Tag: museums

Following in her footsteps

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When we first started visiting historic houses and castles, the family joke was that every where we went there was a reference to Mary Queen of Scots having stayed there.

What I didn’t realise at the time was that so many of these were during her 17 year captivity, or when she was fleeing from pursuers in Scotland after her third marriage to the Earl of Bothwell.

Mary’s story didn’t really become of interest to me until my daughter, Ellen, started working at Hardwick Hall. The house is now home of some of Mary’s embroidery, created during her time spent with Bess of Hardwick. 

It was then that I got really got to know more her story, and decided to find out as much as I could about her, and visit as many places she stayed at as possible.

Part of this year’s trip up to Glencoe was dedicated to this, including a very special exhibition which I will tell you about later. In my quest I have been aided by this marvellous book that I bought at Mary’s birthplace, Linlithgow Palace, last year.

After leaving my static caravan at Moffat I went to Lochleven, near Kinross.  Ironically I am spending the summer near to Loch Leven, but this is a different place, where Mary was held captive for a year, in the castle on the island here.

As it was out of season the castle wasn’t open, but I had a lovely wander around the loch on a beautiful spring day.

Mary was imprisoned here in June 1567, after her surrender at the Battle of Carberry. She was pregnant, but lost the babies during her captivity here. It was here as well that she was forced to abdicate, in favour of her infant son, James, naming her half brother, the Earl of Moray as regent.

Records show Mary embroidered during her captivity here, whilst trying to get the French and English courts to intervene and free her. She did eventually escape, in May 1568, disguised in her friend Mary Seaton’s clothes.

My next encounter with Mary’s history was a very special one. I was delighted to find out earlier this year that Perth Museum were having an exhibition, centered on the last letter that Mary wrote, in the early hours of the morning of her death, on February 8th 1587, at Fotheringhay Castle.

The exhibition was excellent, very moving, and made even more interesting for me as local embroiderers had embellished some of Mary’s wonderful roundels, with their own work.

The letter is very simple, written to her priest, asking for prayers to be said for her. A very moving piece of history, and I am very fortunate to have been in Perth at the right time to see it.

My last bit of the trail was just outside Perth, at Huntingtower Castle. Mary visited several times, in June and September 1565, just before and after her second marriage to Lord Darnley. At the time it was known as Ruthven Castle, owned by the 3rd Lord Ruthven, a man who features in many of Mary’s troubles.

The castle is famous for its well-preserved painted ceilings, and was a beautiful place to be on another lovely sunny day.

The castle is also linked with Mary’s story as her son was held captive there for a year in 1582 by rebellious nobles. I love this portrait of him in his royal splendour.

I am very much enjoying finding out more about Mary’s life through my visits. I am also hoping to maybe be able to visit some of the places that she stayed at in France on my next trips to and from Spain. There is a very useful section on that in my book.

I am planning those trips at the moment as will be driving home this autumn which is going to be very exciting!

It is also keeping me occupied on my days off at the moment, the weather has been pretty awful for the last two weeks, so I have not done much apart from visit a very nice local hotel which has a pool and jacuzzi, and knit!

Still it’s not a bad life sitting watching the clouds over the mountains, and better than a heatwave! I hope you are not suffering with the weather where you are, there seem to be so many extremes, and complications like wildfires this year, it is heartbreaking to see the damage such as that in the Cairngorms.

Wherever you are have fun, take care and thanks for visiting.

A very different kind of day out

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A couple of weeks ago I had a very interesting day, volunteering on an archaeological dig just a short walk from the campsite. The dig was organised by the National Trust for Scotland, along with the University of Glasgow. I saw the advert on Facebook and immediately signed up.

I have never done a dig before, but Ellen, my daughter, has been involved in a few through her work at the National Trust, and I thought it would be a very nice way of spending one of my days off.

The dig was at a site that has been excavated before, the previous ones being the basis for the recreation of the 17th century turf house that is now at the visitor centre.

We were quite lucky with the weather, although rain was forecast all day it was only light, though we did get very muddy!

Our dig took place over two days, and on my day there were about 10 volunteers and 8 staff. The introduction was really interesting, talking about all the small settlements up this valley, and what happened to the area in the late 1600s.

We were digging in the garden area of the previously excavated cottages. There were 10 trenches excavated, and there were a few interesting finds, mainly pottery fragments.  Sadly not in our trench, but we did find evidence of a fire, so that may have been another smaller dwelling as there were a lot of stones around the charcoal deposits.

This was our trench after we had been working on it for a while.

And this is how it ended up.

The finds box from the previous day had all been labelled, but this was found in the next trench to ours.

These two pictures are from the Glencoe Folk Museum’s Facebook Post about the dig and show the most exciting find, the top of a pottery bottle.

It is fascinating to think about the people who lived here looking up at this same view, watching the clouds change as I do now. The fact that they probably never moved far from where their homes were all their lives, such a contrast to my life.

It was brilliant meeting the other volunteers as well, I was working with a woman who moved to Scotland a few years ago from Somerset, and now works for Nature Scotland.  It was nice to spend time chatting about starting over and making new lives, and we both agreed that Scotland is magical!

It was really good to get to know more about the history of the area as well. Not much survives in terms of architecture. There are a few older cottages in Glencoe, such as the ones below, but most are modern buildings.  After the Highland Clearances the main centre of population here was Ballachulish, because of the slate mine.

A fascinating way to spend my day off and something I would love to do again if I get the chance.

We have had another really hot spell, thankfully there is cooler weather now, as we are really full again, which means lots of running around the campsite,  not good in 28 degrees! 

I am not sure yet of plans for next week, I would like to go further west, but that is weather dependent.  Meanwhile I am having a crafting day today after a little woodland walk by the River Coe to Invercoe yesterday.

Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing, take care and thanks for visiting.

Some very different kinds of ironwork

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One of the reasons that I love living in Spain,  and visiting Spanish cities, is all the amazing ironwork on the balconies. All of our houses have some kind of protective grilles on the windows, and these and the gates are often quite ornate.

This is often a feature of the country houses I visit as well, with grand staircases and balconies, and I love all of the amazing artistry that can be created out of metal.  Having seen blacksmiths at many medieval events I am always in awe of their work.

One of my days on the way to Scotland, via  a visit to a friend in Wales, involved driving through Shropshire,  a county I need to spend more time in as it is so beautiful.  I drove from Ellen’s across to Attingham Park firstly, another Trust house that has been on my wishlist for a long time.

It is no coincidence that this area is famous for its metalwork, with the heritage centred around Ironbridge and its famous crossing by Thomas Telford, such a wealth of industrial heritage.

The owners of Attingham must have been well aware of the developments in industry only a few miles away. Though their house reflects the arts more than industry, the house, built in 1785, epitomises the era so well.

Thomas Telford, a Scot born in 1757, would have been at the peak of his career as an engineer.  It was in Shropshire that he made his name as an engineer, working on canals there.

It was a beautiful day for a visit, I was very lucky to have a sunny February day, and all the snowdrops were in bloom.

The interior of the house was beautiful,  with some stunning decoration. This blue and gold room was one of my favourites.

I loved the art gallery space though, built for entertaining with an impressive ironwork staircase to the upper floor, showcasing a wonderful window.

The servants’ quarters were also interesting, I really liked the interpretation via the dining table, showing wages and duties.

They also had the very best organisation of the linen cupboard. Look at these beautiful pieces all carefully folded, with ribboned lavender. 

I loved the recreations of the ornate desserts as well. The house had a dedicated chef just to make these.

My second stop was somewhere that I have had pinned on my map for a while. It is an open air gallery, based at the British Ironwork Centre, near Oswestry. 

They have the most incredible pieces, mostly made from recycled materials, showcasing ironwork as you have never seen it before.

The scale of some of the pieces is incredible, and the work that goes into them just amazing.  This gorilla is made from teaspoons.

I had seen the Knife Angel some years ago, when it was on display in Worcester.  Made from knives donated during a weapons amnesty, it has been toured to raise awareness of knife crime in the UK.

Most of the pieces have a message, there is a strong theme of environmental responsibility throughout the artworks, which makes it a fantastic place to visit.

Life here on the campsite continues to be very busy, we have been full for weeks, although it has been a little quieter this week. I have also had two visitors, so feeling very blessed that people will come all this way to see me, and the wonders of Scotland of course!

The weather has been very variable, from 24 degrees for my first visitor,  to 12 and raining for my second. We have still been out enjoying ourselves though, just needed our big coats!

I am also meeting some other friends this afternoon who are in the area, then will be making the most of the rest of my day off doing some weeding in my garden, if the rain holds off!

Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing, take care and

Fashion Icons

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Although I wouldn’t consider myself a follower of current fashion trends, mainly due to living most of my life in camping trousers and fleeces 😉 I am interested in historically inspired trends, and of course in historic fashion itself.

I have enjoyed researching medieval fashions as as re-enactor, and Victorian ones for Steampunk costumes. I really enjoy interpreting things for my own dressmaking, and so the second exhibition we saw in London was brilliant due to its combination of the old and the new.

Entitled, ‘Marie Antoinette Style’, the exhibition covered historical fashion, but also how the queen’s clothing had been remade, for various films, but also used as inspiration for costume balls, and current fashions. All of this was cleverly interwoven with the story of her life, and a look at how the garments and accessories were made. 

It was a really well curated exhibition, and I’m glad we bought tickets early, as it was sold out very soon after it opened.

The initial section was full of the most gorgeous examples of historic fashion, including this stunning wedding dress. None of the queen’s original garments survive, so this section was from various different museums.

What was equally fascinating was the section on jewellery, fans and shoes, including some of the original designs.

I loved the Manalo shoes based on her style. Even though I mainly live in flip flops and safety boots these days I do like a pretty shoe!

The second half of the exhibition looked at some of the recreations of her clothing,  dating from the 19th century, and how the fashions had been interpreted by various modern designers for catwalk shows.

This was also supported by scenes from films about her life showing the movie costumes in action. The green dress in the centre of the room was just stunning, so a marvel of fabric engineering.

A really interesting exhibition, and so well put together.

We then had for a quick wander around the medieval art section before it was time to leave to head back to Ellen’s.

I am hoping to spend a bit more time in London next year, there are so many more museums I want to revisit, so may do that early March when I return from Spain.

Life here on site continues to be very busy, we have had some stunning weather and some dreadful stuff, often all in the same day as is normal for Scotland. I will share some of the loveliness with you in the next post, before continuing to document life before I got here.

Meanwhile take care, have fun and thanks for visiting.

London life

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I am taking advantage of the fact that we actually have four bars of signal today to bring you an update on my trip to London with my lovely daughter, Ellen, at the end of February. 

Things seem to be improving on the connectivity front, it is one of the few disadvantages of living here that 21st century conveniences can’t be taken for granted.

Ellen and I planned our trip last year as we saw that there were two historic fashion exhibitions on at the same time. We had a wonderful weekend enjoying city life, with a hotel in the beautiful Bayswater Road area, delicious meals out, and lots of wonderful clothes. 

On Friday we had chance to do a quick visit to the wonderful British Library before going to our hotel. It is such a beautiful building, and as we both love books so much, a really inspiring place.

We had a visit to the Treasures Collection, full.of significant texts, from annotated writings to illustrated religious texts.

So many gorgeous things in the bookshop. I really want these map books, when I have space on my bookshelves.

Saturday morning was a quick trip to Borough Market, where we bought gluten free treats, and I stocked up on spices for the caravan from this amazing stall.

Then it was a walk past the Shard to the Fashion and Textile Museum, for an exhibition about the company Cosprop. They have been supplying film and TV productions since the 1970s, using a combination of vintage clothing and reconstructed garments.

It would take too long to list all of the films and TV shows they had costumes for but think Victoria, lots of Jane Austen, and virtually every single other big historical movie filmed in the last 50 years.

So many amazing things, and to see them close up was such a treat. 

It is difficult to say which was my favourite, however I do adore Georgian waistcoats, the embroidery is so stunning. These were such amazingly detailed reproductions, taking inspiration from original panels.

A quick visit to Covent Garden for refreshments, seeing a Bansky and an art installation featuring a jellyfish on the way, and we ended the day at Liberty for cocktails.

They had a new range inspired by Bridgerton, and although I am never going to pay that much for a pillowcase, it was lovely to see the fabrics, and Lady Bridgerton’s mask from the ball.

Fingers crossed the internet will remain good so I can be back soon with part two of London life, the one where we visit the V and A.

I am so happy that I can do all these brilliant trips  and that my life is full of such diverse adventures. 

Hopefully see you soon, take care, have fun and thanks for visiting.

Moral dilemmas

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The world of heritage and history is full of dilemmas. What should be displayed, how should stories be told, and how do we deal with the past that doesn’t fit current sensibilities?

I have been to many museums that have tried to address these things, the Pitt-Rivers in Oxford being a particularly good example. Often they will adopt the approach of explaining why these things were popular or acceptable at the time.

Whilst we were in Salamanca we came across a small museum that presented us with small dilemma.  The museum was dedicated to bull fighting. Always a contentious subject, but a very large part of Spanish culture. Should we go?

In the end we did, I knew that it would be full of the most amazing embroidery, and I am not of the opinion that things should be ignored because they are difficult. I would never go and watch a bull fight, but was interested to know more.

The displays of matador costumes were stunning. Spain does embroidery and gold work for costumes, such as the Moors and Christians, and the Semana Santa festivals, to such a high standard. 

It is particularly impressive as these costumes would be seen from a distance, rather than close up. The level of detail is amazing.

It was also notable that most of them were really small. There were costumes dating back to the 1940s, and they reminded me a lot of the stature of horse racing jockeys.

It was a very unique experience.  As with visiting historic houses and their stags,  the mounted bull heads were sad to see,  but the overall interpretation was very good.

It did address some of the contention around bull fights, and was very interesting in terms of learning more about the history, and the particular role of bull fighting in Salamanca. 

We also visited a nearby palace owned by the Dukes of Alba. As palaces go it was very much a liveable family home, the sort of place you could imagine, or dream about being in. It had beautiful views over the city from the living quarters as well, and a lovely bell tower.

There was also the most gorgeous tiled bathroom, complete with fully tiled toilet!

Salamanca is definitely one of my favourite cities. It has such a quiet charm, with so much to see. I know there are many other stunning Spanish cities to visit, but this one comes highly recommended.

Mum and I will hopefully be doing another city break in December, all will be revealed nearer the time, as this is somewhere we have tried to go before, and failed!

I am now safely installed at my new site for the 2026 season at Glencoe. Have had a fantastic few days working with my new team, and am really looking forward to the campsite opening next week.

I have lots to share about my Scottish adventures so far, but this is a little taste of where I will be spending the summer.

Here is Lotte the caravan in her new home, and this is the view from the campsite. It has been beautiful weather so we having been having lunch on this bench.

You can understand why I am so happy, given that mountains are my favourite things!

Thanks for visiting, and see you soon.

Symmetry and shadows

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I love cloisters, to me they are one of the most impressive forms of architecture.  The pillars, the ceiling decorations, amazing stonework that looks effortless, but must have been so difficult to achieve.

I love the way the light hits the stone, the different perspectives you get as you walk around, and the contrast between sun and shadow.

We visited two beautiful cloisters on our second day in Salamanca. The first was in the convent attached to the church of San Estaban, itself an absolutely stunning building. 

The second was the Convent of the Duenas, virtually next door. Not only were the buildings themselves so incredible, the views they gave across to the nearby cathedral were also wonderful.

I spent a lot of time just framing shots, there are definitely some here that I will want to print off and frame in future.

The cathedral dominates the skyline of Salamanca, and it is the most incredible example of the stonemasons’ art. There are actually two cathedrals built next to each other, an older medieval one, and the later gothic building.

There is something else in the stone work that you have to search for here, an astronaut carved as part of the renovations in the late 1980s. We eventually found it on the fourth door we looked at! I love this little creature on the left as well.

Although the newer cathedral was beautiful, it was the older one that had the best piece of religious architecture.  Probably the most wonderful altar I have ever seen.

I couldn’t get any closer to take more detailed photos but this is an amazing piece of art.

We finished our trip with a visit to the Art Noveau house, once a private dwelling and now an art museum.  No interior photos of the exhibitions allowed, but here is the exterior and the beautiful restaurant. I do keep coming back to this period, as I do so love it.

Medieval will always be one of my favourites for its richness, but there is something so lovely about the lines and form in this period.

I have one more post about Salamanca to share with you, then I can show you some of the wonderful things I have seen since I got back to the UK. It was such an interesting city to visit, full of just so many beautiful places, and of course wonderful doors!

Until then, thanks as always for visiting.

The stonemasons of Salamanca

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I have written before about the wonderful work of stonemasons, but every time I visit a city where there are medieval marvels, such as in Salamanca, I am amazed once more.

The sheer volume of stone work in this beautiful city is unbelievable, from the cathedral to the many monasteries and churches. Add to that the beauty of just the, ‘ordinary’, buildings, and you have an incredible city.

It is not one that many people visit though. It has been on my Mum’s wishlist for a long time, and I was aware of it through its educational history, but it is not a tourist hot spot like many of the southern Spanish cities, such as Cordoba and Granada.

We went in January, by train from Alicante.  Spanish trains are wonderful, so clean, comfortable and reliable, and very cheap! We stayed at a beautiful hotel, the San Polo, built on the ruins of an old church, and right opposite the cathedral. It was like staying in an archaeological dig.

This top photo on the left below is the view from our room. We didn’t visit the cathedral on the first day though, as the weather forecast was better that day, so we did the city wandering that day.

The city museum is housed in an old palace, surprisingly similar to the ones in cities like Cordoba. I had not expected the same type of architecture as this is usually a design used for very hot climates. Northern Spain is more temperate, but there were similar patios and cloisters everywhere.

I have seen a lot of religious art on my travels, but these were exquisite.

I think my favourites were definitely the gun wielding angels! I have not seen anything like that before, and the painting of the fabric was so detailed.

The university dates from the 13th century and has a wealth of gorgeous buildings, some of which are former palaces, and medieval cloisters.

It is a tradition to go and look for the Salamanca frog, part of one of the carved doorways, and we found it almost straight away. This is supposed to bring you good luck.

We also wanted to see the shell building, another palace which is now the public library.  I have never seen anything like it, so unusual, with such beautiful iron work.

I took so many photos, and we visited so many incredible buildings, that I am going to have to split this trip over a few posts.

My plans have changed slightly, and I am now spending more time at the Scone Campsite near Perth. This means, combined with some lovely Scottish rain, that I am having some additional R and R today, before moving on at the weekend.

This is my current view, with my new tent being tested for its waterproofing, so I am enjoying a day of reading and crochet 😉

Nice weather will hopefully be resumed tomorrow, and the forecast for the weekend is better, meaning I can hopefully visit some more Trust properties at the weekend.

I hope that you are all enjoying whatever you are doing, and will see you all again soon. Thanks for visiting.

A different kind of textile heritage

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Although I love visiting historic houses such as the many castles in Scotland, I also really enjoy industrial textile heritage as well. I have posted before about some of the textile heritage that is represented in the Great Tapestry of Scotland, and mentioned Dundee in particular, celebrating the city’s nickname of, ‘Juteopolis’.

I have friends from Yorkshire who have lived near Dundee for many years, and on my second visit to them this summer I took the chance to see some more of the things that they had been telling me about. Dundee was famous for three Js, Jam, Journalism and Jute, and on my last visit we went to Arbroath and saw the many strawberry greenhouses there, that go to make the famous jams. This time it was the turn of the jute production.

The Verdant Works is a fascinating museum, in the heart of the city, it is housed in an old jute factory. The name suggests greenery, somewhere lush and beautiful, and this is anything but. A beautifully restored building, but you can only imagine how dirty and dusty it was when production was at its peak.

What I love about textile heritage, is that it permeates every aspect of our lives. You’ve probably never thought about jute, but it was once one of the most important materials for making the bags that transported everything. At its height in the late 1800s the industry employed 50,000 people, and brought many migrant workers to live in the city.

What was particularly interesting about the museum was the focus on the engineering. A lot of the displays are video based, so I don’t have much in the way of photos, but it was fascinating seeing all of the stages of jute production, and thinking about the many engineers that were needed to build and maintain these machines. The main hall is given over to reproductions of some of the earliest engines that helped shape the Industrial Revolution.

As with most industrialised textile production, it was a female dominated workforce in terms of the labour handling the many bobbins and weaving machines needed to produce the jute, and male dominated for the engineering and foremen. This led to Dundee having a reputation for being led by strong women, with lots of links to early equality campaigns.

I loved the many pictures of the women who worked there, in their jute aprons and flowered overalls. Just sobering to think about the very hard lives that they had, a world away from the women embroidering the gorgeous needlepoint cushions at Fyvie Castle!

There were also links with the Empire, as the jute was imported from India, and you may remember this beautiful panel from The Great Tapestry celebrating those links as well. A really fascinating museum for anyone interested in social history, and I would really recommend a visit.

While looking for background information for this post I came across another tapestry, this time just concentrating on the history of Dundee, the exhibition was at the V and A in the city, and has sadly finished, however there is another fantastic representation of the industry in stitches here.

Being the first post of 2026, and having missed my blogaversary in December, and my all important 1,000 post celebration as well, I thought I would end with a little reflection on Stitches of Time. This is post number 1,024, over the last just over 18 years. My 1,000 post was actually one about travels in Spain, published in Feb 2025. The very first post, as I think I have mentioned before, was about Christmas ornaments, published in Dec 2007.

My most viewed post every month is usually the one about my tablecloth jacket, which is lovely as it is one of my all time favourite makes, and has been worn so many times.

It is difficult to gives stats for how many people have visited my blog since it started, as there was a change in the way the figures were collected in 2021, but since then I have had 89,100 visitors, which is absolutely amazing! My top three countries that visitors come from are the USA, UK and Australia, but I actually have had visitors in that time from 165 countries, which is incredible :-0

So a huge thank you to all of you for your visits, likes, comments, and general appreciation of my sharing my life and loves. Hope that you have a very good 2026 and that you and your loved ones are safe, well and happy.

Until next time, thanks for visiting, each and every one of you lovely people!

A different kind of history

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As you know, I love visiting historic houses and castles, preferably with lots of lovely textiles. However I also enjoy different types of historic buildings, and though I wouldn’t consider myself particularly into military history, I do love star forts.

These were popular during the Napoleonic era, as their design makes them able to defend against attack more robustly.

I have visited quite a few in Spain, and on the way back from Rosemarkie went to Fort George, on the Moray Firth not far from Inverness. This is more of an elongated star, but still has the distinctive pointed outer ramparts.

Although it was built in 1746, after the Battle of nearby Culloden, to house troops to suppress the Jacobite Rebellion, by the time it was finished it was no longer needed for that. It9 is still a working army base, as well as being a historic tourism attraction, and the site of the Highlanders Museum.

It was quite strange seeing the modern mess, cars parked outside the barrack blocks, and groups of young recruits doing their morning runs, with backpacks, around the ramparts, in and amongst all the visitors.

It has an amazing location on the coast, directly opposite the Rosemarkie campsite, in the photo below you can just see the lighthouse I walked to when I was there. It also famous for dolphin spotting.

It was a really interesting visit, there is some interpretation in one of the barrack blocks, showing aspects of soldiers’ lives throughout the different eras.

These folding beds were really interesting,  this is from one of the rooms for single men in the early 1900s.

At one point in its early usage, wives and children used to live in the rooms with the men, four families to a room, which was also used for cooking.

There is also a beautiful Chapel, the last building to be completed, and a nearby exhibition about Scottish gardens.

Of course there were textiles as well, the modern poppy tributes in the Chapel, as well as beautiful flags and banners there and in the museum.

A really excellent place to visit, for its location, and the sheer scale of the construction, especially when you consider when it was built. It took 22 years to complete and I can only imagine how that was done in the 1700s without the mechanisation we have now. 

The exterior walls and ramparts are so impressive, and it was fantastic to see a fort in almost the same condition as when it was first built, as the restoration really helps you visualise what it was like for those early soldiers. 

Well worth a visit, if you are ever in the area, sadly no dolphins when I went, but amazing views.

I have been on the Yorkshire coast again, just a little further south than the previous site, and still enjoying the fabulous walks in the area. Such an incredible environment, which I will share in a future post.

I have also enjoyed being back in the luxury of a static caravan, which is very nice after a few nights in the tent. I have a very lovely fake fire keeping me warm! However I am now in Wales on my final camping trip of the year, with my sister.

Until next time, have fun and thanks for visiting.