Gaodi Tours

22/04/2024

22/04/2024

21/03/2024

Skipness Castle.

This large curtain wall castle of the 13th century stands on raised ground just to the east of the village of Skipness, "Sgibinis" (Ship headland), on the remote northeast coastline of the Kintyre peninsula, less than 1 kilometre from the coast at the extreme southerly reaches of Loch Fyne, and the northern reaches of the Firth of Clyde.

The castle is one of several major medieval fortresses to have been built along Scotlands western seaboard at about this time, later in the 13th century Skipness was twined with Lochranza Castle at the northern end of the Isle of Arran, both castles made it easy to control any shipping that entered or left the north end of the Kilbrannan Sound between the Kintyre peninsula and the Island of Arran.

Skipness was begun in the early part of the 1200s by Clan MacSween who had also built a Hall-House and Chapel surrounded by an earthen and timber rampart wall at this place, within a hundred years of the initial stone and timber fortification a high Curtain Wall was added which incorporated the original buildings, the Chapel was then secularised before a second and much larger single chambered oblong Chapel dedicated to St Brendan was built further to the east and nearer to the coast. St Brendan's can be visited at any reasonable time and now houses a very fine selection of medieval burial slabs.

The new courtyard was again extended sometime in the latter part of the Middle Ages, around the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries, this is when the east range was heightened and an embattled parapet walk was added. Although the tower house incorporates base work of an earlier date it is largely attributed to the 16th century additions to the castle. Skipness Castle was finally abandoned sometime around the 17th century

19/03/2024

The Pictish Shandwick Stone stands in a field above the golden swathe of Shandwick Bay, at the southern end of the so-called ‘Seaboard Villages’ on the Easter Ross Peninsula’s eastern coast.

Although it’s now protected by a glass case, this does little to diminish the beauty of this cross-slab, which is decorated on one side by an ornate Christian cross (the Picts had all largely converted to Christianity by the seventh century) and on the other with a busy hunting scene. It’s staggering to contemplate the age, beauty and craftsmanship of its art, with the firth shimmering beyond just as it would have done when the stone was erected here in AD780.

We explore more Pictish history here: https://bit.ly/3ZP8ugQ

18/03/2024

As we kick off the new week, here's some inspiration to fuel our journey 🌍

10/02/2024

23/01/2024

A lovely start to the year, I’m now a Highland Tourism Ambassador 🙂

16/01/2024

Scotland is one of my favorite countries on the planet.

16/01/2024

Highland games are a unique form of entertainment that combines athleticism, music, and ancient Scottish culture. For centuries, these games have been a

14/11/2023

Scotland dominates many travellers’ bucket lists and if that includes you then here are some of the best Scottish locations that you must visit.

19/08/2023

What do you do on a day off.....explore more castles 🏰. Rait Castle, very atmospheric and creepy 😳

19/08/2023

Mary, Queen of Scots returned to Scotland from France in 1561.

This mezzotint from the Historic Environment Scotland collections at Trinity House shows her landing at the Port of Leith.

It was the first time Mary had set foot on Scottish soil since she set sail for France from Dumbarton Castle in July 1548.

Follow in her footsteps: ow.ly/1Yns50PxuYH

24/07/2023

Gaelic was once Scotland’s main language which is why it is intrinsically linked to the landscape where we see Gaelic place names that connect us to our past.