Royal palaces and mansions.

[Capt Lightning]

Just back from a trip in the camper to see a few historic buildings. Unlike Ronni who wanted A/C, we needed a heater. The weather wasn't the best at times.

Anyway, first stop was at Scone palace - pronounced 'Skoon'. This was the place where the Kings of Scotland were crowned. The first monarch to be crowned there was Kenneth MacAlpin in 843 CE and in the next 450 years 41 kings were crowned there including well known ones such as Macbeth and Robert the Bruce.









On to one of the less known Royal palaces is in the small village of Falkland in the Kingdom of Fife, north of Edinburgh.



Once a favourite residence of Mary Queen of Scots, the palace has been visited by many monarchs up to the present queen.
The palace was partly destroyed by fire when it was occupied by Oliver Cromwell's forces.

 

[Capt Lightning]

The Hill of Tarvit mansion is a fairly modern residence. It was built by the wealthy Sharpe family and has very high ceilings in the ground floor rooms so that impressive tapestries can be displayed. The various rooms were designed to display different aspects of the owner's collections.

Being near to St.Andrews, Mr Sharpe had a 9 hole golf course constructed in the mansion gardens. Although this was requisitioned in WW2 for growing crops, it was reinstated in recent years. Visitors can play golf using the original clubs and equipment from the Edwardian era in the early 1900's.

After the family passed on, the mansion was used as the first 'Hospice' in the UK. This went on for 20 years until more suitable modern premises were found. Original furniture, artwork, kitchen etc.. from that period are preserved. The mansion was returned to the National Trust for everyone to visit and enjoy.