Let's say you have a friend named Glamorous and you call her Glams for short/fun/giggles. That is how you pronounce the name of this glorious castle owned by the Lyon family. The current Queen Elizabeth's mother was Bessie Lyon and Princess Margaret (Lilibet's sister) was actually born at Glamis. A few of the rooms inside sport two small chairs by the hearth which were for Lilibet and little Margo to use when they visited the family home. This amazing house is open to the public. If you are in Scotland in the spring and summer, I highly recommend a visit, especially since photos of the incredible interior are not allowed. However, the grounds are spectacular and I have plenty of those to share.


As we drove away from St. Andrews (scroll down for that blog post, four back) I didn't really have a good idea of what we were about to see. The off and on cloud cover of the morning was gone, however, and there was plenty of delicious sunshine.



Welcome to Glamis Castle! We disembarked from the coach on the left side of the building where the tour begins. This was the first photo I took as we waited to enter. How charming is this? After the tour of the inside which included a lot of drooling, (SO beautiful!) we were allowed time to roam the grounds and roam we did.


This is the front door of the castle. Not at all intimidating, is it? I mean, I always keep a cannon or two out front to scare off would-be rabble-rousers. That's not the door we used, however. I wonder if anyone does anymore.


We began to explore the grounds. This lovely round tower is so pretty and medieval! Wouldn't it be the perfect playhouse? I tried to imagine a small Queen Elizabeth playing here when she came to visit her grandparents. Back then, her father was not the king, nor expected to be, so she had a freer childhood than she otherwise would have had.


A walk from the castle down this road to the street and back results in the loss of 1,000 calories. (Just kidding. Sort of. It's a LOOOOOOONG way.)




This statue is of King James the VI and I. He was the sixth James of Scotland, and when the first Queen Elizabeth died, he became the first King James of England.


This is King Charles I, son of James. Poor Charles had his head cut off for being a secret Catholic. Naturally, everyone was afraid this would happen as soon as James, son of Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, was allowed to sit on the English throne. I have a special fondness for Charles I. He looks so introspective in his portraits, and his eyes were so kind.

After gazing upon these two kings, we walked as far as we could manage along the road and turned around to see how the castle looked in the semi-distance.


And how it looked when we got closer.


And closer. I wanted to experience the way so many others on foot would have experienced walking along this road. Prince William and Kate have been here, as well as all of the royal family--this was where Queen Elizabeth would go to visit her grandparents, and family members still live here.



I love my cozy little cottage, but, I must say, it would not stink to call this home.





Such a lovely bucolic scene. One could ramble around here for hours. What a great place to read a book!



This the right side of the castle. The garden here is lovely!


A rare roses-over-the-door shot. They aren't as common as one would suppose.


A lovely knot garden planted with roses--so pretty!




There is a bust above the door. I wonder whom that could be?



An area with tables to eat and drink and relax until time to board the coach.


I adore these windows. And the door--so darling!


A herd of Highland "coos", if one were to pronounce it as the Scottish do. And we do!


Goodbye Glamis Castle! You were beautiful!!! Next time: another stop in Scotland, though I can't rightly recall where at the moment. I can't believe it has been nearly two years and I still haven't blogged about most of Scotland. I have written two books and a novella since then, so I suppose that is my excuse. My latest, The Devil in Beauty, is available for pre-order now.(See buy link in sidebar.) The photograph of the lovely lady was taken the day between the England tour and the Scotland tour two years ago.



"Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime." 

Julian "Trev" Silvester, the Marquis of Trevelin, once had everything a gentleman could want--fortune, good looks, and enough charm to seduce the beautiful young ladies of the ton. But after a duel with a jealous duke leaves him disfigured, Trev is ostracized by those who once celebrated him. Though his life is irrevocably changed, Trev is still loyal to his friends. When Willy Gilbert is accused of murder and Lady Vawdrey's diamond necklace is stolen, he jumps at the chance to help them.

As the two cases merge, however, Trev finds an unlikely ally in Miss Desdemona Woodmansey. She's the only young lady who doesn't seem put off by his scar and the scandal of the duel. But as their investigation into the murder reveals just how treacherous the mask of polite society can be, both Trev and Desdemona are placed in grave danger. Trev has already lived through the disgrace of a scandal, but can he survive a murderer who will do anything to protect a sinister secret?