Dunure Castle

Dunure Castle lies on a cliff edge by the small coastal village of Dunure,a craggy picturesque ruin which is maintained by Historic Scotland.

The castle was the first built by the Kennedy family, there has probably been a castle on this site since the 13^th century. The present castle dates from the 15^th century when the Kennedy family had a powerful influence on the area.

Gilbert Kennedy 4^th earl of Cassills obtained lands from Glenluce Abbey in Galloway by having a monk forge the necessary signatures.

The monk was silenced by a hired killer who in turn was hung by the Kennedys for an apparent theft.

In 1565 the Earl confined Allan Stewart commendator of nearby Crossraguel Abbey in Dunure Castle.

He was tortured, roasted on a spit until he renounced his claim on the lands.

Lord Bargany coveted the lands for himself and had the castle stormed one morning by a force of men hiding in the chapel just outside the main gate.

Lord Bargany then arrived with a large force of men and after some discusion Kennedy and Bargany split the lands between themselves.

The Commendator was taken to the town of Ayr and given a pension.

Rhu Church

Rhu Parish Church is a particularly striking Gothic style church built in 1851 by William Spence; the church was slightly altered in 1891 by Honeyman and Keppie.

The church tower is of real interest starting as a square buttressed tower and culminating in a decorative coronet.

Rhu is a charming little village a few miles from the town of Hellensburgh.

The name Rhu comes from the Gaelic rudha meaning a promontory,the village sits on the mouth of the Gareloch.

Kilmun Parish Church

Kilmun church with the Holy Loch in the background.

The first church built on the site was by St Munn in the 7^th century. A collegiate church was built in 1442 by Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochaw ,apparently the land was rented from the Countess of Monteith for the price of a pair of Paris gloves each year.

The church probably had a company of choir boys who would have attended the church for education.

The remains of the 15^th century tower still remain although it looks to be in a poor state and is fenced off. The present church was built in 1841 although its tower looks to have been added on at a later date.

The grave yard adjoining the church is of great interest as a lot of the tomb stones are in good condition, quite a few of them have sea faring connections, there is also a mausoleum belonging to the Argyll family, the first marquis was beheaded after the English Civil War.

Carrick Castle

Carrick Castle is a 15th-century tower house on the west shore of Loch Goil, Argyll.

The present ruin is possibly the third occupant of this location. The first may have been a Viking fort. The second structure, and first castle, is believed to have been built in the 12th century. Allegedly a hunting seat of the Scots kings, Carrick was originally a Lamont stronghold. In 1368 it then passed on to the Campbell Earls of Argyll.

In the spring of 1307, Robert the Bruce drove Henry Percy from the Castle before conducting a guerrilla war against Edward I of England. Edward had given the castle, which belonged to Robert, to Percy.

The third structure, the late 15th century castle, was a royal stronghold, held by the Earls of Argyll as hereditary keepers, and was the symbol and source of their power in South Argyll. It was one of their three chief castles, the other two being Duart and Fincharn.

Mary, Queen of Scots, visited here in 1563.

In 1685, during the rebellion of Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, against King James VII, HMS Kingfisher bombarded the castle, badly damaging the keep, which lost its roof.

The castle was intermittently occupied until it was sold to the Murrays, the Earls of Dunmore.

The keep was a ruin for many years but is now in private ownership and undergoing restoration.

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland building in Glasgow was designed by David Chipperfield Architects but Keppie Architects took control in late 2004, in a similar way to the Ocean terminal in Edinburgh (Keppie from Conran & Partners).

Ascog Hall

Ascog Hall and Victorian Fernery on the Isle of Bute.

The hall was built in 1856 by Rev James Monteith ,the building fell into disrepair after the second world war along with the gardens.

The gardens and the house were bought in 1986 and was extensively restored.

A beautiful and most relaxing place well worth a visit if you happen to visit Rothesay.

Click HERE to visit the official web site with a full history .

The Clydebank Titan Crane

All that remains of the John Brown shipyard is the Titan crane designed by the famous Scottish engineer Sir William Arrol,he was famous for building the Forth Rail Bridge,The Tay Bridge and Tower Bridge London.

The crane is subtly lit and changes colours periodically.

Portencross Murder

A short walk to the north of Portencross village lies Northbank cottage,isolated and close to the sea,however it was the scene of a murder unsolved to this day.

In May 1913 three people moved into the cottage,they were Alexander MacLaren and his wife,Jessie and his sister in law Miss Mary Speir Gunn.

The three of them were sitting in the cottage on the evening of Saturday 18 October,

Alexander MacLaren was reading aloud from a book when suddenly the peace was shattered by gun fire,smashing the window the bullet hit Miss Gunn.

More shotts rang out one wounding Mrs MacLaren,when the shooting had stopped Alexander left the cottage and ran to Portencross to raise the alarm.

It is recalled that the dogs in the kennels had not barked which they usually did when a stranger was in the vicinity. When the police and doctor arrived they found Mrs MacLaren shot in the back and Miss Gunn dead, further bullets were found outside the broken window.

The police made extensive enquiries but to no avail,they even investigated as far away as Saskatchewan in Canada where Miss Gunn had a boyfriend,however no motives or suspects were ever discovered,the murder remains unsolved to this day.