what are the top iconic locations in Scotland ?

 Scotland has many iconic landmarks from stunning landscapes to castles and monuments.

My top five landmarks in Scotland are

the Kelpies

From the opening of the Forth and Clyde Canal in the 1770s, the barges were pulled by one or two horses which had to be changed at various stages.

The Kelpies were inspired by the Clydesdale horses used to pull barge along the canals of Scotland. Buy Kelpies gifts online – t-shirts, phone cases, throw pillows and prints

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle in the Highlands is the most photographed castle in the world due to its unique position on an island in the middle of three lochs. Buy Eilean Donan Castle prints and gifts in the Eilean Donan Castle gift shop

Glencoe Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland consists of the three Paps of Glencoe . This iconic mountain is in the heart of the Highlands

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle , Scotland is the most popular visitor attraction in Scotland. The castle dominates the city skyline of Edinburgh . Edinburgh Castle is Scotland’s most popular visitor attraction . More than 1 million visitors are drawn each year by its spectacular location and history. They can see the Crown Jewels, the One O’Clock Gun and the Stone of Destiny as well as the Great Hall, St Margaret’s Chapel, and Mons Meg. Edinburgh Castle is a world-class attraction and today’s well-traveled tourists have high expectations. The vaults at Edinburgh Castle were constructed around 1500 and later used as soldiers’ barrack-rooms and a bakehouse. However they were used for many years as prisons of war from the 1750s into the early 1800s. The Castle is at the top of the Royal Mile . If you walk down the Royal Mile you can see a large number of gift shops , pubs and restaurants . At the foot of the Royal Mile is the new Scottish Parliament building and the Palace of Holyroodhouse , the official residence of the Queen in Scotland 

Loch Lomond

How much does it cost to visit the Kelpies ?

There is no entrance fee to pay to see the Kelpies. The first car park near the entrance is free all the year round . During the summer if you go between 10am and 5pm then there is a parking fee at the second car park of £3 . The Helix’s own tour of the Kelpies costs about £2 and they run all summer . The tour includes going inside one of the Kelpies

 There is a story behind every painting by Jack Vettriano , but the background to the painting of Bluebird at Bonneville is particularly interesting . The original painting was one of seven commissioned by London restaurateur and designer Sir Terence Conran in 1997. A series of seven paintings, featuring the Bluebird and produced for Sir Terence Conran’s Bluebird Club in Chelsea, were among the artist’s first major commissions.

In 2007 a number of paintings by Jack Vettriano were sold for more than £1m. The top sale was Bluebird at Bonneville, bought for £468,000 at a Sotheby’s auction held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

The works were inspired by the Bluebird cars driven by world-renowned racing motorist Sir Malcolm Campbell when he set nine land speed records during the 1920s and 30s.

The works were put up for auction following the refurbishment of the Bluebird Club.

A second of the Bluebird paintings, The British are Coming, fetched £114,000 at the Gleneagles sale.

The sale is the second highest price for a Vettriano after the Singing Butler fetched £744,500 in 2004.

Ballroom dancers

Five in the set went unsold but six other Vettriano paintings were snapped up by bidders.

One of the artist’s best-known images, Dance Me to the End of Love, featuring two ballroom dancers dancing on a beach, sold for £192,000.

‘Major commissions’

Study for Shades of Scarlet went for £102,000.

The eight works were bought for a total of just over £1m.

Vettriano said ahead of the sale: “The Bluebird series was one of my first major commissions, and I was thrilled when Sir Terence Conran approached me with the project.

“The brief was pretty clear: ‘I know you have to paint cars, but try and make them sexy’.

“I have always had an interest in classic cars and so the commission really appealed.”

The Fife artist received an OBE for services to the visual arts in 2003.

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