A Traveling Fool

November 17, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Invergordon, Inverness, Urquhart Castle & Loch Ness

This was my fourth time in this part of Scotland. On two of the other three trips, I had gone out on Loch Ness on a boat. We had a very pleasant ride both times but hadn’t seen Nessie. That was fine with me. I wasn’t certain that I especially wanted to meet her face to face. I definitely didn’t want to end up as lunch or possibly an appetizer.

On none of those prior tours did I have the opportunity to explore Urquhart Castle. I had taken photos from out on the water or from up above it. I had envied the people who I would see climbing around on the ruins. I guess I just needed to get on the right tour.

We docked at Invergordon and rode a tour coach to Inverness. Along the way, we saw some North Sea oil platforms. We passed by the Black Isle and we drove around Inverness a bit before heading to Loch Ness.

In Inverness, we passed by the old Victorian hotel where we had stayed on the first trip to Inverness. I had fond memories of that hotel and the dinner we had there. It had a lovely atmosphere and good food. We also passed by Inverness Castle on the other side of the River Ness. Shortly before reaching Urquhart Castle, we crossed the Caledonian Canal.

The visitor center and visitor parking are mostly underground except for the side facing the castle. This allows for great views of the castle and the loch from the visitor center.

When heading down to the castle, a full-size reproduction of a trebuchet awaits. This is a counterweight trebuchet, which is a type of catapult that uses a rotating arm with a sling attached to the tip of it to launch a projectile. Its design allows it to launch projectiles of greater weight at a much greater distance than traditional catapults. Although the trebuchet itself is a reproduction, the balls sitting by it are the real thing. They were found at Urquhart Castle.

Although there is some debate about whether or not Urquhart was the location of a Pictish fort that was visited by St Columba in 567 (and where he reportedly encountered the Loch Ness Monster), our tour guide stated that the remains of a Pictish fort were beneath the oldest part of the castle. This is a motte and shell keep built upon medieval foundations that date back to sometime between the 5^th and 11^th centuries. It sits up on the highest mound in the castle complex on what they call the Upper Bailey.

Despite the castle being mostly ruins, it is a fascinating place to explore. Urquhart is one of the largest castles in Scotland. It is also quite old (the actual castle remains range from the 12^th through the 16^th centuries) and sits in a gorgeous location. The day we were there was beautiful. The temperature was mild and there was no rain. A perfect day for climbing around and exploring the ruins of the castle. The upper portions of the Grant Tower weren’t open to exploration, however, due to safety concerns. I was able to go up one level and down to the cellar, but not to the top.

From the Grant Tower (16^th century on 14^th century foundations) I did have some wonderful views of the loch and of the rest of the castle. It was easy to see the remains of the private living quarters plus the Great Hall and the kitchen. There were some good views of the Upper Bailey as well. The castle even had a water gate which allowed it to be supplied from the loch when under siege by land. The way that the Grant Tower was built allowed it to be defended independently of the rest of the castle.

As always when I am exploring a particularly interesting castle, the time for me to remain became short fairly quickly. I decided to give the gatehouse a thorough exploration before heading back up to the visitor center. I found a kiln on one side and a prison on the other. The kiln was used to dry grain before it would be ground into flour. Traces of both oats and barley have been found there.

There had once been a couple more stories of the gatehouse. But it had been blown up back during the Jacobite uprising to keep the castle from being used as a potential fortress by the Jacobites.

The visitor’s center had the obligatory gift shop plus a café. There were also exhibits of several of the archaeological finds from the site. I would be more than happy to visit Urquhart again and explore some more.

I had signed up for a spa treatment, for once I returned to the ship, called Northern Stillness. The description had said that it was a restful massage of neck, shoulders and back, followed by a blueberry mask. While relaxing with the mask, my hands and feet would be massaged. Sounded good to me. But when I got into my stateroom on that first day back in London, the instructions regarding the Northern Stillness said that I should disrobe in my stateroom and go to the spa in just a robe and slippers. It turned out that it would be a full body massage and a blueberry body mask.

When I got back to the ship from our visit to the castle, I had time for a short lunch before undressing and heading to the spa. I did point out the scar next to my spin from surgery just three years ago and mentioned that it was still sensitive. Other than that, I was fine with being pummeled. When I had some physical therapy for my lower back the prior year, my favorite part had been the massage.

I figured this treatment would be quite restful once I got past the fact that I was naked and my masseur was male. I had a sheet over me that was moved around to supply me with some modesty while allowing various parts of my body to be worked on. Once the blueberry body mask was applied, I was essentially wrapped up like a mummy to let it all be absorbed into my pores before having my hands, feet, face and scalp also massaged. Overall it was an 80 minute treatment.

After getting dressed for dinner, I had my usual Lemon Drop Martini at our evening discussion on the Mystery of the Lewis Chessmen, followed by dinner. I felt very relaxed and my skin felt soft and smooth. I would be quite happy do that same treatment or a similar one again. In fact I have one in mind offered by one of the hotels I will be staying in during a trip in 2025.

Next time – Fascinating Shetland

November 10, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Linlithgow Palace – Birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots

With the many trips I have taken to Scotland over the years, I have been to a lot of places associated with Mary Queen of Scots. Places where she lived. Multiple places where she was imprisoned. Where she gave birth to her son. Where her personal secretary was murdered by her 2nd husband (Lord Darnley) and his cronies. Where her 2nd husband died. But Linlithgow is where Mary Stuart was born.

I had originally signed up to see Scone Palace, but that excursion had been canceled when not enough people signed up for it. Of all of the other excursions, the only other two that I had not done before were Broomhall (the home of the Family Bruce), and Linlithgow Palace. Broomhall was sold out by that time, so I signed up for Linlithgow Palace. This was an included tour. No additional charge.

The site on which the castle stands has been occupied for as far back as Roman times (2,000 years ago). King David I of Scotland founded the town of Linlithgow (meaning “the loch in the damp hollow”) and built a royal manor there in the 11^th century. In 1424 a fire partially destroyed the town and much of the manor as well.

King James I rebuilt the manor as a grand Royal Residence and also rebuilt the Church of St Michael. Linlithgow Palace became one of the principle Scottish royal residences throughout the 15^th and 16^th centuries. Mary’s father, James V, was born there in 1512 and she was born there in 1542.

After Mary’s son, King James VI of Scotland, left Scotland to become King James I of England after Queen Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, the palace was rarely used and fell into disrepair. It was finally ‘accidentally’ burned out in 1746 by the Duke of Cumberland’s men.

During our visit to the palace, we listened to our tour guide give us a history of the palace and point a few things out while we hung out in the inner close by the fountain. There were several benches on which to sit, so I did that for a while and then began to circle the fascinating fountain to take photos of it from all angles. We were then set free to explore the palace at our own pace. I headed up the Queen’s Turnpike to the first floor and the Bed Chamber.

I continued on from there, photographing the Presence Chamber, the King’s Hall, and a statue of Mary Queen of Scots from one of the windows in the King’s Hall. Passing the King’s Turnpike (and taking a photo of it), I entered the museum and explored its contents. When I was done in there, I checked out another Hall and the Chapel, taking a photo of the Church of Saint Michael from one of the windows there.

I found a very interesting old door (but likely not original) that was closed and locked. I wondered where it led. Then I discovered another very interesting set of really old stairs. I wanted to see where they led but they appeared to be blocked part of the way up. That is one of the things about ruined castles. You never know when something may be blocked, falling down, or missing entirely.

Next came the Great Hall, which was also known as the “Lyon Chalmer”. This was the largest room in the palace and had a properly gigantic fireplace at one end. At the other end, I found the entrance to the Court Kitchen.

With a little further exploration and my natural curiosity, I ventured down a long passageway within the wall alongside the Great Hall. That was quite rewarding. I found another turnpike (this one unnamed) and took it back down to the ground floor where I wandered through another interesting corridor, discovered a guardroom, and eventually came out near the entrance (and the gift shop).

At this point, I discovered that Christine and Sherry were also at Linlithgow on another tour coach. They had arrived after me, but were already in the gift shop. Most of my explorations had been a solitary endeavor. I had some company in the Bedchamber, the Presence Chamber and the King’s Hall. But then was entirely on my own in the museum, another hall and the Chapel, until the Great Hall, where I encountered a handful of people. After the Great Hall, I was completely alone again until the gift shop. It was crowded in there.

We still had some time before my coach would return to the ship (theirs would be about 15 minutes after mine), so we left the palace to explore the town. We were pretty far along the main drag (I had purchased a wooden thingy with which to stir my porridge) when it began to rain fairly heavily. We ducked into a café where I ordered a chocolate shake and a pastry while my companions ordered a cream tea (tea with scones, cream and jam). Fittingly, the site where the café now stands was once the location of the bakery for the palace.

Later, after our evening lecture on the Highland Clearances (and my Lemon Drop Martini), the three of us had dinner together again. I had some salmon stuffed with Spinach Florentine and crabmeat, some roasted vegetables, and a very nice Italian rosé.

Next time – Invergordon, Inverness, Urquhart Castle & Loch Ness

November 3, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: 17th Century Orkney – Skaill House

Literally a stone’s throw from Skara Brae stands a 17^th century manor house built over a pre-Norse burial site and surrounded by various burial mounds. It has been enlarged over the centuries. Nowadays the house is open for tours. Parts of the building that have been redeveloped into apartments are available as holiday rentals.

On my first visit there, once I finished photographing Skara Brae, I traipsed through the mud towards Skaill House. I had the very odd experience of being rained upon heavily on one side of the arch next to the house, only to find that the rain ended abruptly when I walked through the arch. I turned around to look back through the arch and could see it was still definitely raining on the other side. Interestingly enough, a large stretch of the pre-Norse burial site lies next to the house right where I was standing. I was walking over graves from that point to the entrance porch on the other side of that part of the house.

When the flagstone floor in the Main Hall was replaced by Oak flooring in the 20^th century, more skeletons were discovered there. There has been a debate about whether the skeletons were Norse or Pictish. They seem to have settled on pre-Norse. Before the Vikings, but maybe not necessarily the Picts. The current owner thinks that either they didn’t know the graves were there, or they weren’t concerned about it. According to my DNA, I have both Viking and ancient Briton. In this part of the UK, that likely would have been the Picts.

When coming from Skara Brae, it seems that the house is being entered at the back. The rear of the house, is actually facing Skara Brae (although that had once been the front of the house). But the main road now comes to the property on the side of the loch, which is the opposite of where Skara Brae sits on the edge of the ocean. The main drive comes up to the house from the loch. The East Porch, which is the front entrance to the house, was built in 1878.

Entering through the East Porch, the Entrance Hall was created from a storage room and pantry when the main entrance was moved. I showed the woman sitting there my ticket and bought a guidebook for £4.00. The Dining Room was the next room. The dishes in the display cabinet were once owned by Captain Cook and were brought to Skaill House in 1780 by Captain King after Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii.

The Library, which had an interesting atmosphere, is the room with the odd round window. The portrait next to the window is of the son of a former owner of the house (Colonel Scarth) who was killed at the age of 14 from an accident with a horse. The round window was created to allow for light while making room for a flue pipe to reach the gable chimney from a boiler that had been installed near the library.

The Main Hall and the wing to the south of it were added, along with the main staircase, in roughly 1790. At that time the road was to the west of the house (on the Skara Brae side), so the main entrance was moved to the Main Hall, where it remained until the road was moved to the east side of the house.

The Main Hall contains a large, dark cupboard, called the Armada Chest. The panels of the chest are said to have come from one of the Spanish galleons which sank in 1588. A similar chest is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Visitors are sent up the main staircase to see the rooms on the floor above.

The large Drawing Room sits in the south wing (above the dining room and library) and has views of both the loch to the east and the bay to the west. My photos of the room show the doors of a closet containing glassware open on the east-facing end of the room, and a less formal area on the west facing end.

From there the former dressing room and bedroom of Colonel Scarth are used as exhibit rooms. Just before entering the 17^th century bedroom of Bishop Graham, I came across a part of the house I had not seen when I was there in 2009. This was the dressing room and bedroom of Colonel Scarth’s wife. They have been kept as they were from the early 20^th century.

It is said that when visitors were able to enter the rooms and take a closer look at her belongings, her ghost wasn’t happy and let it be known. Once the rooms were roped off at the doorways, she settled down. Skaill House is reportedly very, very haunted with ghosts from many different centuries in many parts of the house. So you never know who you might encounter.

On this visit, as I did on my previous visit, I headed straight for Skaill House after spending loads of time at Skara Brae. After touring the house, I visited its gift shop and bought some beautiful, silver, Celtic earrings before heading to the reproduction of one of the houses at Skara Brae. I still had a decent amount of time before we needed to get back on the tour coach.

I checked out the visitor center which seemed to be larger than I remembered it from 2009. I found a couple necklaces for my sister-in-laws there and had a nice cup of hot chocolate to warm me up. It was quite nippy the closer one was to the sea. So spending so much time at House #1 of Skara Brae, which was right next to the sea necessitated a warming drink. I still got my usual Lemon Drop Martini at that evening’s presentation on “Roman Britain” however.

When we returned to the ship, we found some pipers and Scottish dancers performing for us just before the ship sailed. They were on the same side of the ship as my stateroom so I could get the best view of them from up above. A couple of photos are here with this post.

I was very glad to see Skaill House again, but don’t think I would be interested in spending the night. At least not completely on my own.

Next time – Linlithgow Palace – Birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots

October 27, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: A Neolithic Orcadian Village – Skara Brae

After a quick lunch in the stateroom back at the ship, we headed out for the afternoon excursion of Skara Brae and Skaill House. We drove through Kirkwall on the way and approached our destination from the inland side. I recognized Skaill House from across the loch even though, when I had been there before, we had only been on the ocean side. It is a large, sprawling house — mostly two stories, but with a three story tower. I quickly raised my phone and took a photo.

The tour coach ended up parking just north of the house, not too far from the visitor center. We got off of the coach and immediately headed along the path to Skara Brae. Since it is below the ground, there isn’t much that can be seen until you are right on top of it. Then, what you see is mesmerizing.

This was how regular people lived in this part of the world at least as far back as 3180 to 2500 BC. Skara Brae is on the Bay of Skaill on the largest island in Orkney, known as Mainland. It consists of ten earthen houses, with stone interior walls, clustered together. Some of them have the remains of stone furniture and even sewer systems.

It is the best preserved Neolithic village in Europe. It also happens to be older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids. I am fascinated by Skara Brae both because of its age and the fact that the buildings were the homes of regular people. Not palaces or tombs.

Skara Brae was discovered when a nasty storm hit Scotland in the winter of 1850. The top of the hill containing the houses was ripped off revealing parts of some of them. Excavations began to reveal the rest of them.

The houses were built into mounds of domestic waste known as middens, which created some stability for the mortarless stone walls while also acting as insulation. They are not certain what was burned in the firepits as peat was not readily available as fuel until after Skara Brae had already been abandoned. Possible fuels could have been animal dung, dried seaweed or driftwood. Trees have never been in abundance on Orkney.

Looking at the photos I took, you can see that the furniture includes dressers, storage boxes, cupboards, and even rudimentary beds. The doors to each house were made of stone slabs which used bars made of bone to shut them. Beads and painted pots were left behind in many of the houses, which suggests that the inhabitants may have left in a hurry.

One of the buildings, House 8, is different from the rest. It has no dresser or storage boxes and has been divided into smaller areas. There also appears to be a flue as well as fragments of bone, antler, and stone. It is thought that this house, which also is a stand-alone structure not surrounded by midden, was used to make tools.

House #1 is the most complete. It has a fire pit in the center. A dresser is against the wall bordering the sea. When facing the dresser, the men’s bed is at the left and the women’s bed at the right. You can see storage boxes scattered around and also see some cupboards built into the walls.

It is believed that the people who built Skara Brae primarily raised cattle, sheep and pigs. Evidence shows that barley was cultivated. Fish bones and shells were also found.

Artefacts include lumps of red ochre (indicating the possibility of body painting), and awls, needles, knives, beads, shovels, small bowls, and ivory pins. These items were made of animal, fish, bird, and whalebone, as well as walrus ivory and orca teeth.

Additional excavations in 1972 reached layers that had remained under water and therefore contained items that would have been destroyed if not having been preserved in the water. These included a wooden handle and a piece of rope made from a twisted skein of heather.

On my previous visit to Skara Brae, it had been raining quite heavily there too. This made the paths and grass upon which we needed to walk to be able to look down into the houses rather treacherous.

On this trip, I was able to take my time and thoroughly photograph everything. It was cold since I was near the sea, but it wasn’t raining. I spent a lot of time both in the real Skara Brae and visiting the reproduction of what one of the houses might have looked like when it was inhabited. It actually seemed rather cozy. It would have been interesting to know how many people lived in a house.

Next time – 17^th Century Orkney – Skaill House

October 20, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Prehistoric Orkney – And You Thought Stonehenge Was Old

I have divided Orkney into three posts as there was so much to see there, spread across two excursions. This first part has to do with Maeshowe, the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, and the Ness of Brodgar. This was the morning excursion, which ended with a visit to the town of Stromness.

I am really fascinated by ancient civilizations and archaeology, so this was my second trip to Orkney. The islands there have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, etcetera). Orkney became part of the Pictish kingdom by the late Iron Age.

In 875, Orkney was colonized and annexed by the Kingdom of Norway. This was around the time that my Norse ancestors turned up in Orkney. The king at the time was Harald Fairhair (Harald Hårfagne). Rognvald Eysteinsson was the first Jarl (or Earl) of both Orkney and Shetland. He was a close relative and ally of Harald Fairhair. His nicknames were “Rognvald the Wise” and “Rognvald the Powerful”. He died in about 890.

After a few centuries, the then fully Norse Orkney (the Picts had been assimilated) was absorbed into Scotland in 1472 following the failure of the Norwegian king to pay a dowry to James III of Scotland for his daughter, Margaret of Denmark.

Orkney consists of Mainland, the North Isles and the South Isles. The people are referred to as Orcadians. The climate is mild; the soil fertile; the most important sector of the economy is agriculture.

The ship was docked at Kirkwall, the largest city in Orkney. It has an airport with regular flights to various parts of Scotland. St Magnus Cathedral was built in honor of the martyrdom of Magnus Erlendsson, who was killed in April of 1116 by his cousin Haakon Paulsson. The people in power all seem to have been related in some way.

The last time I had been in Orkney, it was raining quite heavily as we ventured into the area where Maeshowe, the Standing Stones of Stenness, and the Ring of Brodgar were located. During that earlier visit, I could barely see Maeshowe, much less photograph it.

Maeshowe is a chambered cairn and passageway grave that was probably built around 2800 BC. This specific type of tomb, with a long, low entrance passageway (about three feet in height) leading to a square (or rectangular) chamber from which there is access to a number of side cells, was only built on Orkney. It is, however, somewhat similar to Newgrange in Ireland so there might have been a link between the two cultures.

The Norsemen left behind their graffiti when they first discovered and entered the tomb sometime in about the 12th century. Of course, their graffiti was in runes. It still said the usual “Harald was here” though.

Begun in about 3100 BC, the Standing Stones of Stenness are possibly the oldest henge site in the British Isles. Originally there were thought to have been 12 stones. There are four left. My attempts at photographing them the first time I was there ended up with some rain-streaked, blurry shots taken through the tour coach window. This time I actually got a couple of decent photos.

The Ring of Brodgar is the only major henge and stone circle in Britain that is almost a perfect circle. The interior of the circle, which was erected between 2500 and 2000 BC has never been excavated. It is the last of the great Neolithic monuments built on the Ness of Brodgar.

Surrounded by a ditch, the circle consists of 27 stones out of its original 60. Despite the torrential rain experienced during the first visit (in 2009) we were actually allowed to walk around amongst the stones. Since the rain was mainly horizontal, due to the high winds and lack of trees, I hid myself behind one of the stones and photographed what I could from there.

On this trip, we were greeted by a herd of cattle. We were not allowed to enter the circle. But we could walk around the perimeter of the entire site and photograph it from all angles. I got some shots of nearby burial mounds too.

Upon leaving the Ring of Brodgar and heading towards the village of Stromness, we passed the Ness of Brodgar excavation. This site (from 2004 to 2024) has uncovered about 40 structures. It was built roughly between 3500 and 2400 BC. They were just about to start covering it over again with the same dirt that was previously removed from the site.

The problem is that, while the stones used at Skara Brae are hard beach stones, the stones used here are quarried stones that are being eroded by being exposed to the elements. The only way to protect it all is to cover it up. They have loads of photos, data, and items they have unearthed that they can study for many years to come. Then, when the technology to possibly preserve the site and building remains is at hand, one of those future generations can dig it up again and still have something to see.

At Stromness (population roughly 2,500), I bought a couple of watercolors of the Stones of Stenness and a painted fridge magnet of the Ring of Brodgar. Since I didn’t have a lot of time in between this excursion and the afternoon tour to have lunch, I also picked up a sausage roll, some crisps, and an energizing chocolate bar to consume in my stateroom before heading out again to see more really, really old stuff.

Next time – A Neolithic Orcadian Village – Skara Brae

October 13, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Ullapool & A Beautiful, Scenic Drive in the Scottish Highlands

We weren’t due to arrive at Ullapool until noon. Our passports were being returned to us at 10am to 11am. They had been held onto until we were away from Ireland (and Northern Ireland). I slept in until 8am, had breakfast, and was in the line to get my passport by 10am. I had a lecture I wanted to attend at 10:30am by Russell Lee – “Beyond Braveheart: The First Scottish War of independence”.

Now I love history, which means that I was not at all happy with the film Braveheart and its rabid inaccuracies. For instance, Braveheart was not William Wallace’s nickname, it was Robert the Bruce’s. Kilts were not worn at that time. They did not come into fashion until much later. The Scots did not wear blue paint into battle. That was the Picts and many centuries earlier. Actually the Picts went into battle totally naked and were heavily tattooed. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately Russell Lee felt pretty much the same as me about the inaccuracies. A good share of his lecture was spent correcting them.

After the lecture, there was time for a leisurely lunch. Then everyone going on an excursion met back in the theatre (at 12:20pm for my group) to wait for each group to be called to board the tender.

I had been to the village of Ullapool (roughly 1,500 inhabitants) before and had loved its beautiful setting. Ullapool had been founded in 1788 as a herring port. It is still used as a fishing port, a yachting haven, and a ferry port (as well as a stop for cruise ships). We were tendered to the docks and met by a piper. This was our first stop in Scotland, so we received the traditional Scottish welcome. I know people tend to either love or hate bagpipes. I love them. I even have recordings of a bagrock group or two (rock music and even some jazz played by bands incorporating bagpipes along with the usual rock instruments). You haven’t fully lived until you have heard a duet between an electric guitar and bagpipes.

I had wanted to visit Castle Leod, home of Clan Mackenzie, but it was sold out before I could sign up. In addition to the castle being sold out, an excursion to an island avian sanctuary was also sold out. So I had a walking tour of the town, an excursion to a garden, a hike at Knockan Crag (labeled as “demanding”), or a scenic drive through the area of Assynt from which to choose. I picked the last one.

Since the previous day in Belfast had been so strenuous, it was probably a good thing that I spent most of my time on this excursion looking out of the window of the tour coach at the gorgeous scenery of the Scottish Highlands.

Assynt is a very sparsely populated area in the southwest of Sutherland in Scotland. One reason for the sparse population is what is known as the Highland Clearances. This took place between the years 1750 to 1860 when a very large number of tenants in the highlands and islands of Scotland were evicted from their homes. Some were just kicked out and many were transported to other countries. This came about when the landlords needed to increase their income because of debt. A large number of the landlords felt that grazing sheep was more profitable than having tenant farmers.

Our first stop was Knockan Crag. This was where some of my shipmates had gone hiking. It was the first thrust fault to be discovered in the world. Due to horizontal tectonic activity, older rocks had been pushed up over younger rocks. There were some lovely views from up there.

A small hamlet named Inchnadamph is known for its “Bone Caves”. These contain relics of reindeer, Artic fox, Eurasian lynx, and brown bear – all dating to 47,000 BCE. They have also found the only remains of polar bears yet discovered in Scotland. Plus there are some human skeletons dated to the 3^rd millennium BCE. We didn’t stop and explore anything there, however, just sort of waved as we went by.

We stopped to take photos of the ruins of Ardveck Castle and Calda House. The castle had been built in around 1490 by the Macleods of Assynt. Clan Mackenzie attacked and captured Ardveck in 1672 and took control of the Assynt lands. In 1726, the castle owner’s wife wanted a new place to live. Calda House was built. A fire destroyed the house in 1737 and a storm badly damaged the castle in 1795.

We were apparently behind time when we arrived in the village of Lochinver. We were only given a half hour to be there. I spent a good 25 of those 30 minutes in the line for the loo. Not much time for any exploration before I needed to be back on the tour coach again. Lochinver was on a sea loch and is a fishing port. I managed a photo of a war memorial and of some heather before heading back along the road to where the coach was waiting.

Back on the ship, we had a lecture by Dennis Fitzsimonds on “Pre-Historic Shetland, Orkney and Caithness” at 6:30pm. At 7:30pm, Dr Caroline Malloy gave a talk on “The Orkney Islands – Archaeology, Climate Change and Preservation”. Despite having a very late dinner that night, I still managed to get what appeared to be the last of the escargot (I ate three of them before remembering to take a photo). With that, I also had some crab legs, mussels and roasted sweet potato. I went with a Riesling for my wine and some Crepe Suzette for dessert. One of the few times I indulged in a dessert.

Next time – Prehistoric Orkney – And You Thought Stonehenge Was Old

October 6, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Belfast – Hillsborough Castle

Back at the ship, I had enough time to swallow down some pain pills, grab my cane, and get some lunch before heading back out again to visit Hillsborough Castle. This is the official royal residence in Belfast. There were other groups exploring the gardens, but ours was the only group in the castle itself at that time. This was another private tour.

I always take a collapsible cane along when traveling, just in case. Fortunately, this would be the only time I would need it on this trip. All of that standing and listening during the last two hours of the Titanic walking tour had been a bit much for me. A nice dip in the thermal pool or a lounge in the whirlpool when I got back from seeing Hillsborough Castle would help. It actually was too, and I was much better by the following morning.

Hillsborough Castle is more of an 18^th century Irish Big House than a castle. But the Hill family who built the house and founded the town, called it a castle to try to make both the house and themselves seem to be more “old money”. Hillsborough wasn’t built as a country house. It was always a townhouse.

In 1925, Hillsborough was sold to the British government to be the residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland and then the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. It had these roles for over 50 years and was called Government House.

The house was the location of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. In 2002, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh stayed there as part of the Golden Jubilee tour. US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair both visited the castle in 2003. Peace talks were held there in 2010 between the British and Irish governments and representatives of Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). In 2014 Hillsborough Castle became a royal palace when Historic Royal Palaces took it over and began restoring both the house and grounds.

Our tour of the castle unfortunately didn’t allow any photography indoors. We began at the State Entrance Hall. This has been the entrance hall to the building since it was built in the 18th century. According to the castle’s website: “By entering the castle through these doors, you are following in the footsteps of royals, politicians, pop stars and many other distinguished guests, including Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the current Royal Family.”

The Ante Room formed part of the original house, which was built in the mid-18th century. It was created from a much smaller hallway in 1936, following a devastating fire in 1934.

The Throne Room was built as an extension in 1797. It was originally three rooms, which were combined to create a grand Saloon in the 1840s. Queen Elizabeth II received guests at a ball to celebrate her coronation here in 1953. Still the grandest room in the house, the Throne Room is now decorated with green silk damask fabric and used for investitures, citizenship ceremonies, weddings and an annual concert given by King Charles III.

The Red Room was originally the Drawing Room of the house and has been the setting for historic political meetings since the 1970s. It was in this room that Queen Elizabeth II met President Mary McAleese of Ireland in 2005 – the first time that the two heads of state had met on the island of Ireland. Royal visitors would have entered the gardens through the French window. In the 1960s it had to be lowered so that the petite Princess Margaret could step over the sill comfortably.

The State Dining Room has been in constant use since the house was built. The doors to the kitchens and ancillary areas are shielded by leather screens so that servants could enter and leave discreetly. During state dinners, the host is expected to sit at the center of the dining table with their back to the fireplace. Queen Elizabeth II continued this tradition during her first visit as Queen during her Coronation Tour in 1953.

The State Drawing Room dates from around 1810, but was rebuilt in 1936 after the fire in 1934 that destroyed many parts of the original building. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement here in 1985. The present decorative scheme is based on the inter-war ideal of a country house drawing room, in colors favored by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Contemporary works by Irish artists have been chosen for the walls, including paintings belonging to King Charles III.

I especially liked the State Drawing Room. Despite its large size, it was quite cozy with the furniture grouped in intimate seating areas. In addition to the paintings by Irish artists, there was also a painting done by King Charles III. My favorite was a large painting of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, that had been done when she was 90 years old. As a painter myself, I really admired how the artist executed the painting and how they evoked the late Queen’s personality.

The gardens were quite beautiful and laid out in such a way that the feeling was that of being in the countryside rather than in town. I was very glad to have seen Hillsborough Castle. There wasn’t a tremendous amount of people there that day, so I could take my time and periodically sit down to contemplate it all. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

That evening, we had a talk from Russell Lee on “Mary, Elizabeth & Mary – A Tale of Three Queens”. I had one of my Lemon Drop Martinis, relaxed, and enjoyed it thoroughly. His talks were quite entertaining as well as informative.

Next time – Ullapool & A Beautiful, Scenic Drive in the Scottish Highlands

September 29, 2024September 29, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Belfast – The Titanic

Many years ago a traveling exhibit of the Titanic came to the Union Depot in St Paul, Minnesota. They had quite a few artifacts, including a large section of the ship’s hull. I found it to be absolutely fascinating. A few years after, I was out in New York City as part of a tour of the Eastern seaboard of the US. On the USS Intrepid was a small exhibit with some artifacts from the Titanic. Then, when I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I went to the Maritime Museum (I have a couple of ancestors who were ships captains in that area at the time of the American Revolution) and saw a permanent exhibit of several artifacts from the Titanic.

Halifax was the nearest port from where the ship sank. It was where the survivors and many of the bodies were taken. The graveyard contains several of the people who didn’t survive. Most of the markers had names, but some were marked “unknown”, including the grave of a child.

When I had been to Belfast in 2005, the only memorial to the Titanic was a statue in front of City Hall. The Harland and Wolff cranes, Samson and Goliath, were still there and still being used. But there just didn’t seem to be much interest at that time to highlight the fact that the ship had been built there.

The four hour Titanic Belfast Walk excursion in the morning was listed as “demanding”. They weren’t kidding. We spent the first two hours in the Titanic Belfast Exhibition. That wasn’t too bad. It was a very large exhibit, spread over several floors, but there were benches to sit on here and there. I could pace myself quite well. Demanding or not, I didn’t want to miss it.

The exhibit tells the story of the building of the ship, the maiden voyage and sinking, plus the discovery of the wreckage. It contains the following galleries:

Boomtown Belfast – Belfast at the start of the 20^th century. Includes the original Harland and Wolff shipyard gates and an interactive floor with the construction plans for the Titanic.
The Shipyard – a ride aboard a mini-car up and around a replica of Titanic’s rudder while depicting scenes of the ship being built.
The Launch – overlooking the actual slipway from which the Titanic was launched, scenes are shown of the launch.
The Fit-Out – the first, second and third class cabins are depicted. There is a computer-generated 360 degree tour of the ship from the engine room to the dining salons and the bridge.
The Maiden Voyage – depicts the journey from Belfast to Southampton, and from there to Cherbourg, Cobh and westwards.
The Sinking – the sound of the Morse code SOS messages and the audio of survivors telling their stories can be heard as the image of the sinking ship is projected against a wall of replicas of the life-jackets.
The Aftermath – this part of the exhibition is dominated by a full-size replica of one of the lifeboats. The British and American inquiries into the disaster are depicted. There are also interactive screens to see if a relative might have been part of the crew or one of the passengers.
Myths & Legends – this depicts the movies, plays, books, and poems written about the Titanic and some of the myths and legends perpetuated by them.
Titanic Beneath – the ship is presented as it is now.

I don’t have any difficulty walking. In fact, I enjoy taking walks when I travel to become acclimated to new areas. I also take almost daily walks around the neighborhood or in nearby parks when at home. While onboard the ship, I also took frequent walks just for the exercise.

Standing in one place for a long period of time is another thing. I had some severe injuries to my back several years ago that put me in a back brace for several years. Plus I had some surgery next to my spine (slightly higher up than my previous injuries) in June of 2021 for some cancer. They got it all. But my back continues to be a bit sensitive about too much standing without any place to sit. The second two hours of the excursion were all over the Titanic Quarter to see the actual locations associated with the ship.

Those two hours required an enormous amount of standing while the fellow leading the group droned on and on. If someone asked a question, that meant what seemed like at least another 15 minutes or so while the question was being answered. There was one point when I thought I would just stretch out on the concrete. We did stop outside of a pub and it became quite apparent that the guy was settling in for an especially long discourse. I wondered if I could sneak in, get myself some refreshment, and slip back out before the group noticed. But I didn’t want to run the risk of being left behind. We were being picked up from a different location from where we had been dropped off. I didn’t want to get lost and need to take a taxi back to the ship.

To be fair, the walk did cover a lot of ground. We began at the slipway where the ship was built and from which it was launched before being fitted out. The Nomadic, which was a tender for the Titanic as well as the Olympic was docked not too far away. Our guide said that she was also involved in the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II. She is the last surviving White Star ship in the world.

The former Harland and Wolff offices have been turned into a hotel. Behind the hotel, the enormous gantry cranes called “Samson” and “Goliath” can be seen. In the Titanic Quarter there is a film studio where parts of “Game of Thrones” and other TV shows and movies have been filmed. It is called Titanic Studios.

We also viewed an unexploded bomb from World War II and the HMS Caroline, which is one of the longest serving war ships still in existence. Our last stop was the drydock where the Titanic was fitted out. The earlier slipway had been filled in, but this one had not been altered. So we could see it in its original state.

The SSE Arena, with a capacity of 10,800, is also part of the Titanic Quarter. Sports events and concerts are held there. We drove by it on the way back to the ship.

Next time – Belfast: Hillsborough Castle & Gardens, a Royal Residence.

September 21, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Liverpool – A Gentleman’s Club

With all of the British Gentleman’s Clubs I have seen depicted in films and TV shows over the years (including the comedy series “Jeeves & Wooster” with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie), when I saw that there was a private tour of one of these clubs in Liverpool, I signed up immediately. It seemed like a great opportunity for me to see something that I would not normally be able to see.

Back at the ship, after the Beatles excursion, there was time to have a light lunch before changing my clothes for the private tour of the Athenaeum. They had a dress code according to the information we had been given. I decided to dress up a bit. I wore the same slinky black slacks I had worn for the special dinner at the Chef’s Table restaurant onboard the ship (the one with five courses and four wine pairings). With that I had on a slinky black “cold shoulder” top and some of my new amber earrings and an amber bracelet. I took along a lacy black shawl just in case. Although my friend and I were dressed up, we soon discovered that either very few people in our group read the part about a dress code, or they were ignoring it.

On our way to the club, we went to the university and saw several buildings, including the theatre that had been dedicated by Yoko Ono Lennon. We then drove by some upscale townhouses of the late 18^th century.

When we got off of the coach (which was a double-decker that had groupings of tables seating four people each), we visited the Bluecoat Arts Centre. This was originally founded in 1708 as a charity school. The present building was erected in 1716.

The Athenaeum had been founded in 1797 to augment the education of merchants and other professionals. Liverpool was growing, but not fast enough to be large enough for a university. The club provided a library, plus current newspapers, pamphlets and other reading material for its members. It also provided places for members (called Proprietors, because they all had shares in the club which has always been limited to 500 members) to congregate, discuss, and debate. These days the membership at the Athenaeum includes both men and women.

At the time of the founding of the Athenaeum, there were gentlemen’s clubs in London, but they were either political in nature or mainly for gambling. Express riders, messengers, and coaches were called upon to provide news and information to the club. One of England’s first abolitionists and a founding member of the Athenaeum, William Roscoe, donated numerous books to the club’s library. Maps, globes, and navigation charts were also donated. Over time the library grew into a very highly regarded private literary collection. I was delighted to see that they were quite proud of a book that they have in their collection that I also have in my own – Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Edwin Haviland Miller.

Before we could start our tour, we needed to wait for some of the rooms (especially the dining room) to clear out. They had hosted the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, for lunch and some people were still hanging out. Our host had intended to start up in the dining room and then work our way down to the newsroom. Instead, we began in the newsroom and worked our way up. Too bad, I would have loved to have seen the PM if he was still in the building and maybe said, “Congratulations.”

The newsroom was where people would gather to chat (there is a bar) and to read newspapers, etc. There were several comfy, roomy chairs to settle into. I picked a lovely, leather, high-backed chair like Sherlock Holmes might have sat in to smoke his pipe. Our host, who was a Proprietor, gave us the background history of the club while we enjoyed our comfortable seats. It was about 2:30pm by this time. After the very busy morning I had had, I was starting to get a little bit tired. The friend I was with had also encountered a busy morning and was beginning to fade as well. Fortunately neither one of us nodded off so nobody needed to kick anybody under the low table we were seated around.

We were told a story about a couple of busts in the room. A bust of Napoleon had been given to the club by a French visitor and placed on a shelf in a corner of the room. One of the Proprietors put another shelf above that one and placed a bust of Wellington there. They have been there ever since.

On our way upstairs to the Committee Room, we passed a framed copy of the US Declaration of Independence on the wall. The Committee Room was relatively small and was quickly filled with our group. Not too conducive for taking photographs. There was an old voting box in there, however, as well as a small bust of William Roscoe and a painting of Samuel Johnson (the fellow who wrote the dictionary in 1755).

On the same floor as the Committee Room were the Reading Room and the Library. We were still waiting on the Dining Room above to completely clear out, so we lingered in both of these rooms for a while. In the meantime, refreshments were being prepared for us back in the Newsroom.

With the delay in getting through the Athenaeum, we were the last excursion group back to the ship. It had begun to rain while we were heading to where the coach was waiting for us. I was glad that, even though a lacey shawl is not much help in the rain, I at least had something with me. As soon as we were onboard, the ship was prepared to sail. We were underway very shortly thereafter.

I perked up a bit from the cake and tea we had been given at the Club. I ordered my usual Lemon Drop Martini and joined the Long Beach ladies down front for the lecture on “The Tudors” by Russell Lee. I didn’t feel the need to change clothes for either the lecture or dinner. But I did head back to my stateroom shortly after dinner and called it a night. The next day was going to be another busy one.

Next time – Belfast: The Titanic

September 15, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Liverpool – The Home of the Beatles

When I was about nine years old, I had a next door neighbor who was thirteen. We hit it off very well and began to hang out together. As an early developer, I was already beginning to look like a teenager, so it was fairly easy for me to get away with it. I began to listen to the local radio station that all of the real teens listened to and really appreciated both the Motown music and the British Invasion. A particular British favorite was the Beatles. My favorite Beatle at that time was Paul – the cute one. I knew that his birthday was the 18^th of June and his favorite color was blue. I was more than willing to share that information with anyone who might (or might not) be even slightly interested.

On one of my trips to London, I believe it was in 1997, I had gone on a London Beatles walk. We started at the Marylebone Train Station, where some of the opening scenes of “A Hard Day’s Night” had been filmed. Then we moved on to the flat where the “Two Virgins” photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was taken, the registry office where Paul & Linda and George & Patti were married, the EMI offices building (empty, but still recognizable), the former Apple clothing shop, the restaurant from “Help”, and Jane Asher’s father’s home (where Jane & Paul had lived for three years). Then we set off for St John’s Wood to Abbey Road Studios and the famous crosswalk where the Abbey Road album cover had been shot.

Many times I had thought of taking the train to Liverpool to explore everything Beatles that was there. I finally booked the excursion in 2019 to be a part of a trip I would be making to London in 2020. But the pandemic happened and that trip was cancelled. One of the many factors that made me decide to do this particular cruise was that we would be spending an entire day in Liverpool. The very first shore excursion of the entire cruise for which I signed up was called The Beatles Experience.

After a short general tour of the city, our first stop was the Cavern Club. Located on Matthew Street, the club was originally a jazz club. But they would allow skiffle music, which John Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen, would play. As time went on, the Quarrymen went through a few name changes before becoming The Beatles and a mainstay at the Cavern Club. I was really quite thrilled to see it.

Next we headed over to the Beatles Story exhibition at the Royal Albert Dock. They had early Quarrymen instruments as well as other early incarnations (The Rainbows, The Silver Beatles). The interior of the Cavern Club from the time that the Beatles played there had been recreated as well. There was so much to see. There were handwritten sheets of music, replicas of the Sgt Pepper uniforms, the Magical Mystery Tour bus, the inside of the Yellow Submarine. The exhibits were endless and continued on to the Beatles’ split and their separate careers afterwards. Absolutely mindblowing.

When I had worked in the recording industry in NYC for record producer Phil Ramone in the late 70s/early 80s, I had been blessed to have the opportunity to meet both George Harrison and John Lennon. When I met George, I was still quite new to the business and was very shy and nervous (I was also quite young – just out of school). Being that he was also fairly shy, it was a brief encounter which I nonetheless treasured. By the time I met John, I was determined not to let my shyness be a hindrance (especially after a disastrous meeting with Todd Rundgren when I shut down completely) and was actually able to conduct a relatively decent conversation with him. At least he didn’t act as if he thought I was a complete idiot. I do have to say that he was quite kind to me and went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. In between George and John, I also met George Martin, their former producer. He was quite charming and I was quite tongue-tied.

In the shop I purchased some baseball-style caps for my brothers and myself (they are also huge Beatles fans) and a T-shirt from the Cavern Club. Then we were off to Penny Lane.

After taking photos of both road signs, we got back on the coach and drove along Penny Lane while listening to the song. I did manage to get photos of the “shelter in the middle of a roundabout” and the barber shop. Although it isn’t the same barber shop as in the song, it is in the same location. There was also a statue of John near the roundabout of which I also caught a photo.

From there we headed to Strawberry Fields. Located in the suburb of Woolton, Strawberry Fields had been a children’s home when John Lennon used to play there as a child on the grounds. The original children’s home was torn down in the 70s with a newer building put up. The children’s home closed in 2005 and the site is now run as a tribute to John Lennon by the Salvation Army (who acquired the place when the children’s home closed).

There wasn’t any way for the coach to get anywhere near George Harrison’s childhood home. But we were able to see John’s Aunt Mimi’s home, called Mendips, at 251 Menlove Avenue in Woolton (where he grew up). We got off the coach and walked down the street to Paul’s childhood home. This was where he lived from 1955 to 1964. The address was 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton.

Ringo grew up in a number of houses. We went by a couple of them. The first was his birthplace on Madryn Street in Dingle. The other was the house they moved to next at 10 Admiral Grove, also in Dingle.

Our Beatles Experience was over and we headed back to the ship.

Next time – Liverpool: A Gentleman’s Club.