February Is Here And So Is A Little Something Different

 Those of you who understand the seasons, know once the digging is done and we plant a few early seeds, like Onions, and Broad beans to get them on their way, there is not a great lot to report until planting new seedlings begins in the Spring..

Here are a couple of photos of what has been dug so far.. 

You can see lots of sprouts still to be eaten and parsnips still to dig up. And more still to be dug above  And I am proud to say I dug over that whole stretch between the sprouts.. 🙂

More was dug over and completed

So that will be it for a while on the garden… But I thought to share a few pictures in a video I made of a very special day we went to Inveraray, in Scotland a couple of years ago now… You can also find more facts too on Inveraray Jail in one of my posts 

 So Here is Something A Little Different!

Inveraray Castle is such a fairy-tale castle to look at, set in beautiful grounds.  The Castle is home to the Chief of the Clan~ Campbell.. And is the ancestral home  of the Duke of Argyll. It has been standing on the shores of Loch Fyne since the early 1400’s. 

Picture Source of Vanbrugh Here

The dream  started with John  Vanbrugh, whose sketched his vision of the Castle.  However Vanbrugh then died, but his vision was then taken up by the Third Duke who started build the Castle in 1746.

The Third Duke Argyll Archibald Campbell.. Picture Image source Here ..

 

 

And who then employed the Architects Roger Morris 1695–1749 and William Adam,1689-1748. who started construction on the Castle..  But both Adam and Morris died before their construction was completed and it wasn’t until some 43 years later when the Son’s of  Adam who were Robert and James, took the castle through to its finished state. 

 Can you just imagine the type of Capital it would take to build? The opulence of such wealth even back in its day, is beyond belief, especially  during that time when people were starving and being punished and thrown into prison  for stealing bread or poaching  just to survive.  You should take a look at Inveraray Jail, I hope to post a separate video on my time spent visiting the Museum Jail in the town.  A surreal experience with full size models of people and one or two real ones that jump to life unexpectedly in my case lol.. But that is for another time.. 

John Vanbrugh’s other well known Architectural genius’s were the design of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. 

More construction was done to the Castle due to a Fire which caused damage and a third floor and the Cone shape Towers were then added in 1877. 

This stone commemorated where the Old Castle Stood before it was  destroyed in the Fire before being rebuilt

The Ground Floor is full of Arms, from Guns to Lances, swords, and other weaponry. Along with  a magnificent State Dinning Room.. ( unfortunately my picture in the video was a little blurred of the dinning room, but you can find a better one with the ground floor link. )

I hope you enjoy the little video I put together of the Castle and surrounding areas we visited.. 

Have a Wonderful Month of February Everyone.

We get one Extra Day too.. This Leap Year!…