===Snaps n Paps=== Due to an engagement present from my Dad, Allan and I ended up in Kinross for a weekend at the beginning of April. We soon found out that Kinross was tiny and didn't have an awful lot to do in it but were quite happy with the surroundings of the peaceful Scottish countryside. When I was Google-mapping I had noticed there was a Loch situated right next to the hotel that we were staying in for the weekend that also had a castle on it. I thought that would be a perfect opportunity to try out my new camera that Allan had gotten me for Christmas. I got quite excited at the prospect. ===Getting there=== As Kinross is in the ...  Read the complete review

We visited this castle last year whilst on holiday in Scotland. What a little gem of a place it is too! Set on a small island in loch Leven, this castle was where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a short time. I believe she subsequently escaped! The castle is a well-kept ruin now and you can access it via the regular boat trips that go across from the mainland every 15 minutes or so. The trips cost a few pounds and take about 15 minutes to get over the water. The views as you cross the loch are spectacular! Once on the island you are free to wander and you can access a couple of the towers. The place that was Mary Queen of Scot's chamber was ...  Read the complete review

Her darkness was complete, a blindfold over her eyes, the moonless night and overcast sky mirroring the feeling of desolation in her heart. A chill wind blew across the loch making her shiver uncontrollably, with her hands tied behind her she could not easily move in the bottom of the small boat. Her simple woollen dress, torn and filthy from days on the run, now soaked with the loch’s putrid water that was seeping in at the bottom. This journey could not end soon enough for Mary. She knew the castle well; she had spent many happy days there in past years as the guest of the Laird of LochLeven but now she was to be its prisoner. The ...  Read the complete review