We chose three castles in all, in the weeks leading up to our trip, then Pam looked at our wish list and made suggestions about other places we could visit nearby.
Today we visited two castles that are historically important: Glamis Castle and Scone Palace.
Glamis Castle is an imposing brick residence, the childhood home of Elizabeth, the Queen Mum, mother of the current queen. There, the family of 11 children lived and played in their hundred rooms and hundred acres.
Mary, our tour guide, led us through the rooms, regaling us with the centuries of history of the Bowes-Lyon family, which was the queen's surname. Of course, there were ghost stories too-- Earls sealed behind a secret wall, an executed duchess returned to sit in the chapel corner, etc.
The gardens were lovely, but a long, wet walk on muddy paths as we had a bit of a downpour while we were on the tour.
Scone Palace, pronounced "Scoon," was the site of the coronations of many of the Kings of Scotland in historic times. On a small hill on the property is the Stone of Scone, upon which the kings were crowned. It has been privately owned by the Murray family for 640 years, and they still live there.
In the café we had to share a scone with butter and black current jam--just to say we'd eaten scones at Scone.
The grounds are extensive and a small flock of peacocks entertained visitors with their regal strutting.
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