television and in film (its erection also marked 30 years since the character’s first appearance).

Jandy seated besidge Paddington Statue ……

…… and beside statue of Mr. Bean

A number of statue are found above street level.  The statue of DC Comics superhero Batman stands 25 m. (82 ft.) above on the roof of the Odeon Leicester Square cinema, keeping watch over London from the rooftops just like he did in the Batman films.

Batman Statue

Wonder Woman (inspired by a scene from the 2017 film Wonder Woman, in which the title character was played by Gal Gadot), another DC Comics superhero, is depicted breaking through the wall of the Vue West End cinema, wielding her Lasso of Truth (which is lit at night).

Wonder Woman Statue

The legendary comedy duo  Laurel and Hardy, perched on top of the TKTS Booth (the best place in London to get cheap theatre tickets) in the square, representing a famous scene from the 1929 film Liberty where the pair playfully teeter and balance on a ledge on a skyscraper.

Laurel and Hardy in Liberty

On September 30, 2020, a statue of Harry Potter  riding a broomstick (Nimbus 2000) and playing Quidditch (the scene was taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone which had its world premiere in Leicester Square in 2001) was installed, becoming the ninth statue in the exhibition. In June 2021, a sculpture of the Iron Throne, from the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, was unveiled to mark 10 years since the release of the first episode.

The author with Harry Potter Statue

In July 2021, to mark the July 16 release of Space Jam: A New Legacy in which the character is part of a basketball team, the statue of Bugs Bunny was modified with a basketball and backboard (features a QR code to unlock online content on social media).

In December 2021, ahead of the release of the film of the same name, a bronze statue of Clifford the Big Red Dog was installed, featuring links to pages where visitors can donate to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. The largest sculpture in the series, measuring 3 m. (9.8 ft.) long and 2 m. (6 ft., 7 in.) high and weighing 600 kgs. (1,300 lbs.), it took a team of 15 people three months to create the sculpture.

On May 31, 2023, a life-sized bronze statue of Indiana Jones, the iconic action movie hero portrayed by Harrison Ford, was added to the collection of famous celebrities immortalized in Leicester Square. The statue, created to coincide with the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the latest and final installment of the Indiana Jones film series, was placed in the square in a crate with his fedora and whip. Found near Greggs’s Bakery, it was officially unveiled on June 2023, closer to the movie’s release on June 28.

Charlie Chaplin Statue

There’s also a statue of Charlie Chaplin, sculpted in 1979 by John Doubleday, portraying the actor, comedian and filmmaker in his best-known role, as The Tramp. The four corner gates of the park have one bust each of the scientist Sir Isaac Newton (designed by William Calder Marshall); Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy (by Henry Weekes); John Hunter, a pioneer of surgery (by Thomas Woolner); and William Hogarth, the painter (by Joseph Durham); all famous former residents in the square.

Leicester Square: City of Westminster, Central London WC2H 7LU. 

How to Get There: The nearest London Underground station is Leicester Square, which opened in 1906. London bus routes 24, 29 and 176 run on nearby Charing Cross Road.

National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait (Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.)

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National Galleries of Scotland: Portraits. Sculpted figures of noted Scots, set in niches and designed by William Birnie Rhind, can be found around the corner.

National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait, an art museum  holding the national collections of portraits (some 3,000 paintings and sculptures, 25,000 prints and drawings), all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots, also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection of 38,000 photographs.

The entrance to the museum, guarded by statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, leads to the main entrance hall,

It is part of National Galleries Scotland, a public body that also owns the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

The arcaded Main Hall

It is the first in the world to be specially built as a national portrait gallery (the National Portrait Gallery, London, established in 1856, was the first such separate museum in the world but it  did not move into its current purpose-built building until 1896).

The Battle of Stirling Bridge (William Brassey Hole)

The Good Deeds of King David I (William Brassey Hole)

Here’s the historical timeline of the museum:

  • In 1780, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was founded by the David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan. Its members donated items of interest. The mildly eccentric Erskine also formed a collection of Scottish portraits, many of which are now in the museum.
  • In 1781, the society bought the Antiquarian Society Hall, located between the Cowgate and Parliament Close, just to the west of Old Fishmarket Close, as a place to properly store this material.
  • From 1826, it rented space in the Royal Institution at the foot of The Mound, owned by the Board of Manufactures.
  • By 1851, its collections were in 24 George Street
  • In November 1851, it agreed with the Board to make the collections National Property, with the government to provide continuing accommodation for the collections and for the Society’s meetings.
  • In 1858, as part of the 1851 agreement, the collections were moved back to the Royal Institution.
  • In 1882, John Ritchie Findlay, owner and chief proprietor of The Scotsmannewspaper, endowed a new building on Queen Street, costing £50,000, designed by architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson to accommodate both the antiquities collections and the portraits of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. That same year, the portrait gallery was established before its new building was completed.
  • In 1885, construction of the building began.
  • In 1889, the building was opened under curator John Miller Gray. When it opened, a large Main Hall, at the center of the façade, formed a shared entrance to the two institutions with Portrait occupying the east wing of the building, and the Museum of Antiquities taking up the west wing.
  • In 1890, the building was completed.
  • In 1985 the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland was amalgamated with the Royal Scottish Museum, and later moved to Chambers Street as part of the National Museum of Scotland.
  • in 2009, the Museum of Scotland (the former National Museum of Antiquities) moved to a new building.
  • In April 2009, the first comprehensive refurbishment in its history, carried out by Page\Park Architects, was undertaken, with funding from the Scottish Governmentand the Heritage Lottery Fund, amongst others. Portrait was expanded to take over the whole building. The gallery spaces were restored to their original layout (removing false walls, lowered ceilings, opening up windows, restoration of the great coved ceilings on the upper floors on the west side, and revealing hidden Victorian details like the elegant stone arcade in the Ramsey Room), with areas set aside for education, a new gallery specially earmarked for photography, the decent size shop & café, and a new glass lift—greatly improving access for disabled visitors. After the changes, Portrait has 60% more gallery space. The cost of the refurbishment was £17.6 million.
  • On December 1, 2011, the museum was reopened with 849 works displayed, of which 480 were by Scots.

Heroes and Heroines Gallery. At left is a portrait of Charles Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff done by Edward Stanley Mercer.

The Modern Portrait Gallery. At right is a portrait of Sir Charles Grant Robertson done by Meredith Frampton

The Remaking of Scotland

The large, symmetrical,  three-level building, at the east end of Queen Street, was built with red sandstone from Corsehill in Dumfriesshire.  It comprises 5,672 sq. m. and is a Category A listed building.

John Ritchie Findlay of Aberlour (George Reid)

Built in Gothic Revival (with a combination of Arts and Crafts and 13th-century Gothic influences) style, it is noted for its ornate Spanish Gothic style (an unusual addition to Edinburgh’s mostly Georgian Neoclassical New Town) with carved, pointed arched windows and a main entrance, on the Queen Street front, surrounded by a large gabled arch.

Jandy beside a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill done by Sir James Guthrie

Grace beneath a portrait of Henry, Prince of Wales done by Robert Peake

The entrance, guarded by statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, leads to the main entrance hall, arcaded with pointed arches, which originally served both Portrait to its east, and the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland to its west. The gallery’s distinctive feature is its four octagonal corner towers topped with crocketed Gothic pinnacles.

Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots done by an unknown artist after Francois Clouet

Another portrait of Mary Queen of Scots also done by an unknown artist

Sculpted figures of noted Scots, set in niches and designed by William Birnie Rhind, can be found around the exterior.  Added in the 1890s, they compensate for the lack of contemporary portraits of medieval Scots in the gallery’s collection at the time.

Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orleans (Jean Nocret)

General Sir James Hope Grant (Sir Francis Grant)

The large processional or pageant frieze, its mural painted by William Hole inside the main entrance hall balustrade, was added in 1898.  Depicting an array of notable Scots from history in reverse chronological order, these figures were added to the frieze over the years after the gallery opened.

Sir William Brice (John Michael Wright)

Sir Thomas Strange (John Hoppner)

Starting with Thomas Carlyle, it includes David Livingstone, James Watt, Robert Burns,  Adam Smith, David Hume, the Stuart monarchs, Robert the Bruce and  Saint Ninian.  Later, Hole added further large mural narrative scenes on the first floor.

Alexander Henderson (Sir Anthony van Dyck)

David Hume (Allan Ramsay)

The museum’s collection essentially begins in the Renaissance, initially mainly with works, of Scottish royalty and nobility, done by foreign artists, as well as mainly printed portraits of clergymen and writers.

Bust of Arthur Wellesley (Sir John Steell)

Bust of Hugh Miller (William Brodie)

The most notable paintings were mostly made on the Continent, often during periods of exile from the turbulent Scottish political scene. Religious art, as in England, has been all but extinguished by the Scottish Reformation.  Until the 19th century, Scottish painting was dominated by portrait painting, with patrons gradually extending down the social scale and, in the 16th century, most painted portraits are of royalty or the more important nobility.

Bust of Queen Victoria (William Brodie)

Bust of Sir David Wilkie (Samuel Joseph)

A portrait of James IV of Scotland, from 1507, is the oldest work in the collection.  There are also two portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots, one painted some 20 years after her death in 1587, and the other is later still. A number of 19th-century paintings also show scenes from her life. Her three husbands also have portraits, including Darnley by Hans Eworth and an unknown painter, and miniatures from 1566 of Bothwell and his first wife.

Statue of Robert Burns (John Flaxman)

Statue of James Clerk Maxwell (Alexander Stoddart)

There is a portrait of Regent Morton, Mary’s nemesis, by Arnold Bronckhorst from 1581.  Although he only spent about three years there, Bronckhorst is the first artist to hold the title of “King’s Painter” in Scotland. The gallery holds several works by Bronckhorst, and his successor, Adrian Vanson, who were both skilled painters in the Netherlandish tradition. The collection includes portraits, of Stuart monarch James VI and I, by Bronckhorst and Vanson.

George Seton with Sons (Adam de Colone)

Flora Macdonald (Richard Wilson)

George Jamesone (1589/90-1644), the first significant native Scot to be a portrait painter, only once got the chance to paint Charles I, his monarch, when he visited Edinburgh in 1633.  Two Jamesone self-portraits and portraits of the Scottish aristocracy, as well as some imagined portraits of heroes of Scotland’s past. are included in the collection.

Robert Louis Stevenson (Count Girolamo Nerli)

Sir Henry Duncan (George Reid)

There are also three portraits by John Michael Wright, Jamesone’s talented pupil, plus ten aristocratic portraits by Sir John Baptist Medina, the last “King’s Painter” before the Acts of Union 1707.

Elizabeth Hamilton (Sir Henry Raeburn)

David Scott (Tilly Kettle)

The museum has one of the earliest examples of portraits featuring tartan, which begin to be painted in the late 17th century (at that time apparently with no political connotations), a full-length 1683 portrait, by John Michael Wright, of Lord Mungo Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, wearing a belted plaid for hunting.

Lady Anne Hay, Countess of Winton (Adam de Colone)

Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Louis Tocque)

After the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, the wearing of tartan was banned but, after a few decades, reappears in grand portraits, before becoming ever more popular with Romanticism and the works of Sir Walter Scott. after her arrest for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, Flora MacDonald was painted by Richard Wilson , also wearing tartan, in London.

General Thomas Dalyell (L. Schuneman)

Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (Anton Raphael Mengs)

In the 18th century, Scottish portrait painting flourished and Allan Ramsay and Sir Henry Raeburn, with 13 and 15 works respectively, are well represented, Sir Henry Raeburn with many paintings of figures from the Scottish Enlightenment, as well as the recently acquired lost portrait of Charles Edward Stuart.

Self Portrait (Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell)

The career of Sir Henry Raeburn extends into the 19th century, with portraits of Walter Scott and others. The museum owns the iconic portrait, by Alexander Nasmyth, of Robert Burns .

Robert Burns (Alexander Nasmyth)

Self-Portrait (Sir Henry Raeburn)

Sculptor and gem-cutter James Tassie (1735–1799) has the largest number of works, by a single artist, with 58.  With 18th century Scottish high society subjects including Adam Smith, James Beattie and Robert Adam (he disliked having his portrait taken but Tassie was a member of his social circle he did not refuse, with the result that, as with the Naysmyth portrait of Burns, almost all images of Smith derive from the exemplar in the museum), Tassie, along with Irish physician Henry Quin, developed a distinctive format of large fired glass paste (or vitreous enamel) relief “medallion” portraits in profile, initially modelled in wax.

Portrait Medallions (James Tassie)

Despite no such dominant figures, the later 19th century in Scotland had many fine artists, and saw the beginning of photography. A gallery, in the museum, is devoted to the photographs of Glasgow life taken by Thomas Annan. In general, the displays concentrate on the common people of Scotland, especially the images of slums taken from 1868 to 1871.

Tilda Swinton (John Byrne)

Sean Connery (John Bellany)

In the present day, the collection continues to expand, with Scottish painters such as John Bellany (includes a self-portrait and portraits of Peter Maxwell Davies and Billy Connolly) and John Byrne (his works include images of himself, Tilda Swinton, Billy Connolly and Robbie Coltrane).

Womb From Womb (William Crosbie)

Billy Connoly (John Byrne)

Other works in the collection include portraits of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (by Daniel Mytens), Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton (by Oskar Kokoschka), Winnie Ewing (by Norman Edgar), Alex Ferguson (by David Mach), Ian Wilmut (by Wendy McMurdo) and Robin Jenkins (by Jennifer McRae).

Library & Print Room

The Library & Print Room has displays that show artistic experimentations with portraiture from the 17th century to contemporary times.  It also houses a wealth of research resources on Scottish portraiture as well as the personal library of American documentary photographer Eve Arnold gifted by her family.

Portrait of King Charles III (Victoria Crowe)

There’s also a collection of about 400 portrait miniatures including works by Nicholas Hillard, John Hoskins and Samuel Cooper.

Photo of Rose Reilly (Jeremy Sutton Hibbert)

National Galleries Scotland: Portrait: 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JD Scotland. Tel: +44 131 624 6200. E-mail: enquiries@nationalgalleries.org. Website: www.nationalgalleries.org. Open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM. Coordinates: 55°57′19.5″N 3°11′36.9″W.

National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two (Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.)

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National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two

The National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two, formerly the Dean Gallery, is one of the two buildings housing the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, one of Scotland’s national art galleries. Operated by National Galleries Scotland, it is twinned with Modern One which lies on the opposite side of Belford Road.

Check out “National Gallery of Scotland Modern One”

The English-Baroque facade

It is home to a changing program of world-class exhibitions and displays drawn from the permanent collection. During our visit, On permanent display is a recreation of the Scottish sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi‘s studio, as well as his magnificent, 7.3 m. high sculpture, Vulcan, that dominates the the Paolozzi’s Kitchen (named after the Scottish sculptor), reaching from the floor to the ceiling.

One of the tower, over staircases, that contain chimneys

The museum is housed in a English Baroque-style building, with Classical detail, which started out as the Dean Orphanage (the subject of a watercolor painting c.1830 by Thomas Hamilton).  Built in Craigleith stone from the nearby quarry, it took three years to build. Contributing to the Edinburgh skyline, in the west of the city center, are the towers, over the staircases, that contain chimneys. Above the entrance is a clock that came from the original Orphan Hospital and, in turn, from the 1764 demolition of the Netherbow Port on the High Street, which formerly separated the High Street from the Canongate.

The exhibit space

For many decades, this building, owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, served as the Dean Education Centre before its conversion into a gallery designed by the architect Terry Farrell and Partners. In 1999, the gallery opened opposite the existing Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. In 2011, both buildings were rebranded Modern Two and Modern One, respectively.

the 73 m. high Vulcan sculpture of Eduardo Paolozzi (1989)

Modern Two houses the Paolozzi Gift, a collection of works by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, given by the artist to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 1994, as well as the gallery’s world-famous collection of Surrealism (including works by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Alberto Giacometti) and a large collection of Dada and Surrealist art and literature largely made up by the collections of Roland Penrose and Gabrielle Keiller.

Modern Two also houses temporary exhibitions, a library (its great strengths are Dada and Surrealism, early twentieth century artists and contemporary Scottish art), an archive and a special books collection.

Two Lines Up Excentric VI (George Rickey, 1977, stainless steel)

The archive, containing over 120 holdings relating to twentieth and twenty-first century artists, collectors and art organizations, including the gallery’s own papers, holds one of the world’s best collections of Dada and Surrealist material. The special books collection, containing over 2,500 artist books and limited edition livres d’artiste (again with a main focus on Dada and Surrealism), also contains books by other major artists from the twentieth century including Oskar Kokoschka‘s Die Träumenden Knaben (1917) and Henri Matisse’s Jazz (1947), all available to the public in the reading room which is only open to the public by appointment. The Gabrielle Keiller Library hosts regular changing displays that showcase items from these collections.

Master of the Universe (Eduardo Paolozzi, 1989)

Modern Two is surrounded by a sculpture garden with a number of modern and avant-garde works on display, including Gate (1972) by William Turnbull, Two Lines up Excentric VI (1977) by George Rickey, La Vierge d’Alsace (1919–1921) by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, There will be no Miracles Here (2007–2009) by Nathan Coley, Master of the Universe (1989) by Eduardo Paolozzi, Two Two-Way Mirrored Parallelograms Joined with One Side Balanced Spiral Welded Mesh (1996) by Dan Graham, Macduff Circle (2002) by Richard Long, and Escaped Animals (2002) by Julian Opie.

National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two: 75 Belford Rd, Edinburgh EH4 3DR, United Kingdom.  Tel: +44 131 624 6200.  E-mail: enquiries@nationalgalleries.org. Website: www.nationalgalleries.org.  Open daily, 10 AM to 5PM. Coordinates: 55°57′06.52″N 3°13′26.75″W.

National Gallery of Scotland Modern One (Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.)

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National Gallery of Scotland Modern One

The National Gallery of Scotland Modern One, with its renowned collection of more than 5,000 items dating from the late 19th century to the present day, is housed in the former Watson’s Institution Building which was designed, in the Greek Doric style, by William Burn (1789-1870) and completed in 1825 as the John Watson School for Fatherless Children of the Professional Classes.  Its five-bay Neo-Classical frontage has a grand, six-columned portico.

The five-bay Neo-Classical frontage

In 1979, the building, with its classrooms and dormitories, was bought by the Crown Estates Commissioners and was successfully adapted, to its new function, from 1981 to 1984.  In 2011, its name was changed to Modern One. Operated by National Galleries Scotland, it is twinned with National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two which lies on the opposite side of Belford Road.

Check out “National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two“

The museum lobby

International post-war work features art by Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Joan Eardley and Alan Davie, with more recent works by artists including Douglas Gordon, Antony Gormley, Robert Priseman and Tracey Emin and an outstanding collection of modern Scottish art.

Ah Kong – Ghost (Rae-Yen Song, 2022)

It presents works from the collection as well as a program of changing exhibitions. The early part of the collection features important Surrealist and German Expressionist art from the beginning of the twentieth century, with paintings by Giacometti, Hockney, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

Lee Miller (Pablo Picasso, 1937, oil on canvas)

Also included are works by André Derain and Pierre Bonnard, cubist paintings, holdings of expressionist and modern British art, and 20th century Scottish Colourists Samuel John Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, Francis Cadell and Leslie Hunter.

Glacier Chasm (Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, 1951, oil on canvas)

The collection also includes ARTIST ROOMS, a collection of modern and contemporary art acquired for the nation by National Galleries Scotland and Tate with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.

?I Am Your Conduit (2014, thread embedded in handmade cotton paper)

The growing collection includes works by major international artists including Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Mapplethorpe and Damien Hirst. The collection includes the larger of Roy Lichtenstein‘s In the Car pieces. The displays change on a regular basis.

Self-Portrait (Robert Mapplethorpe, 1980)

In 2002, the lawn to the front of Modern One was re-landscaped to a dramatic, award-winning (it won the prestigious Gulbenkian Prize in 2004) design by architectural historian Charles Jencks (b. 1939) entitled Landform Ueda, an eye-catching work or art in their own right.

Grace Jones (Robert Mapplethorpe, 1984, gelatin silver print on paper)

This sinuous series of grass-covered stepped terraces that rises to form a serpentine mound, with three pools of water occupying crescent-shaped hollows in between.  It also includes the remains of an 18th century windmill.

Tightrope Walker (Paul Klee, 1923, color lithograph on paper) (Copy)

Two Figures (Natalia Goncharova, ca. 1910-20, pencil and crayon on paper)

The sculpture park includes bronze works such as Personnage (1978) and Femme (Woman) (1970) by Joan Miro; Conversation with Magic Stones (1973) by Barbara Hepworth; and Reclining Figure (1951) by Henry Moore; among others.

Conversation with Magic Stones (Barbara Hepworth, 1973, bronze)

Reclining Figure (Henry Moore, 1951, bronze)

The Neo-Classical façade of Modern One is home to Martin Creed‘s Work No. 975, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. Modern One backs on to the Water of Leith river and walkway, which can be accessed by a long flight of steep steps behind the Gallery.

Landform Ueda (Charles Jencks)

Personnage (Joan Miro)

National Gallery of Scotland Modern One: 73 and 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DR, Scotland, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 131 624 6200. E-mail: enquiries@nationalgalleries.org. Website: www.nationalgalleries.org. Open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM.  Admission is free.

Church of St. Cuthbert and Graveyard (Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.)

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St. Cuthbert Parish Church

The historic parish church of St Cuthbert, and its graveyard, are a significant part of Edinburgh’s heritage (the church has been a Category A listed building since 1970) that are both well-maintained.  The church, on the oldest continually used site of worship in the whole city, a parish church of the Church of Scotland.  The earliest church on the site was said to have been founded by St. Cuthbert around 670 AD.

The graveyard beside the church

Partly due to its closeness to Edinburgh Castle, the church was, at different times, caught in cannon crossfire between opposing armies, suffering severe damage or being destroyed as a result and it is believed that there have been seven churches built on its site. The present church of St Cuthbert’s, built in the Baroque and Italian Renaissance style, was designed (except for the steeple of the previous church which was retained), by Hippolyte Blanc and built between 1892 and 1894. It is apparently quite beautiful inside, with stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Douglas Strachan, and Ballantyne & Gardiner; mural paintings by Gerald Moira and John Duncan; and memorials by John Flaxman and George Frampton.  However, on this particular day, it was closed to visitors.

The twin, 3-storey Baroque towers with the old steeple in between

The church, divided into upper and lower levels by a continuous course of ashlar dressings, has a roughly dressed and snecked, cream sandstone exterior, with every corner decorated with half-fluted Corinthian pilasters, on the upper stage (pierced with round-arched windows, with architraves  supported by half-fluted Corinthian pilasters, of each of the four western bays), and quoining on the lower (each bay pierced by an oblong window below a corniced architrave). The slated roof rests at a shallow pitch. The near-identical north and south elevations terminate with square-based, three-storeyed Baroque towers on the east sides of the transepts.

One of the twin, Baroque-style towers

The church itself was where the almost 40-year old crime writer Agatha Christie married the 26-year old (a nearly 14-year age gap which was considered scandalous by some at that time) archaeologist Max Mallowan, her second husband, in 1930, a runaway affair, with the couple eloping northwards, from England to Edinburgh, where the service was conducted without friends or family, and just two strangers brought off the street to act as witnesses to the ceremony.

The large graveyard, near Edinburgh Castle, is believed to be on the oldest Christian site in Edinburgh.  The graveyard is impressive, containing hundreds of monuments worthy of notice, including one to John Grant of Kilgraston (near Perth), and a number of graves that are worth examining as it holds the remains of notable individuals like Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859, author of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater) and John Napier. The first reference to a graveyard here is recorded as being in 1595.

The graveyard

The mathematician John Napier (1550–1617) discovered logarithms and invented ‘Napier’s Bones’ (because the instruments were originally carved from bone or ivory), a device for easily calculating large sums, a precursor to the pocket calculator. He is buried in an underground vault on the north side of the church (reburied after destruction of the kirkyard of St. Giles to build Parliament House).

The three-bay Gothic mausoleum of the Gordons of Cluny, by David Bryce contains the tomb of Cosmo Gordon of Cluny FRSE (1736–1800), a politician and co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783.

Obelisks used to mark the graves of notable individuals and families

Robert Tait McKenzie, a Canadian doctor and sculptor, created the memorial known as The Call 1914, in nearby Princes Street Gardens, which commemorates the Scots soldiers who were killed or injured during the First World War. His heart is buried in St Cuthbert’s kirkyard, with a small decorative plaque commemorating his life. Mackenzie originally wanted to be buried in front of the memorial after his death.

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823), one of Scotland’s foremost portrait painters in the eighteenth century, is buried on the eastern wall of the graveyard. Another artist buried here is Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840), also an architect and inventor, whose most notable painting is the much-copied portrait of Robert Burns. His son, James Nasmyth, also a prolific inventor, is most famous for the steam hammer while his other son, Patrick Nasmyth continued the family line as an artist of note.

Also buried here is Jessie MacDonald, granddaughter of Flora MacDonald (who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender of the Jacobite Uprisings, escape Scotland after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746), and George Meikle Kemp (1795–1844), the self-taught architect and master joiner whose major gift to the city of Edinburgh was the Scott Monument, the “Gothic rocket’’ of in Princes Street Gardens.

Other noteworthy burials in the graveyard include:

Many were also buried within the church. They include William Paul (1754–1802), Chaplain in Ordinary to George III; and Sir James Rocheid of Inverleith (1715–1787).

West of the transept, on the north side, are steps that descend to a round-arched doorway, in the basement level, that lead to the Nisbet of Dean burial vault. Buried here is Henrie Nisbet of Dean (died 1609) and his son William Nisbet of Dean. Henrie was Provost of Edinburgh, from 1592 to 1593, while William was twice Provost of Edinburgh 1615 to 1619 and 1622 to 1623. Constructed in 1692, it was retained during the construction of the current church and its predecessor.

Dog sculpture commemorating Edinburgh’s sister city of San Diego (California, USA) and their respective celebrity dogs (Greyfriar’s Bobby, of Edinburgh, and Bum of San Diego)

St, Cuthbert Church Graveyard: 5 Lothian Road, New Town, Edinburgh, EH1 2EP, Scotland.

Ross Fountain (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)

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Ross Fountain with Edinburgh Castle in the background

The highlight of our visit to the Princes Street Gardens was our photo ops at the Ross Fountain, the focus of the western end of the gardens and the park’s most important monument.  This fountain, made from cast-iron, is a shining example of magnificent  19th century sculpture.  Photographs of the view up to the famous Edinburgh Castle from the Gardens, with this fountain in the foreground, has featured heavily in some of the iconic imagery of Edinburgh over the years.

Check out “Princes Street Gardens”

At an exhibit at the Great Exhibition of 1862, an exhibition of modern art, technology and invention in London, it was purchased, on a moment of impulse and as a philanthropic gesture, by Edinburgh gunsmith Daniel Ross (who described it as “obtaining universal admiration”), in September 1869, for £2,000 and, subsequently, gifted to the city of Edinburgh.

The four female, greater than life size figures representing Science, Arts, Poetry, and Industry

That same year, it was transported to Leith, in 122 individual pieces, but sat in storage for a decade while the city council considered where they were going to put it. In 1872, it was reassembled, in its current position, at Princes Street Gardens, only a few hundred yards from the Ross Bandstand. Sadly, David Ross died in January 1871, one year before, missing the opportunity to see the masterpiece displayed in the gardens.

Some of the 8 voluptuous mermaid statues, with bared flesh, holding overflowing urns, and sitting on scallop-shell basins with lion’s heads between

In 2001, as broken pipes had made the fountain inoperational, the fountain had some extensive restoration work completed. In 2008, water was turned off and, from July 2017, it was closed again for further restoration work, costing 1.9 million pounds, undertaken by Lost Art Limited of Wigan on behalf of The Ross Development Trust. On July 8, 2018, it was re-inaugurated by Lord Provost Frank Ross and others, including the Head of Mission at the French Consulate in Edinburgh Emmanuel Cocher.

The beautifully modeled and semi-naked female figure, holding the topmost cornucopia, which scandalized Victorian Edinburgh at the time.

The fountain, now with a new pump that will be switched on permanently, is now painted in eye-catching turquoise, brown and gold which, according to the organizers, should last for at least 20 years. The figures were sculpted by artist Jean-Baptiste Jules Klagmann (b. April 1810) whose other work includes figures for the Louvre and D’ Medici fountains in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.  It is also unusual in that, rather than having been produced by one of the great Scottish foundries of the day, it was produced at the iron foundry of  Antoine Durenne, ‘Maitre de Forges, Sommevoire Haute Marne’ in Sommevoire, France.

The fountain’s circular basin has curved Craigleith sandstone edges and the first elevated basin is decorated with stylized “walrus” heads round the edge. The first tier of the central column has 8 voluptuous mermaid statues, with bared flesh, holding overflowing urns, and sitting on scallop-shell basins with lion’s heads between. Swags and cornucopia abound, and the bowls above have cherub-faced spouts.

The author (right) with Jandy and Grace (photo: Selena Sta. Maria))

Near the top, with water basins held up by mermaid children, are four female greater than life size figures representing Science, Arts, Poetry, and Industry seated between semicircular basins. The structure is surmounted by a final, beautifully modeled and semi-naked female figure, holding the topmost cornucopia, which scandalized Victorian Edinburgh at the time. All this combines to produce a fountain that is over 40 ft. high and over 100 tons in weight. 

Ross Fountain: West Princes Street Gardens, Princes Street EH2 2HG, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 529 7921. E-mail: parks@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Princes Street Gardens (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)

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Princes Street Gardens

Our third (and first and only whole) day in Edinburgh, we planned to visit Edinburgh Castle but, as it was still very early in the morning (the castle opens at 10 AM), we decided to visit and explore the 150,000 sq. m. (37-acre) Princes Street Gardens, one of two adjacent public parks (East Princes Street Gardens and West Princes Street Gardens) and one of the most important urban parks in the center of Edinburgh.

The National Gallery of Scotland (left) and the Royal Scottish Academy (right) buildings

Lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle (on its rock towering above the western end), the gardens, running along the south side of Princes Street, is divided into two parts by The Mound, an artificial hill, on which the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy buildings are located, that connects the city’s New Town and Old Town.

Check out “National Gallery of Scotland”

St. John’s Church

Lying at center of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site, set in the valley between New Town and Old Town Outstanding Conservation Areas (the boundary between the two areas being the north fence of the railway), the Princes Street Gardens is in the very center of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site.

L-R: Paula, Manny, Jandy, Grace and the author at Princes Street Gardens. In the background is St. Cuthbert’s Parish Church

Its landscape, of outstanding refinement and cultural significance, has high geological and some botanical scientific interest. One of the New Town Gardens listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscape in Scotland, it was assessed as outstanding in terms of aesthetic, historical, architectural and scenic values.

Ross Fountain with Edinburgh Castle in the background

The central location of the Gardens makes it a popular choice having the highest awareness and visitor figures for both residents and visitors to the city. Awarded a Green Flag since 2011, the park is beautiful all year round.

Gardener’s Cottage

East Princes Street Gardens run from The Mound to Waverley Bridge, and cover 3.4 ha. (8.5 acres) while the larger West Princes Street Gardens covers 12 ha. (29 acres) and extends to the adjacent churches of St. John’s and St. Cuthbert’s, near Lothian Road in the west.

Check out “St. Cuthbert Parish Church”

The Scott Monument

The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, beginning in the 1760s.  Situated on the north side of the town, the loch,  originally an artificial creation forming part of its medieval defenses, has made expansion northwards difficult and its water was habitually polluted from sewage draining downhill from the Old Town. The Princes Street Gardens has a diverse and fascinating collection of public monuments and memorials. Dating mainly from the 1840s to 1990s, there are three types.

Sir James Young Simpson Monument

The first group commemorates influential Scottish men of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the East Princes Street Gardens are the Scott Monument (the most prominent in the garden, this Neo-Gothic spire was built in 1844 to honor Sir Walter Scott) and the statue of explorer David Livingstone.  Also within East Princes Street Gardens are statues of the publisher Lord Provost Adam Black and Professor John Wilson (the essayist who wrote under the pseudonym Christopher North).

Thomas Guthrie Monument

The second group remembers those who have died fighting in wars, including the Royal Scots Greys Regimental Memorial and the Scottish American War Memorial (designed by R. Tait McKensie, it was erected in 1927). The Royal Scots Monument, a large curved monument to the Royal Scots, stands slightly hidden just south of the very picturesque gardener’s cottage at the east end of the West Princes Gardens. Designed by Sir Frank Mears, with sculpture by Pilkington Jackson, it was described as a “modern henge.”   Dating from 1950, it was added to and “finalized” in May 2007 following the termination of the Royal Scots in 2006. This added additional Battle Honors gained since the 1950s.

Monument of the Royal Scots

The third group includes miscellaneous sculptures and monuments such as the cast iron Ross Fountain The focus of the western end of the gardens, the newly refurbished fountain is the park’s most important monument.  Gifted by Edinburgh gunsmith Daniel Ross, this structure was originally installed in 1872, after having been an exhibit at the Great Exposition of 1862 in London, and repaired, restored and unveiled on July 8, 2018 with the help of The Ross Development Trust.

Check out “Ross Fountain”

The Genius of Architecture crowning the Theory and Practice of Art

At the eastern entrance to the Gardens is the world renowned Floral Clock.  The world’s first floral clock, it was first planted in 1903 and each year the planting scheme, designed by the Technical team in the Parks and Greenspace Service, commemorates a special anniversary. The designs of the colorful displays uses a variety of 30,000 flower and foliage plants (including annuals such as Lobelia, Pyrethrum and Golden Moss and succulents such as Echeveria and Sedum), all of a dwarf nature, suitable for carpet bedding.

Ross Theatre

Along the south side of Princes Street are many statues and monuments such as statues of the poet Allan Ramsay, the church reformer Thomas Guthrie, and the obstetric pioneer James Young Simpson. Within East Princes Street Gardens is a small commemorative stone honoring the volunteers from the Lothians and Fife who fought in the Spanish Civil War.

Mortonhall Baby Ashes Memorial

In the center of the West Princes Street Gardens is the Ross Bandstand, named after William Henry Ross (Chairman of the Distillers Company Ltd.) who, in 1877, gifted the first bandstand on the site. The Princes Street proprietors contributed £500 as a goodwill gesture to the cost of the bandstand. The present building and terraces, dating from 1935, is the site of various concerts and other events including the Festival Fireworks Concert, Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest and during the city’s Hogmanay celebrations. The Ross Development Trust proposed to rebuild the bandstand as a Ross Pavilion based on design by architects wHY following an international competition in 2017.

The Royal Scots Greys Monument

The Genius of Architecture, a statuary group on the lower path, represents crowning the Theory and Practice of Art.   Designed by William Brodie originally for the garden of Rockville, the home of his maverick architect son-in-law Sir James Gowans, it was moved here in the 1960s following the demolition of Rockville.   Nearby is the Mortonhall Baby Ashes Memorial, a new monument in the form of a baby elephant by sculptor Andy Scott.  Added to the gardens on February 2, 2019, it is a permanent reminder of the 250 babies and their families affected by the Mortonhall scandal, which was uncovered in 2012.

Norwegian Brigade Memorial

Other statues and memorials include the Norwegian Brigade War Memorial (donated in 1978 by Norwegian veterans trained in Scotland during the Second World War) and the bronze statue, unveiled in 2015, of Wojtek the Bear, a Syrian brown bear adopted by the Polish II Corps during World War II, with a fellow Polish Army soldier walking together.

Wojtek The Soldier Bear Memorial

Princes Street Gardens: Princes Street EH2 2HG, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 529 7921. E-mail: parks@edinburgh.gov.uk

Pitlochry (Scotland, U.K.)

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Pitlochry

Part of Scottish Highlands Tour

From the Commando Memorial, in Spean Bridge, we drove another 104 kms. (a 1.5 hour drive, via the A86 and A9), to Pitlochry, our last stopover.  This was to be our last toilet break, prior to our return to Edinburgh, and there was a long queue at the town’s public toilet (or the “loo” as they call it), causing a lot of misery (plus they charge 50p per person for using it), so we walked, for about 320 m., along Atholl Road (the main road), to Fishers Hotel where we used the toilet for free.

Check out “Commando Memorial” and “Spean Bridge”

Grace and Jandy strolling along Atholl Road (the main road). On the other side are the unusual period cast iron canopy.

This town, lying on the River Tummel, in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland is, historically, in the county of Perthshire. Largely a Victorian town, it was developed into a tourist resort after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the area in 1842 and bought a highland estate at Balmoral, and the arrival of the railway in 1863. Popular as a base for coach holidays, it is particularly known for its Pitlochry Festival Theatre and salmon ladder.

Surrounded by mountains such as Ben Vrackie and Schiehallion, it also a centre for hillwalking. The town has retained many stone Victorian buildings and the high street has an unusual period cast iron canopy over one side.   The town has two whisky distilleries, whose visitor centers are popular attractions.  The privately owned Edradour, the smallest legal distillery in Scotland, sits to the east of town at the foot of the Moulin Moor and produces only 12 casks per week with a production workforce of three men.

The last example of a traditional distillery, it has remained unchanged since it started making whisky, and is hugely popular with visitors. Blair Athol Distillery, which dates back to 1798, sits on the main road at the southeast of town and, since 1933, has been owned by Bell’s, now part of the Diageo group.  Pitlochry station is home to Pitlochry Station Bookshop. The bookshop was set up in 2005 and is situated on Platform 1.

MacNaughtons of Pilochry

MacNaughtons of Pitlochry, one of Scotland’s oldest retail establishments (dating back to 1835 in the reign of William IV), is a traditional country and highland clothing retail shop with the finest formal kilt wear knowledge of tartans and kilt outfit accessories.

Back on board our bus, we arrived back in Edinburgh by 8:30 PM and we were all dropped off at our original meeting place at Deacon’s House Cafe. From there, we all walked back to our respective hotels.

MacNaughtons of Pitlochry: Station Road, Pitlochry, PH16 5AF United Kingdom.  Tel: 01796 472722.  Open Mondays to Saturdays, 9.30 AM – 4.30 PM. .Email: sales@macnaughtonsofpitlochry.com.

The Hairy Coo:  Suites 6 & 7, Administrative Office Only, St. John’s Studios, 46A Constitution St., Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RS, United Kingdom.  Tel: +44 131 212 5026.  E-mail: contact@thehairycoo.com. Website: www.thehairycoo.com.

How to Get There: Pitlochry is located 114 kms. (a 1.5-hour drive, via A9 and M90) from Edinburgh and 134.2  kms. (a 1.5-hour drive via A9) from Glasgow.

Commando Memorial (Scotland, U.K.)

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Commando Memorial

Part of Scottish Highland Tour

From Fort Augustus, we all boarded our coach for the 256-km. (3.5-hour) drive back to Edinburgh.  After 30 mins. (34.6 kms.), we made a stopover at the Commando Memorial, one of Scotland’s best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr.

Check out “Fort Augustus”

This Category A listed monument in Lochaber, Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during World War II, overlooks the training areas of the former Achnacarry Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle.

The original plaque on the stone plinth

Chosen because it is on the route from Spean Bridge railway station, arriving prospective Commandos would disembark, after a 14-hour journey, load their kit bags onto waiting trucks and then speed-march the 11 kms. (7 mi.) to the training centre in full kit with weapon, weighing a total of 16 kgs. (36 lbs.). Anyone not completing it within 60 minutes was immediately RTU’d (returned to unit).

A plaque, added on November 18, 1993, to mark the Freedom of Lochaber being given to the Commando Association.

The memorial was used as site for memorial services, including the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Here’s the historical timeline of the memorial:

  • In 1949, the sculptor Scott Sutherland won a competition, open to all Scottish sculptors, for the commission of The Commando Memorial. Sutherland’s design won the first prize of £200. It was cast by H. Martyn & Co. of Cheltelham.
  • On September 27, 1952, the monument was officially unveiled by the Queen Mother.
  • On October 5, 1971, the monument was first designated as a listed
  • On August 15, 1996, it was upgraded to a Category A listing.
  • On March 27, 2010 a 3-km. (2 mi.) long war memorial path was opened connecting two local war memorials, the Commando Memorial, and the former High Bridge built by General Wade, where the first shots were fired in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 in the Highbridge Skirmish.
  • On November 18, 1993 a further plaque was added, setting out the story of the Commandos for future generations, to mark the Freedom of Lochaber being given to the Commando Association.

Award-winning Scottish sculptor Scott Sutherland,  born on May 15, 1910 in Wick, Highland, was schooled at Gray’s School of Art, the Edinburgh College of Art and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. After touring Europe and winning two out of the five open commissions offered for the Empire Exhibition, he served in the Army during World War II, working alongside commandos. In 1947, after the war, he took the post of Head of Sculpture at Duncan of Jordanstone’ College. In 1950, Sutherland was elected ARSA (Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy) and, in 1961, as Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors (FRBS ). In 1975, he retired, and died nine years later, on October 10, 1984, in a hospital in Dundee. Sutherland also later created the Black Watch Memorial at Powrie Brae in Dundee, and the memorial to Air Chief Marshall Hugh Dowding, who was Air Officer Commanding, RAF Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain, at his birthplace of Moffat.

Scott Sutherland commemorative plaque

The 5.2 m. (17 ft.) tall monument, variously described as a huge, striking and iconic statue, consists of a cast bronze sculpture of three Commandos, in characteristic dress (complete with cap comforter, webbing and rifle), standing atop a stone plinth looking south towards Ben Nevis. The soldier at the front is thought to depict Commando Jack Lewington who frequently attended Remembrance Services at the monument during his lifetime. One of the other two soldiers is Frank Nicholls (rank unknown). The other soldier is Regimental Sergeant Major Sidney Hewlett who originally served with the Welsh Guards. He was handpicked to be one of the founding NCOs of the commandos, and was also held in high regard and noted several times by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The base of the bronze statue is inscribed with the date of 1951.

Inscribed around the top of the stone plinth is “United we conquer” while the original plaque on the stone plinth reads: “In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945. This country was their training ground.”

A Garden of Remembrance, which was subsequently added to the site, is used by many surviving World War II Commandos as the designated final resting place for their ashes. It has also been used as a place where many families have scattered ashes and erected tributes to loved ones who belonged to contemporary Commando units and who have died in more recent conflicts such as the Falklands War or in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Garden for Tributes

Commando Memorial: Spean Bridge, Lochaber, Scottish Highlands, PH34 4EG, United Kingdom.  Coordinates: 56°53′52.42″N 4°56′38.51″W.

How to Get There: the memorial is located approximately 1.5 kms. (1 mi.) northwest of Spean Bridge, at the junction of the A82 road and the B8004 road.

Loch Ness Cruise (Scotland, U.K.)

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Loch Ness Cruise

Part of Scottish Highlands Tour

The highlight of our Scottish Highlands Tours was our cruise of Loch Ness courtesy of Cruise Loch Ness which has been operating from Fort Augustus since May 1968 as an e-RNLI lifeboat carrying 12 passengers.

Check out “Fort Augustus”

Grace and Jandy waiting to board the Spirit of Loch Ness

One of the leading tour providers in the Scottish Highlands, it offers a range of boat tours on the loch, including scenic cruises and exhilarating high-speed RIB cruises (which can carry 12 passengers). The scenic cruises run daily, all year round, and they are a great way to see the sights of the loch.

The 210-pax Spirit of Loch Ness

The smaller, 108-pax  Legend of Loch Ness

The 56 sq. km. (22 sq. mi.), Loch Ness, an elongated freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands, is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area (after Loch Lomond), but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume in Great Britain. Its deepest point is 230 m. (126 fathoms; 755 ft.), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar.

Now boarding …..

It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. With a capacity of 23,000 cu. ft., it is almost three times that of Loch Lomond and more that three times that of Loch Morar.  Its surface is 16 m. (52 ft.) above sea level. There are nine villages around the loch, as well as Urquhart Castle.

The author (left) with Grace and Jandy

L-R: Manny, Paula, Selena and Sean

We boarded the Spirit of Loch Ness, one of two custom built vessels (the other is the smaller Legend of Loch Ness which can carry 108 passengers). It had a top speed of 20 knots,  can carry 210 passengers and had a fully-stocked bar.  It was still raining and quite foggy along the loch when we left the dock.

Loch Ness View Point

The River Oich carries water from Loch Oich (to the SW) to Loch Ness (to the NE) and runs in parallel to a section of the Caledonian Canal for the whole of its 9 km. (5.6 mi.) length.

Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the legendary  cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, a cryptid, reputedly a large unknown animal, also known affectionately as “Nessie,”  and both ships have state-of-the-art sonar equipment (with 14 sonar monitors) on board, which beams live images from beneath the water.

Eilean Muireach (Cherry Island)

We departed Fort Augustus by 3 PM. Our daytime cruise was to take around 50 minutes.  We cruised past the over 150 year old, 3-storey Inchnacardoch (meaning “field” or “meadow”) House which was formerly a hunting lodge built in 1878 by Lord Lovat and, later, used as a base for the Royal Air Force during World War II.  Today, it is now the 3-star Inch Country House Hotel, with 17 rooms and a restaurant.

Inchnacardoch House

In front of the Inch Hotel is Cherry Island, the loch’s only island. Also called Eilean Muireach, meaning Murdoch’s Island, it is located 140 m. from the shore of the southern end of the loch.  The island, an example of a crannog (a man-made island composed of loose rubble stones, was originally 49 m. by 51 m. but is now smaller since the level of the loch was raised when it became part of the Caledonian Canal.

Fort Augustus Abbey (left) with the Boathouse (a restaurant) on the right

We also had a loch-side view of the impressive Fort Augustus Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery begun in 1876 and completed in 1880.  It has been transformed, in 2012, into The Highland Club, a luxury hotel consisting of 97 apartments and 12 cottages.

Steamship Landing Stage

We also passed the Old Pier, built for paddle steamer ferries, which was built in 1896 and closed in 1924.  Behind is the Old Pier House.  Formerly a small cottage built in 1903 to accommodate the railway station master, it was renovated into a home of the MacKensie family in 1977. It now provides guests with accommodation both in the house and in three log cabins.

Old Pier House

Loch Ness is a clear example of a U-shaped valley (like a bathtub), a characteristic feature of the higher ground in the Scottish Highlands.  This valley was eroded, along its length, by glaciers into a series of rock basins now occupied by the loch.  Its shores are so steep that aquatic vegetation is virtually non-existent.

The steep granite cliffs

When the fog cleared, we saw some of the almost vertical granite cliffs along the sides of the loch, with slight grooves and scratches made by rock fragments as they were dragged along the ice. The absence of islands in the loch shows the power of ice scouring.  It is also too rocky for agricultural improvement.

The diverse flora in the coastal forest includes Caledonian Scots pine, sessile oak, hazel, downy birch, rowan, eared willow and quaking aspen.

Cruise Loch Ness: Caledonian Canal, Fort Augustus, PH32 4BD, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)1320 366277. E-mail: info@cruiselochness.com  Website: www.cruiselochness.com. Rates: £20 (adult), £13 (child), £18 (concession) and £60 (family).

Old Pier House: Fort Augustus PH32 4BX, United Kingdom.  Tel: +44 7593 580373.  E-mail:  bookings@oldpierhouse.com.  Website: www.oldpierhouse.com. 

Inch Country House Hotel: Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire, Scotland PH32 4BL, United Kingdom.  Tel: 44 145-450900.  Fax: 44 1320-366248.  E-mail: happy@inchhotel.com. Website: www.inchhotel.com.

The Highland Club: St.Benedict’s Abbey, The Highland Club, Fort Augustus PH32 4BJ, United Kingdom.  Tel: +44 20 3478 3897. E-mail: reservations@thehighlandclub.co.uk. Website: www.thehighlandclub.co.uk. 

The Hairy Coo:  Suites 6 & 7, Administrative Office Only, St. John’s Studios, 46A Constitution St., Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RS, United Kingdom.  Tel: +44 131 212 5026.  E-mail: contact@thehairycoo.com. Website: www.thehairycoo.com.

How to Get There: Fort Augustus is located 161 kms. (100  mi.) from Edinburgh and 692 kms. (430 mi.) from London. The village is served by the A82 road and lies approximately midway between Inverness (56 kms.) and Fort William (51 kms.) in the Scottish Highlands.  Coordinates: 57.1432°N 4.6807°W.