Tag Archives: United Kingdom

Glasgow

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Those two gorgeous cards come from Kalina who took a short trip to Scotland. 🙂

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Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country’s West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians. Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become one of the largest seaports in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Great Britain’s main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.

Scotland symbols

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Okay, those might not be official symbols or anything, but when you think Scotland, you surely think of bagpipes, plaid and Loch Ness, right? 🙂 Well, on this card we have a piper with traditional plaid clothes, a highland cow, Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness (upper left corner), Loch Tay (between the cow and the piper), Melrose Abbey (the bottom left corner) and Glen Coe (bottom line, in the middle).

This card comes from Doyel. 🙂

Urquhart Castle sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area.

St Mary’s Abbey, Melrose is a part ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks on the request of King David I of Scotland, and was the chief house of that order in the country, until the Reformation. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland. The abbey is known for its many carved decorative details, including likenesses of saints, dragons, gargoyles and plants. On one of the abbey’s stairways is an inscription by John Morow, a master mason, which says Be halde to ye hende (“Keep in mind, the end, your salvation”). This has become the motto of the town of Melrose.

 

 

Jersey

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I received this postcard yesterday and with it my collection of British Isles is now complete! 😀 It comes from Monica and it was a total surprise, so very sweet of her! 😀

Jersey (officially the Bailiwick of Jersey) is a British Crown dependency just off the coast of Normandy, France. Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems, and the power of self-determination. The capital is Saint Helier.

The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. Although the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as the Channel Islands, the “Channel Islands” are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the British Crown from the other Crown dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It is not part of the United Kingdom, and has an international identity separate from that of the UK but the United Kingdom is constitutionally responsible for the defence of Jersey.

Glencoe

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Those 2 lovely postcards come from Doyel. 🙂

Glen Coe is a volcanic glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated National Scenic Area of Ben Nevis and Glen Coe. The narrow glen shows a grim grandeur. The glen is surrounded by wild and precipitous mountains. Further west at Invercoe, the landscape has a softer beauty before the main entrance to the glen. The main settlement is the nearby village of Glencoe located at the foot of the valley.

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The name Glen Coe is often said to mean “Glen of Weeping”, perhaps with some reference to the infamous Massacre of Glencoe which took place there in 1692. However, “Gleann Comhann” does not translate as “Glen of Weeping”. In fact the Glen is named after the River Coe which runs through it, and bore this name long before the 1692 incident. The name of the river is believed to predate the Gaelic language and its meaning is not known.

Highland cattle

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This cute, cute, cute postcard comes from Doyel. 🙂

Highland cattle are a Scottish breed of cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun. Highland cattle are capable of surviving some of the harshest environmental conditions in some of the roughest hill country of northern Scotland. They were originally kept by small farmers and used to raise a calf and produce milk for the farm family. In Great Britain the Highland Cattle Society was formed over one hundred years ago to preserve this ancient breed. The Royal family are members, patrons of the society, and keep very good Highlands at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.