Perth

Perth, Scotland’s fair city was once the nation’s capital. For a hundred years during the 14th and 15th centuries the Scottish parliament met here. However after the treacherous Sir Robert Graham murdered King James I at the city’s Dominican Priory, the King’s widow and young son James II moved their court to Edinburgh.

The medieval St. John’s Kirk (church), where John Knox delivered his famous speech on church idolatry remains to this day and two miles from the town is Hunting Tower Castle where James VI was held for a year after being kidnapped by the Earl of Gowrie in 1582.

Scone is the traditional coronation place of Scots kings. The last monarch to be crowned there was Charles II in 1651. Perhaps more famous than the place itself is the stone of Scone. There are many stories surrounding the stone but tradition has it that it was the biblical character Jacob’s pillow. Also known as the stone of destiny it was said that anyone who was crowned on it had the right to rule over the Scots people.