Churches, Monasteries, Abbeys & Cathedrals Archives

Dunlichity Church and Cemetery-A Hidden Gem In the Scottish Highlands

November 9, 2020November 25, 2020myplaidheart

Nestled within the gorgeous Scottish Highlands, on a very minor road about ten miles from Inverness, sits a lovely hidden gem – Dunlichity Church and Cemetery.

Mr. C and I discovered Dunlichity Church by accident in 2019. Dunlichity is an example of “what I call” the real Scotland (any “Miranda” fans out there? 🙂 ) You might be wondering what I mean by that because obviously, it’s all real, of course! What I mean is that Dunlichity isn’t one of the uber-popular and (sshh, dare I say it?) overpromoted sites that draw in people from near and far. It will probably never appear on a list of the “Top 10 Things to Do In Scotland” (well, that is unless someone like Dana Gabaldon makes it famous). I could be completely wrong – but I’d be willing to bet that nearby residents and history enthusiasts are maybe some of the only individuals aware of its existence. A small hidden gem, Dunlcihity Church and its cemetery are a wonderful, authentic, off-the-radar testimony to Scottish lives past and present that only a lucky few curious visitors and residents will ever stumble across.

St. Fillan’s Church-Aberdour, Scotland

June 27, 2020June 27, 2020myplaidheart

Hey there! This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is hosted by Ann-Christine. The theme she has chosen is “surprise.” As I was thinking it over, this post about St. Fillans Church that I wrote a little over two years ago came to mind. Stepping over the threshold into that church was a true surprise indeed!

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to have such a strong reaction when I stepped through the beautiful wooden doors into the church. I have been in many old churches, but I gasped as I stepped inside. Its beauty, size, and the richness of its architecture were astonishing. It was like walking through a portal to another time. Except for a few minor, modern touches, one could almost hear the voices of the saints of old, raised in song, reverberating between those cold, stone walls.”

Original post: January 2018

Hi, friends. Today I would like to take you guys to St. Fillan’s Church, a lovely parish church in Aberdour, Scotland. Aberdour is a picturesque, seaside village located about forty miles to the northwest of Edinburgh in the East Neuk of Fife.

St. Fillan's Church. in Aberdour, Scotland.

St. Talorgan’s (a.k.a. Old Fordyce Church) – Fordyce, Scotland

May 29, 2020June 2, 2020myplaidheart

Hey, friends! A few weeks ago, I wrote about Fordyce, Scotland, and the sixteenth-century fairy tale castle that graces the center of that charming village. Mr. C and I were so delighted to come across the castle on our visit and were equally thrilled when we saw St. Talorgan’s, the old medieval church ruins and cemetery right next door. Of course, we just had to wander over for a closer look.

A stone wall and a celtic cross in front of Fordyce Castle. — **Standing in the kirkyard** *looking* *towa****rd Fordyce Castle.***

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Abstract

December 1, 2019March 11, 2020myplaidheart

This week Patti has challenged us to “break the rules and go beyond the traditional realistic image of an object, scene, or element” to post a picture of something abstract. I immediately thought of these photos, taken at Elgin Cathedral in Elgin, Moray, in the northeast part of Scotland.

This is the beautiful vaulted ceiling and column in the cathedral’s Chapter House, an octagonal room in which the cathedral clergy met daily to discuss business. The Chapter House was built in the early 13th century and remodeled in the late 1400s.

A column and intricate stone ceiling at Elgin Cathedral.

Kinloss Abbey-The Ruins of an Old Cistercian Monastery

November 24, 2019March 11, 2020myplaidheart

It was late afternoon, and Mr. C and I were on our way back to our cabin in Farr, tired from a full day of exploring sites in the Moray region of Scotland. We were driving on the B9089 through the village of Kinloss when I suddenly spotted some intriguing looking ruins out my window. I shouldn’t have been surprised – it is Scotland after all. You can’t drive five miles without coming upon some treasure or another (you think I jest). I had Mr. C turn the car around, and though we were worn out from our long day of adventuring, we ended up spending another hour or so happily exploring what turned out to be the fantastic ruins of Kinloss Abbey.

Celebrate Halloween Like a Boss-The Faces of Elgin Cathedral

October 31, 2019March 11, 2020myplaidheart

A few of my friends have popped by today to wish you all a happy Halloween! They may look a little frightening, but I promise they’re harmless. They are the vault bosses who reside at Elgin Cathedral in Elgin, Scotland.

Elgin Cathedral in Scotland. — ***Elgin Cathedral dates back to 1224.***

Never heard of a ‘vault boss’? Yeah, I hadn’t either until I met these guys.

Laggan Free Church-A Ruin in Scotland’s Cairngorms

June 16, 2019March 15, 2020myplaidheart

Like The White Bridge that I wrote about last week, today’s post features another amazing, serendipitous find. Scotland certainly does seem to be full of those.

One afternoon a few weeks ago, Mr. C and I were driving through the southwest portion of the Cairngorms National Park near the village of Laggan.

A stormy sky over a green field and a tree stump.

A stormy sky moving in over the Scottish Highlands.

We had just turned onto General Wade’s Military Road from the A86 when we spotted the fantastic ruins of a church to our left. Naturally, we pulled over to check it out.

Aberlady Parish Church-East Lothian, Scotland

March 31, 2019March 10, 2020myplaidheart

Hi friends. What’s new with you? The countdown to our next Scottish adventure is officially ON! The light at the end of a very long tunnel is finally shining through, and the long wait is almost over. I am more excited than I can say. Oh, what wonderful new things I will have to share with you soon!

Today we are going to make a quick stop in the small coastal village of Aberlady, Scotland, to visit Aberlady Parish Church. Aberlady is located about 17 miles to the northeast of Edinburgh in the council area of East Lothian.

Aberlady Parish church and graveyard. — ***Aberlady Parish Church is part of the Church of Scotland.***

In my last blog post, I wrote about Lindisfarne Castle, which sits on the religiously significant Holy Island. By coincidence, today I learned that the community of Aberlady was once on the pilgrim route between the monasteries on Holy Island and the Isle of Iona! In fact, in 1863, a fragment of an ancient Celtic or Anglo-Saxon cross was discovered in a garden area next to the church. The carvings on the cross are similar to the artwork in the Lindisfarne Gospels, which now reside in the British Library in London. How magnificent!

St. Margaret’s Chapel-Edinburgh’s Oldest Surviving Building

January 15, 2019March 10, 2020myplaidheart

Hello, friends. Do you ever feel like the gears in your brain get stuck? Seriously, I have been trying to put words to paper for four solid days, and I haven’t been able to get past ‘hello’! Maybe it has something to do with the elephant sitting on my left sinus cavity. Anyway, if today’s post stinks, you’ll know why. 😀

Theater scene from the movie An Affair to Remember. — **“And all I could say was, “hello**.” -An Affair to Remember, 1957

Today we’re going to take a quick look at the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh. This is St. Margaret’s Chapel, located at Edinburgh Castle.

Inchcolm Abbey-The “Iona of the East”

May 28, 2018March 7, 2020myplaidheart

Hi, friends. Did everyone had a nice weekend? I spent time planting lots of pretty pink flowers, eating delicious food, visiting with family and friends, and writing a word or two. The long Memorial Day holiday is almost over, and tomorrow it’s back to business as usual.

In today’s blog post, I’d like to point out a fascinating site located on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth (the estuary off Scotland’s east coast that flows into the North Sea). Mr. C and I first spotted the structure from the grounds of Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh.

Inchcolm Abbey in Scotland. — As viewed from Lauriston Castle.

We had no idea what we were looking at that day and assumed it was a castle ruin. It wasn’t until we went sailing on the Firth (more on that in a future post) that we got a better view. It turned out to be Inchcolm Abbey, the most well-preserved group of monastic buildings in Scotland.