Bonnie Prince Charlie is revered in Scotland as the romantic, tragic hero of "the '45", the failed Jacobite Uprising of 1745.  Grandson of the exiled Scottish Catholic King James II, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (to give him his proper title) was born in December 1720 in Rome. In 1745, at the age of 24, he set sail for Scotland hoping to raise enough support to restore his father, Prince James, to the throne.

We found ourselves with a tour party up in Glencoe last week, basking in the glorious spring sunshine, but with still a lot of snow around too and temperatures in single figures!  The glen is located in north west Scotland, about half an hours drive from the town of Fort William.  It is a simply stunning landscape in all weathers and often said to be one of the most spectacular areas of natural wilderness in Scotland.

This weekend we were out and about in the beautiful Scottish Borders area, visiting the Border Abbeys.  There are four magnificent (now ruined) abbeys within a short distance of each other, located at Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh.  These medieval monasteries were built during the reign of King David I, and, due to their proximity to the border with England, all suffered during the turbulent centuries of war between the Scots and the English.  All four abbeys were burned to the ground by English troops, only for them to be rebuilt and burned again.  The abbeys eventually fell out of use in the years leading up to the Protestant Reformation of 1560, which saw the decline of Catholicism in Scotland and the rise of the Protestant Church.

Scotland has many beautiful islands, and it is often hard to choose exactly which ones to visit if you only have a limited time to spend here.  Most of you will no doubt have heard of the Isle of Skye, and also places like Orkney and Shetland, but did you know that Scotland has 790 offshore islands, of which 124 are inhabited?  We are often asked "what's the best one to go to?" and I think the answer to this will really depend on your own interests and what you like doing.  For some people the idea of being on a remote, tiny, windswept island with no broadband and only a couple of sheep to share the beautiful sea view sounds like paradise, others might prefer a bit more in the way of amenities!

With this in mind I thought we would take a look at some of the lesser visited islands, starting with the Isle of Barra.