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Under the streets of Istanbul … THIS.
We headed below the city today and found the absolutely incredible Basilica Cistern - a vast, atmospheric underground reservoir built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
It once stored water for the Great Palace of Constantinople, with hundreds of marble columns rising out of the water beneath these enormous vaulted ceilings.
Also, fun fact , some scenes from 1963’s From Russia with Love were filmed here.
Walking through it now, with the reflections, shadows and dripping water, feels like standing in some kind of weird, ancient subterranean world.
Hidden down the back are two enormous carved stone heads of Medusa, reused as bases for columns. One is turned sideways and the other is completely upside down. Nobody really knows exactly why they were placed that way - theories range from simple practicality using whatever ancient stonework was available, to deliberately positioning Medusa so her legendary gaze couldn’t turn anyone to stone. 🐍
Nearly 1500 years old and still sitting beneath the chaos of modern Istanbul.
Absolutely bloody spectacular and spooky AF.
#Istanbul #Turkiye #BasilicaCistern

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One of the absolute spooky highlights of Scotland - finding the creepy abandoned Buchanan Castle, hidden away near Drymen in the Scottish countryside. 🖤🏰
Built in the 1850s as the grand home of the Dukes of Montrose, Buchanan Castle became a military hospital during WWII - and even treated Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess after his bizarre solo flight to Scotland in 1941 - before eventually falling into ruin.
I’ll admit, I was about ready to give up trying to find the bloody thing, but Cathy was DETERMINED. 😂
And then, emerging from the dense vegetation, there it was.
This enormous, crumbling old castle slowly appearing through the trees like something straight out of a gothic horror movie.
Absolutely IMMENSE.
Even better? Not another soul around. We had the whole eerie place completely to ourselves.
Overgrown, decaying, silent and spooky AF.
Absolutely worth getting lost for. 💀🖤

#BuchananCastle #Scotland #AbandonedScotland #DarkTourism

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MASSIVE day at the Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Northern Ireland.
We went in thinking it would take maybe an hour or so. HAHAHAHA. No. 😂
We could genuinely have spent the entire day in there. The original sets, costumes, props, weapons, creatures - and THE ORIGINAL IRON THRONE!! - plus all the behind-the-scenes details showing just how much work went into creating the world of Game of Thrones.
Absolutely mind-blowing.
You’re not just looking at a few costumes behind glass either. It’s a huge, immersive experience that takes you right inside Westeros and shows you how some of the most iconic scenes were actually brought to life.
Even knowing how enormous the production was, I don’t think I fully appreciated the scale of it until today.
Absolutely incredible experience. If you’re even remotely a Game of Thrones fan, allow way more time than you think you’ll need.
Winter came. And we loved it.

#GameOfThrones #GameOfThronesStudioTour #IronThrone

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Introducing the Glenfinnian Viaduct and the Jacobite Steam Train aka the famed train engine from Harry Potter en route from Mallaig to Fort William … errr, London to Hogwarts. We joined the throng of tourists today to watch it cross the rather magnificent concrete bridge at one of four very popular times it does so each day. Magic! @beatsss72

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No wonder Scotland is filled with stories of fairies, fae and woodland spirits 🧚 #✨
Just take a look at these woods.
Ancient trees, moss-covered logs and tiny hollows that look exactly like fairy houses hidden among the roots. So magical. 💚
And of the fairies don’t live in Scotland, where the heck do they live?!

#Scotland #ScottishFolklore #TheFae FairyFolklore WoodlandMagic

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An abandoned castle and sunken boat in a remote loch … nope, not creepy at all. 😬😳

#Scotland #CreepyCastles #sunken #Invergarry

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We found the watery grave of accused witch Lilias Adie at Torryburn on Scotland’s eastern coast. 🖤

In 1704, Lilias – a woman in her 60s – was accused of witchcraft, imprisoned and brutally interrogated until she ‘confessed’. She died in prison before she could ever be tried or sentenced.

Denied a normal burial, she was placed in a simple wooden box between the high and low tide marks at Torryburn, with a huge sandstone slab laid over her grave – reportedly because people feared she might rise from the dead and take her revenge.

More than 320 years later, that stone is still here.

I first learned about Lilias through the brilliant @witches.of.scotland podcast and book How To Kill a Witch, and standing here after learning her story was incredibly moving.

More than 4000 people – overwhelmingly women, but men too – were accused during Scotland’s witch hunts. More than 2500 were executed.

They weren’t witches. They were just people.
Just folk living their lives. People caught in fear, superstition and persecution.

It’s time their stories were told, their names remembered and justice served. 🖤

Lilias, we remember you and we will say your name.

#LiliasAdie #WitchesOfScotland #ScottishWitchTrials #Torryburn

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We had far too much fun staying at the gorgeous @neidpath_castle 💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 👁️🗝️

#castle #castledoor #neidpathcastle #eyes

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A visit to Frankenstein Pub because obviously we would. 💚⚡️
Was it a little bit lame? Yes. 100%.
But where else can you sit in a pub and watch a LIFE-SIZE Frankenstein’s monster come to life right before your eyes?

The pizza was amazing and that beer went down waaaaaay too well, so it was a winner regardless.
Sometimes you just have to. 🤣🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️

#Edinburgh #FrankensteinBar #MaryShelley #literarylegends

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Well, this was bloody fantastic. 💀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Tonight’s adventure with @cityofthedeadtours took us beneath Edinburgh into the South Bridge Vaults – supposedly home to the South Bridge Entity – before heading into Greyfriars Graveyard and the Covenanter’s Prison, territory of the infamous Mackenzie Poltergeist.

And we LOVED it.

Our guide John was genuinely one of the best guides I’ve ever had – and I’ve done a LOT of ghost tours, paranormal tours and generally questionable wandering-around-in-the-dark experiences in places I had no business being over the years.

He was an absolutely brilliant storyteller; witty in a way only Scots can be and ridiculously knowledgeable.

Having access to both the vaults and the Covenanter’s Prison made this one pretty bloody special.

Sadly, despite the Mackenzie Poltergeist’s reputation for scratching, punching and otherwise assaulting unsuspecting visitors, we emerged completely unscathed 😢
But we went home very happy nonetheless.

Edinburgh, you are REALLY delivering so far. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️

#CityoftheDead #Edinburgh #Ghosts #GhostTours

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Well we didn’t expect to find this … if only I’d brought my torch on this hike!

#scotland #peebles #spookylife #hauntedhikes #wtaf

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Yes, this magnificent 14th century castle near the town of Peebles will do nicely for our first night in Scotland. Best known for having once hosted Mary Queen of Scots in 1563 and for being hella haunted, we’ll see what Neidpath Castle has in store for us as we have the whole castle all to ourselves!

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