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  Iona Abbey

  The Isle of Iona has been a holy spot since the St Columba (originally Colum Cille, ‘Dove of the Church’) landed there in AD 563 and founded the monastery with his band of twelve followers. Renowned as a centre of learning and art – particularly manuscript illumination – Iona survived repeated attacks by Vikings. In…

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  Scottish Crannog Centre

  Monday of this week was one of those spectacular sunny clear Scottish days that belie the tradition that Scotland is only ever wet and rainy. As it was my last free day, I decided it was time for an adventure to visit the Scottish Crannog Centre. I fully admit to being a history geek -…

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  Queen’s View and Allean Forest Walk

  The Queen’s View over Loch Tummel in Perthshire is one of the most famous views in Scotland, and one of the most photographed. It is not hard, when visiting, to see why, though actually getting to the viewpoint can be a bit of a challenge. Not, I should point out, because it is physically difficult…

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  This day in history – 18 May 1152

  One of the most significant royal marriages of the Middle Ages took place at Poitiers, in May 1152. We know this because the chronicler Robert of Torigni – sometimes known as Robert de Monte due to his position as abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy – tells us in his Chronicle that, ‘Henry Duke of Normandy,…

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  Castle Campbell

  Castle Campbell holds great appeal to me not only for its location but for the memories it evokes. My first visit took place almost entirely by accident. I was staying in Doune in January, in a tiny hotel that had very few guests in the off-season. In the breakfast room one morning, I struck up…

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  Town of Doune and countryside walk

  Several years ago, I took myself away for a few nights on a mini writing retreat. I chose as my destination somewhere out of the way and yet relatively easy to reach by public transport (though not on a Sunday as I had forgotten): Doune.

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  Jedburgh Abbey

  Jedburgh (named for its place along the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot) was a location we chose quite at random when planning a special long weekend away, and looking for somewhere different than our normal jaunts north.

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  Highlights of Puerto Rico 🇵🇷

  For a good part of my tween and teen years, I spent several weeks each year visiting my father in Puerto Rico. So much of the island is stunningly beautiful, with sunny beaches and tree-covered mountains of a rugged nature unlike those we have in New England and Scotland.

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  My thoughts on – Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’

  I must start off this post by prefacing that this is my favourite classic Disney movie and was watched by my me and my best friend at least once a month when we were young. We frequently dressed up as our favourite characters and fought over who got to be the ‘best’ fairy. And who…

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  One Year of the Wandering Medievalist

  Happy Anniversary! 🎉🏆 It has been one year since I started this blog (though the idea had been percolating in my mind for some time before that) and I want to take a moment to say thank you for reading, liking, commenting, and most importantly loving all things medieval.

Get inspired to read more with a quick glimpse at my video library: