Day 8 - Heading North

After a second night in Melville Castle, it was time to head north. Personally, I had been looking forward to this day perhaps more than any. We were going to visit two places that I remembered very well from my youth and despite another day of somewhat grey, dreary weather we were up early and (after filling ourselves with traditional Scottish breakfast - no haggis today, though) were on the road heading north.

Our first stop was Loch Leven, a beautiful loch just a little north of the Edinburgh. In the middle of the loch is a small island with (you guessed it) a castle. This is where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a time (before escaping to England only to be imprisoned there as well). Now, it is simply beautiful.

It was a short ferry ride over on a rather small ferry and then about an hour of exploring the grounds before the next ferry headed back.

From there, it was further north and east to the Scottish coast where we visited a favorite of the Frazier family from 33 years ago, Dunnottar Castle. 

This amazing castle is built on a column of rock on the coast of the North Sea and is famous as a hiding place of the Scottish Crown Jewels and infamous as a place where 167 people were imprisoned in the late 1600s in a very small room for 2 months because they would not swear allegiance to the king. With over 1300 years of history, it might be tough to find one thing worth noting, but...in the mid-14th century, the castle came into the possession of William Keith (and would remain in his family for 400 years) who was married to the niece of Robert the Bruce, one Margaret Fraser. While I expect the castle was in somewhat better shape when her namesake was living here, our Margaret Frazier certainly enjoyed visiting this castle and keeping a keen out for any puffins. They supposedly inhabit the cliffs below the castle, but we didn't see any. We did however see quite a few seagulls and also quite a few flowers growing straight out of the rock walls.

After exploring and hiking our way back to the car, we were back on the road going even further north. Into the granite city of Aberdeen we went to see the Scottish Premier League match between Aberdeen and Partick Thistle. Photos of actual game action are not allowed, but I did want a photo of the entry to Pittodrie stadium. The game itself was exciting, especially the first half when Aberdeen nearly scored a few times at our end, but resulted in a 0-0 tie.

After the game, we just headed back to our new hotel in Glenrothes, but along the way enjoyed the view to the west of the Cairngorms. Once in Glenrothes, we had dinner at the Fettykil Fox, which is a small inn pretty much next door to our. We enjoyed it so much that we would return there for dinner the next night! Here is the view that we saw as we drove from Aberdeen to Glenrothes (yes, that is snow on the distant mountains).

Day 7 - Edinburgh

We woke early to have our full Scottish breakfast at Melville Castle. And, yes, Denise and I really did try some haggis with our breakfast, with all it's lamby-oatmealy goodness. Meh. Once fueled up, we headed into Edinburgh for our day in town. Sadly, it was another drizzle-filled grey day, but that didn't stop us from having a great day.

First up, was Edinburgh Castle.

As usual, we got there a little early and enjoyed the uncrowded space in the morning and were among the first to gain entry. Once inside, we picked up a map and Margaret got a kids scavenger hunt and we got ourselves set for the first guided tour of the morning. Our tour guide was very good and we had a nice 45 minutes walk through the main sites of the castle, followed by a couple of hours of touring on our own. For a while, things cleared up a bit and we got a little sunshine to enjoy from the parapets of Edinburgh.




We enjoyed seeing the Scottish Crown Jewels and there was quite a bit of history for us to read in some of the displays in the castle. Margaret completed her scavenger hunt and particularly enjoyed a visit to St. Margaret's Chapel - which is the oldest part of the castle. It was constructed by her son, David I to honor his mother in the mid-1100s. When the entire castle was destroyed in the early 1300s to keep it from falling into English hands, the chapel was preserved. It can fit 20 people total and Margaret is now debating whether to have her wedding at Disney or here. Evidently she will be trading up for more wealthy parents some time soon.

After the castle, we started to walk down the Royal Mile, taking in quite a few souvenir shops and lots of fancy Scottish shops. We headed just a little off the main path for lunch at The Elephant House, famous for J.K. Rowling spending a lot of time writing Harry Potter books here. We later learned that it was mainly the 2nd and 3rd books that she worked on while visiting this coffee house/restaurant. It was a nice little place with lots of elephant decor and truly unique graffiti in the ladies' restroom. Much to our benefit, we were seated at a table with a Scottish couple (who had spent some time living in the US in Chicago as teachers), who had some insight that saved us a lot of time. We had planned to head next to Holyrood House, the royal palace in Edinburgh, but it turns out that for Good Friday it was closed to the public. Most likely a good thing because the additional walking was likely more than we needed and the draw of the palace wasn't all that great to begin with. So, instead, we simply crossed the street and visited the Scottish National Museum. Lots of very interesting displays on the history of Scotland and we also checked out some exhibits on geology, animal vision, and Jackie Stewart. We were a little tired and had another half hour to kill before our next activity, so we took a little break in the museum.

But, now it was time for one of Margaret's biggest highlights of the trip, the Potter Trail. Our tour guide was Will and he was excellent. In fact, the tour was quite excellent. (and here's a plug if you happen to be in Edinburgh and interested  http://pottertrail.com/ ) The main features were seeing sights that inspired things in the books - graves of people whose names match characters and likely inspired Ms. Rowling, the private school that highly influenced Hogwarts, and the sights around the university where Ms. Rowling studied. Lots of great information in addition to quite a bit of fun.

After the tour, we visited a couple more shops on the Royal Mile (and picked up a few souvenirs) and then headed back to our hotel. The evening at the hotel did not go quite as planned - we had hoped to sit in the lounge and have a drink while playing a board game for Margaret to relax and enjoy, but there was a wedding going on and everything was focused on that and not the other guests so much. So, we grabbed the trivial pursuit and headed back to our room to enjoy. I leave this post with a picture from the Scotch Store on the Royal Mile. Sadly, this is not a drink we will be able to enjoy any time soon...

Day 6 - York to Edinburgh

On our 6th day, we were up early and walking into the city centre of York. Of course, that meant passing through one of the city gates. There is just something amazing about the fact that this city has had walls around it for over 2000 years. The gate pictured on the left - Bootham Bar - dates from the 11th and 14th century. Some pretty impressive history!

Once through the gate, we made our way to York Minster. Denise had looked on the website the day prior and saw that it was not going to be open to touring due to Easter weekend services (we were a little frustrated that this information hadn't been posted a couple weeks earlier!), but still wanted to get a look around.

When we arrived (after a little bit of aimless wandering through the streets of York) we saw that the front doors were, in fact, open, so in we went and asked what we were allowed to see. While certain sections were off limits (sadly, including the undercroft), we were still allowed to walk around and, much to our delight, we got to hear both the choir and the organist practicing a little bit for the services! While I was quite impressed with the pipe organ (especially since we were hearing it being practiced), Denise was more of a fan of the gargoyles on the exterior.






















After the cathedral, it was time to head back to our B&B to start the drive northward. But, not without walking along the top of the some of the city walls.

Our first stop as we drove north was Alnwick (ahh-nick) Castle. This one was one of Margaret's top destinations for the visit. In addition to playing host to a recent episode of Downton Abbey, it was also used as Hogwart's Wizarding School in the first two Harry Potter movies.

Alnwick has used these associations to create quite a few enjoyable activities and displays in the castle. The state rooms here were really interesting, as the castle is still in regular use by the Duke of Northumberland and his family and the rooms were decorated with an interesting combination of items from the 1400s to today. We particularly liked the library with thousands of ancient books right next two a couple of beanbag chairs and a HDTV. The Downton Abbey displays included actual costumes and descriptions of how they made the castle look period appropriate for that show (and caused a lot of stress to the staff). After touring the facilities and getting some lunch, Denise and Margaret got their (highly anticipated) broomstick lesson.

 Denise managed to find herself chosen as one of the pupil to demonstrate excellent broomstick skills, but as you can see, both of them really were very successful. I will refrain from any kind of witch comments.
We also did a little shopping at Alnwick and Margaret came home with some buttons and Denise and I got some locally produced mead.

It was then back to the road and further north for a brief stop in Bamburgh. A small town along the coast (that we have already decided we WILL visit again) with a simply amazing coastline. The castle there is still occupied and was therefore closed by the time we arrived in the evening, but we still walked around it and out to the beach to touch the North Sea for a moment and also look out at the islands of the coast - which also feature castle and abbey ruins. This was to be our last stop in England before crossing the border into Scotland.

After our beach walk, it was back on the road to Edinburgh. We arrived at the castle where we were staying for the next two nights (yes, really) and then went back out for a quick, late dinner at the Melville Inn - which we really enjoyed. Finally at 9pm we were back at the castle and into our beds to get rested up for our day in Edinburgh!

Day 5 - Heading North

Our fifth day in the UK meant our big driving day as we headed northward. We had a quick breakfast in Horley and then began our tour of the M roads from London to York. First stop was a (relatively) quick drive through Oxford. No stops or pictures, just a drive through and chance to say that we had driven through Oxford. Despite looking over every pedestrian quite carefully, Denise did not spot 19 year old hot guy Rob Lowe (both a cheesy 80s movie and annoying recent commercial reference at once). We then were back on the highway to get to our first major destination of the day, Warwick Castle.

Warwick is a bit of a 'Disney-fied' castle, with a lot of entertainment options throughout, recreations in the majority of rooms (wax figures), and shows throughout the day. Initially, we were going to go to the Princess Tower which features a story and interactive activity for kids where you rescue the Princess Felice. Once there and aware that it was geared to girls ages 3-8, we moved on! And just in case you were worried Denise did not need any saving. So we visited the Time Tower which uses video and projection technology to tell the story of the history of Warwick. Then it was over to the State rooms which (as the story goes) they are preparing for a large banquet with many guests staying over.

As you go through the rooms, there are wax figures of the serving staff preparing the rooms and audio to go along which sounded like an episode of Downton Abbey. The other half of the state rooms are far more historical, with recreations of events that actually occurred and people who really visited or stayed in the castle. Then it was outside to walk through the mill and watch the trebuchet (really huge catapult) display. Again, a great story was told of the attack on the castle (funny because the actors in the show are speaking of their impending victory when we knew from the history that they were going to lose). Then it was further around the back to the Peacock Garden with many hedges shaped like peacocks and quite a few wandering around, including this guy...

Then we walked through the Horrible Histories display area (basically signs and a couple actors describing all the uses of excrement during the middle ages) and took some silly pictures. Then a short walk through the rose garden, which at this time of year was more of a stump garden. Once we had finished our touring of Warwick, it was just a short drive over to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. We had already chosen not to do the actual building tours of Shakespeare's family homes and where he was born and his grave - we were just going to walk the area and see the homes from the outside and stop off for lunch. And that is just what we did! There was a little bit of drizzle around, so we dodged raindrops into quite a few little shops and took a few pictures and walked through the lobby of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (a show was on, so we could not really enter). While the outside of this house below may look somewhat nondescript, it is the house where Shakespeare was born and just to the left is a huge museum/tourist mecca for those willing to sacrifice their well earned pounds.

Once full of food and a little touristed out, we headed to Kenilworth Castle and Gardens.

 This is one I have some memories of from my youth and I was quite excited to visit it again. And it did not disappoint. We got the audio tour guides and walked through the ruins while hearing the stories of the castles history. It was quite magnificent at one point and hosted quite a few very important people. The ruins are still very impressive and we really enjoyed the tour. Margaret in particular liked the children's audio tour as it had some interactive activities for her to do while touring. Here are just a few of the many pictures that I took while there. We definitely hope to return to this one again some day and have more time (and better weather).



Once done there, it was time for another couple hours of driving to get to York, where we were going to spend the night. Of course, our longest drive of the trip had to coincide with our first real traffic of the trip, so three hours later, we finally got to our B&B in York and checked in. It was just about 9pm, so we took a quick walk to the first place with food that was open and Denise and I got a pizza and Margaret got some chips (fries). And then, at long last...we got to sleep.

Day 4 - Southeast of London

After spending the night in Horley, we were up early and headed east. Our first stop was Canterbury Cathedral. You could say that the following story of our visit is our Canterbury Tale, but that would be a terrible pun and I won't even consider doing it.

Once inside, we saw many interesting things and managed to make a new friend. This is Alex, he is one of the cats that live in and around Canterbury. He seemed quite nice (and bears a strong resemblance to a feline friend that we have left at home).

One of the most beautiful parts of the Cathedral (which was totally full of beautiful parts) was the Fan Ceiling which is the ceiling just under the bell portion of the bell tower. This is looking straight up from standing in the transcept. Lots of beauty in this cathedral.

After quite a bit of time in the Cathedral, we headed even further east. In fact, we went as far east as you can go without getting wet and needing to brush up on your French. It was time for our visit to Dover. This was definitely one of Denise's highest priority days in UK as both Canterbury and the White Cliffs were on her 'must-do' list. Dover did not disappoint. Our first stop was the cliffs and after reaching the car park, we hiked our way down a couple paths to find this view.

We then saw something that we have seen quite a few times during this trip. Sheep. Unlike most of the ones we have seen from a moving car, these were hanging out in the fields directly above the cliffs. Therefore, we headed down another path to stop for a visit. Margaret decided that she wanted to get a little more up close and personal with them and ended up a little bit trapped on the path.

After hiking back to the car, it was on to our second destination in Dover, the Castle.

While the awesome magnificence of the cliffs had been what nature could create, the castle showed some pretty exceptional examples of what man can create. The fortress itself is quite impressive and the restoration and upkeep of it is really amazing. We walked around the main castle area for quite some time, exploring different buildings, rooms, towers, and tunnels. It was quite impressive to see buildings still standing in good condition from multiple ages in British history. We had also decided to take a guided tour through the tunnels that are built right into the White Cliffs. In the picture above, these tunnels are to the left of the castle itself. The tour is through the area of tunnels that was used primarily during World War II. They had been really created during the Napoleonic Wars and used sporadically since then, but the tour was a description of Operation:Dynamo in which 300,000+ soldiers were rescued from eastern France as the Nazis pursued them. Very impressive and we highly recommend it. During the tour itself, you cannot take photographs, so I'm afraid no pics from there.

Once we had explored all we were going to explore (you really can't beat a site with a Roman era tower and 1980s Cold War bunkers within a few feet of each other), we headed a little further south for a visit to a nature preserve that has been built on the dirt that was excavated to make the Channel Tunnel that connects the UK to France. Although I haven't mentioned it yet, it was extremely windy on this day and basically that meant that after the cliffs and castle, standing outside was getting a bit too much for us (especially our younger team member). Thus, our visit tot he park was pretty short, but it was quite beautiful.

Upon leaving there, we were really in need of a good dinner somewhere, so Denise located a restaurant online that seemed to fit the bill - a family-friendly pub not too far off the M road that we were taking back to Horley for our second night in that B&B. The Pheasant was one of our best dinner experiences during the whole trip and we were quite glad to find it (even after the the Iphone Maps app sent us into a small neighborhood first and then the wrong direction from there - thankfully a very nice barmaid at another pub helped us find what we were looking for). Finally, we were back to Horley and very ready for sleep after a long day!

Day Three - Southwest of London Part Two

Now it is time to continue our tale of day 3 in the Southwest and South of England. After the early morning at Stonehenge, we had a large breakfast at the Amesbury Archer Harvester restaurant. Kind-of the UK equivalent to Bob Evans. Not exactly the same, but quite similar. We then headed to Salisbury for the cathedral there. Called the "single most beautiful structure in England" by Bill Bryson (my favorite writer), it certainly lived up to the billing.

On the left we see the sunlight coming through the stained glass in the quire.


On the right is the oldest working clock in England (and possibly the entire world) which dates from the late 1300's.

In addition, we got to one of the original copies of the Magna Carta that is celebrating it's 800th birthday this year. Amazing considering that I usually manage to lose important papers within a day or two.

The fine face pictured to the right was also found in the Salisbury Cathedral. I liked the looks of him, so here he is!

Following the visit to the Cathedral we headed further south so that we could visit some other sites in the area and also enjoy the southern coast of England. Our next stop was Titchfield Abbey. Quite a challenge to get to (two wrong turns and a stop at a garden shop for directions), it began life as an Abbey, but following the move to the Anglican church, it was turned into a private residence. Not much of the original Abbey remains, but the remains to the residence (with small parts of the Abbey) is quite impressive. Because of the change in church, most remnants of the Catholicism were removed from any property in the possession of the crown, but some small bit remained.


Along the route to our next destination, we stopped to pick up some groceries at Waitrose so that we could have a picnic lunch. We decided that another welcoming face would make for a great picnic location, so we dined inside the outer walls of Portchester Castle.

 After our meal of bread, butter, cheese, grapes, and crisps, we toured the castle itself. This one had an excellent audio tour that we really enjoyed - it had a couple different characters and told the history of the castle along with somewhat personal stories. Very enjoyable. Here is the view from the first floor and below is the view from the room looking out on the church and the water within the outer walls.

After the tour of the castle, we walked the full perimeter of the outer wall. The outer wall itself is pretty impressive. Dating from the 3rd century, the Roman walls seem to have withstood the test of time better than the main portions of the castle which are between 700 and 1000 years younger! I particularly liked the idea of something very young which would likely only live for a few days in front of something that has seen close to 2000 years of life.

After the castle, it was simply the long drive to Horley, where we were staying at a bed and breakfast for the next two nights. The dinner in Horley was not altogether memorable, although the beverages enjoyed will be shared later! See you on the East Coast soon.