The next morning we found our way with difficulties (still in Falkirk!) to the Falkirk Wheel where remains of a Roman Fort was supposed to be found. Well, we found the wheel, but not the Roman Fort... Not the we didn't try! We walked quite a bit, but because the weather wasn't sunny and warm enough for a morning walk, we decided to concentrate on the castles to be seen instead.
Culross
Our next stop brought us to Culross town, picturesque located at the banks of the Firth of Forth. We walked past the 16th century castle which was closed and strolled through the gardens instead.
We then walked up the hill to the Cistercian Abbey built in 1217. The western part was in ruins, but cemetary and church were well-kept. Returning downhills, we found the old market place. Maybe, because it was a quiet weekday and nobody, except a handful of tourists, was out on the streets, strolling through the city felt like walking back in time.
Dunfermline
Around lunchtime we reached Dunfermline to visit the famous abbey and palace, both close to each other. It was quite warm, we were hungry and at least me, I was on painkiller, thanks to a murderous headache. Nevertheless, we decided to view abbey and palace first, before they went on a one-hour lunchbreak.
The Benedictine abbey built in the 12th century had beautiful columns in the Romanesque style.
We then rushed into Dunfermline palace. Most of the southern walls are still standing, the rest is in ruins. And the cellars were quite impressing as well.
Balvaird Castle
This castle is located in the middle of nowhere, so that we had to climb over fences to get there (which of course increased the joy of exploring it). Originally only existing of the tower house, the castle was extended in later years. We met two locals who were very astonished to meet us as no-one normally goes there...
Elcho Castle
This late 16th century castle was built with as Z-plan tower house. It gets a little confusing when you try to make your way through all the rooms on the 2 floors, especially when the staircases are that small! However, we succeeded in finding the way to the top and walked around the rooftop to a small servants room. The views over the river Tay is very enjoyable.
Hunting Tower Castle
This castle seems to be pretty popular for weddings and allowed us the second rooftop walk this day. It consits of 2 towers, the West and the Eastern Tower, both connected by a small infill allowing to walk from the 1st floor of one tower to the first floor of the second tower. As the 2nd and 3rd floor are not connected, we were forced to explore one tower and rooftop walk at a time. In the West Tower there are also beautiful traces of wall paintings.
After this last stop, we directly went to our lodge close to Perth which was cozy enough to be called a nice holiday apartment.
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