A Fairy Tale Castle and a Scrumptious Palace

Sunday was a day we had set aside to visit Glamis Castle and Scone Palace. Glamis (pronounced glahms) was about a half-hour drive (on twisty turny roads) from Pitlochry. It is often referred to as a fairy castle; with its round towers and turrets it looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. Glamis is the legendary setting for some scenes in Macbeth and was the childhood home of the Queen Mother (Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who died in 2002). I just couldn't imagine growing up in a place like that. The castle is so huge I kept wondering if the Queen Mum (as a child) ever got lost in the corridors. My favorite things about the castle were the family photos propped up here and there in nearly every room. It was so much fun looking at them, I could have spent hours just poring over the photos. Previous to our visit I had only seen photos of the Queen Mum as a sweet elderly lady -- now I got to see that she was an enchantingly pretty young girl and woman.

After Glamis Castle we made our way further south almost into Perth for a visit to Scone Palace. Not as impressive as Glamis on the outside, Scone (pronounced skoon) Palace was just as interesting inside. A self-guided tour took us through 32 of the rooms adorned with exquisite furnishings and treasures. Just outside the palace is a small chapel called Moot Hill, the setting for the crowning of the real Macbeth, Robert the Bruce and Charles II. On the grounds of the palace is a wonderful star-shaped maze made from 2,000 beech trees.