Highland living

The craggy peaks and reflective lochs of the rugged Scottish landscape have inspired writers and travelers for centuries. With its rolling hills and quiet hamlets, Scotland is a patchwork of stunning green valleys and windswept moors, scattered with the stony ruins of ancient abbeys and castle strongholds. Against this backdrop, the authors recount the dramas, legends, and romances-both real and fantastical-of Macbeth descendants, from the earliest clan chiefs to the most recent inhabitants of Cawdor Castle.Cawdor might well stand as the epitome of all things Scottish, or better-the quintessence of the Scottish soul, Lady Angelika Cawdor tells us. I love everything about this place : the distant, blue crest of the moors ; the foliage of the ancient oaks in the Big Wood ; the pure waters that allow for the distilling of whisky, and the washing and plumping of wool ; the familiar silhouettes of the Highland cattle, the Scottish Hebridean sheep-totally black, and armed with four horns ; the dizzying views from the castle watchtowers over the flowerbeds and topiary in the Flower Garden ; the perspective across the symbolic gardens ; the peat burning brightly in the drawing-room fireplace, beneath the gaze of a host of painted Thanes-and, of course, the indistinct, charming presence of the household ghosts. These are the silhouettes and spirits, the landscapes and stately interiors that we discover, enraptured, as we turn the pages of this beautifully illustrated album.