Open any book on Scottish castles and sooner or later mention will be made of Chateau de Coucy in Picardy, France, which is regarded to be one of the greatest castles of the middle ages.

Loch-an-Eilean Castle stands in the loch of that name about 5 km from Aviemore. It has been largely ignored by the academic world.

The appearance of Bothwell Castle today owes everything to Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Forfar, who demolished half of it in 1700.

In Part 1 of this series attention was paid to castles that bore the marks of conflict. This account takes a look at 3 churches that suffered the same attention.

King James V erected the great tower at Holyrood between 1529-32 as a freestanding residence, fortified and protected by drawbridge and moat. For 5 years it stood alone and detached from the other palace buildings.

Many of Scotland's buildings retain evidence of conflict - here are just some of them.

The History of Edinburgh Castle has been rewritten after months of research by archaeologists and historians - dispelling some popular myths about the fortress.

Did you know that we have our very own 'Grand Designs' project being built by one of our members? Phill Plevey is currently building his own Scottish Castle in the old style. Read about Scotland's latest castle.

This large bearing sword, with its leather scabbard, belonged to the Sempills of Elliestoun. It was used for ceremonial purposes only. The sword is two and a half metres long.

We had been talking about ways of reducing our heating bills and improving our 'green' credentials when two factors coincided in 2008 to help us make a decision to put in ground source heating.