Scotland – Page 3 – A Traveling Fool

May 31, 2020

Rosslyn Chapel, Melrose Abbey, and Part of Hadrian’s Wall

In addition to Rabbie’s, the other small group tour company out of Edinburgh that I really liked was the Heart of Scotland. They left from the same location as Rabbie’s and had a day trip to Rosslyn Chapel, Melrose Abbey and the portion of Hadrian’s Wall known as Housesteads Fort. So I hopped on the tour coach with about 10 other people this time and we headed for the village of Roslin.

I don’t know why the spelling of the chapel name is different from the spelling of the village name. The castle is also spelled like the village even though it belongs to the same family as the chapel. That family is named Sinclair or St Clare. St Clare was the original name of the Norman French family. They arrived in Scotland in the 11^th century, building a castle at Roslin in the early 14^th century. They got around, having spent quite a bit of time up in Caithness in northern Scotland and on Orkney – a group of islands north of mainland Scotland. I saw loads of Sinclair castles up in Caithness on a previous trip.

The castle at Roslin was heavily damaged during the Rough Wooing Wars between Scotland and England during the time of Henry VIII. The East Range of the castle was rebuilt in the 16^th century and has been steadily inhabited ever since. It only looks like a house from up above, but it is located on sheer cliffs above the River Esk and has three more levels under the two that can be readily seen. These lower levels were built directly into the rock upon which the castle sits.

My previous visit to Rosslyn Chapel was during a very heavy rainstorm. So the small group of us that went there on the city bus from Edinburgh didn’t go down the rather steep dirt trail from the chapel to the castle. It was pretty much a rushing stream of water instead of a path. I was really glad to be back at the chapel so I could see the castle.

Another reason I was happy to be back was that the chapel had been completely encased in scaffolding at the time of the 2009 visit. For the 2016 visit, the repairs had been made, the scaffolding was off, and the entire building could be seen. It was nearly as exquisite outside as inside. They don’t allow photos inside. They sell them in the gift shop. I had hoped that they would allow interior photography this time, but they didn’t.

What wasn’t the least bit disappointing was the talk given inside by a very knowledgeable guide with a great sense of humor. The building is not all that large, so a fairly central seat enables the listener to gaze around in awe and see everything the guide talks about. After they are done, there is plenty of time to walk around and take a closer look. You know where everything is after listening to the guide.

After closer looks at many items upstairs and down, I ended up near the guide and we had a very interesting conversation about the town, the castle, the chapel, and The DaVinci Code film. She had been there during the filming and had several anecdotes.

The tour set off for the town of Melrose closer to the border with England. We had a good amount of free time to have lunch and explore both the town and the abbey. I had lunch at a sandwich shop connected to a chocolate shop that made its own chocolate. Needless to say I bought some of their chocolate both for myself and for small gifts for various people back home. Scottish chocolate is quite good. It also goes well with Scotch Whiskey.

Between the sandwich shop and the abbey was Priorwood Garden. I had some time before the abbey was open to tourists, so I explored the garden. It was a very lovely, large garden and I wandered around it for a while.

Then I headed over to Melrose Abbey. The abbey had been founded in 1136 by King David I of Scotland. King Richard II of England had the abbey burned in the 14^th century. Then it was badly damaged by King Henry VIII of England during the Rough Wooing. But what remains is still very impressive and quite large.

Back when the movie Braveheart was made, it was full of historical inaccuracies. I could write an entire post on just that. But the one in particular that pertains to this trip is that William Wallace was never nicknamed ‘Braveheart’. That was Robert the Bruce, who became king of Scotland (he also didn’t betray Wallace; that was John de Menteith).

After death, Robert the Bruce was mostly buried at Dunfermline. But his heart was removed, placed in a silver casket, and taken on a crusade in Spain by his friend Sir James Douglas. Sir James and most of the rest of the contingency were killed. The silver casket was brought back to Scotland along with the Scots and the casket with the actual Braveheart’s heart was buried at Melrose Abbey. I took a photo of the heart’s location, which I have included here.

From Melrose, we headed down to the border and crossed into England on our way to the portion of Hadrian’s Wall called Housesteads Fort. This was a Roman fort along the wall and up a steep hill.

I have always enjoyed the idea of the wall. In 122 AD, the Romans, after managing to conquer much of England, headed north, encountered the Picts (Scotland as such didn’t exist yet; the people known as the Scots didn’t arrive in the area until a few hundred years later), decided that they just didn’t want to deal with them at all and built a wall to contain them instead. The official reason for the wall was to “separate the Romans from the barbarians.”

For the most part, the wall was about 10 feet wide and 16 to 20 feet in height. Despite hundreds of years of people taking stones from the wall to build their own walls or other buildings (such as Carlisle Castle), there is still a pretty substantial amount of wall standing. The various forts, milecastles (small forts placed every mile along the wall) and turrets were dismantled more than the wall itself.

Because the actual name of the fort isn’t known (there are several possibilities, one of which is Vercovicium), Housesteads Fort (built in 124 AD) was named after the farm on which it stood for several hundred years after the Romans left (about 409 AD). The fort has been the property of the National Trust since 1930, though sheep still graze on the land between the visitor’s center and the fort.

In addition to the Roman baths and the other usual Roman buildings that can be seen at such sites across Britain, this particular fort has the best preserved stone latrine found in any Roman excavations in Great Britain. Just outside the fort itself is a building called ‘the murder house’ as two skeletons were found beneath a newly laid floor when excavated.

Our guide mentioned the films The Centurion and The Eagle, which were both loosely based on the legend of the disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion into Caledonia (the name the Romans gave to the land north of the wall). However there isn’t any actual historical evidence that the Ninth was ever involved with anything having to do with Caledonia, so nobody is certain what really happened to them. They were, however, in Britain from about 43 AD until the record runs dry. They were involved with Boudica’s rebellion in 61 AD and were reportedly trounced by her forces at what is now Colchester.

On our way back to Edinburgh, we made a stop for photos at Jedburgh Abbey – another border abbey founded by King David I of Scotland. This one, though damaged during the Rough Wooing, made it through until the Scottish Reformation. As it is, there is a fair amount of it still standing and it is quite beautiful.

Next time –taking a Hop On Hop Off tour around Edinburgh.

May 24, 2020

Alnwick Castle & the Scottish Borders

My first full day in Scotland, I had a day trip booked to visit Alnwick Castle and the Scottish Borders. As a fan of both Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter books and films, I was really looking forward to seeing Alnwick (pronounced Ann-ick). The castle was used as the home of the fella who ultimately became Edith’s husband in Downton. In the Harry Potter films, it was used for many of the exterior shots, and a few interiors, of the Hogwarts School of Magic.

The tour left from just across the street and down the road a bit. The tour group – Rabbies – does small group tours with a maximum of 16 people. I booked all of my day trips through Viator online. They were through various tour groups. Rabbies was one I really liked.

The tour coach was packed and a woman asked if she could sit with me. Her name was Naomi and she lived in Israel. We hit it off immediately and ended up spending the day together. We continue to stay in touch.

Our first stop was Kelso Abbey. As with most of the abbeys along the Scottish border with England, Kelso was destroyed in the 16^th century as part of what was known as the Rough Wooing. King Henry VIII of England wanted Mary Queen of Scots in marriage to his son Edward. When the answer came back as “no”, Henry started a war with Scotland. As part of that war, he destroyed all of the abbeys he could in Scotland. Henry did not take “no” for an answer ever.

After the destruction of the 12^th century abbey, much of the stone was hauled away to be used to build other things. There is one section of the building remaining. It gives an idea of both how strong and how beautiful a building it once was. Most of the land around it is a cemetery.

We took a walk into the town through the cemetery. This was so folks could get their morning coffee. Not being a coffee drinker, I went along just to see the town. It was a small market town with a central town square, where it would have been difficult to lose one’s way.

To get to Alnwick, we needed to cross the border into England. This included crossing the great salmon fishing river, the River Tweed. We stopped for some photos.

In Scottish Gaelic, the river is Abhainn Thuaidh, and in Scots it is called Watter o Tweid. Scottish Gaelic is the unique language of Scotland, which is still spoken in some parts of the Highlands, but not too much elsewhere in Scotland any more (unlike Welsh which is having a great revival). Scots is an archaic hybrid of Scottish Gaelic and English that was mainly spoken in the Lowlands of Scotland. It is the language in which the song “Auld Lang Syne” was written. “Auld Lang Syne” means roughly “days gone by.”

The seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, the 11^th century Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, after Windsor. Over its long history, it has been involved in several battles, including the Wars of the Roses between the Yorkists and Lancastrians. Although it changed hands a few times over the centuries, it was never severely damaged and still looks very much as it did in the 12^th century on the outside. The inside and the parks were altered in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. New gardens were created in 2003 for the purposes of a charitable trust.

The castle has several Harry Potter displays and experiences for children and families. While we were there, a Downton Abbey costume exhibit was going on inside of the castle. Unfortunately they didn’t allow photos inside.

The dining room looked just as it did in Downton Abbey and there were several mannequins around the room wearing gowns that had been worn in the scenes shot there. This was another castle that, despite its size, seemed rather cozy.

Wanting something associated with Downton Abbey, I purchased a very elegant ‘cake slice’ which looked like something that would be used at a formal dinner there. A couple of my friends (also Downton Abbey fans) and I have an annual tea during which we use this special purchase to serve desserts.

Naomi and I had lunch together at the Treehouse, which actually was a treehouse. Then we walked around the garden and grounds until it was time to leave. I can’t remember who the person was whose statue on horseback I photographed, but I am sure it was a family member (the Percy family) and I really liked the statue.

Originally the site of an ancient fort built by the indigenous Celtic Britons, Bamburgh Castle had its origins in 547. That castle was destroyed by the Vikings in 993. The Normans built a new castle on the site in the 11^th century. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to tour the castle (and I think it was either closed for the day or about to be).

Just before crossing the border back into Scotland, we made a stop at Berwick-on-Tweed to take photos of the bridges. Berwick started as an Anglo-Saxon market town. Taking a photo of the bridges properly lined up with one another, there are three bridges from three different centuries.

Dunbar Castle was begun in the 7^th century on a rocky outcrop at the harbor of the town of Dunbar. The castle was then rebuilt in stone in the 11^th century. But in the 16^th century, the castle was blown up.

Back in Edinburgh, Naomi and I decided to have dinner together. Although it was my first full day in Scotland, it was her last. She was returning home the next day. I proposed the bar at the Balmoral. They had food as well as drinks in a casual atmosphere.

We shared a vegetarian grill that was huge (I think it was intended to be shared by two people) and delicious. Along with that, I had a mojito that added some cherry juice and champagne to the usual recipe. It too was quite tasty.

After our dinner, when we entered the lobby from the bar, we were called over to the desk by the Assistant Manager. He had some chocolates to give us. And then he also gave us some of the most light and airy macarons I have ever had. I thought that was so nice.

After sending Naomi off in her taxi to her hotel, I headed up to my room. My bed had already been turned down, with some hotel slippers next to the bed and more chocolates on the nightstand.

Next time – Rosslyn Chapel (and Castle), Melrose Abbey & Part of Hadrian’s Wall

May 17, 2020May 24, 2020

Edinburgh: St Giles Cathedral & The Real Mary King’s Close

All of my previous times in Edinburgh had been as part of a tour. So I only had a day or two in Scotland’s capitol on those past trips. This time I was traveling entirely on my own and had seven days planned in Edinburgh and on day trips from Edinburgh.

I love Edinburgh. It is a unique city with some of the nicest people you’ll ever want to meet. Central Edinburgh consists of the Old Town and the New Town. The New Town is Georgian (1700s) with some Victorian as it expanded its boundaries. The Old Town is Medieval and perched on an extinct volcano. Edinburgh Castle is at the top with the main road (called the Royal Mile) running down the lava flow. Buildings, other roads, and bridges spanning the area between the Old Town and New Town fill in the rest.

I arrived in Edinburgh about a quarter to eight in the morning. After collecting my luggage and getting through customs, I took a taxi to the hotel. The airport is not far from Central Edinburgh, so it was only a £10 (about $12.80 USD) ride.

I usually don’t get too much into specific hotels on these posts unless the hotel and/or the deal I managed to get was special. This hotel was special in every way. It was the Balmoral – a five star Victorian Scottish Baronial on Princes Street in the New Town. Normally I wouldn’t even begin to be able to afford a room at the Balmoral. But, for some reason, when I did the hotel search, they had a room for only slightly more (about $10 per night USD) than I normally pay. Maybe it was the time of year, or the number of nights, or just a fluke. I figured that was possibly my one and only chance to ever stay in one of the premier hotels of Edinburgh, so I nabbed it.

The location was amazing too. A small shopping mall, which included a grocers, was next door along Princes Street. I only had to go over the North Bridge to get to the Royal Mile. Most of the day trips picked up and dropped off just across the street. And getting the train to London wouldn’t be too difficult since the Waverly Train Station was next door behind the shopping mall.

When my taxi pulled up, the driver got my luggage out and handed the two bags to the kilted doorman who, in turn, swept me and my luggage up the stairs and into the hotel. There, he handed my luggage off to a bellman and me to the fella behind the desk, who was the assistant manager of the hotel. Then he gave me a small bow and headed back to his post.

The assistant manager checked me in, gave me all pertinent information (including that the breakfast buffet – which came with the room – would be open for another hour). He slipped the bellman the info as to where my room was and then escorted me to a special lift that would get me closer to where my room was than the main elevator. The Balmoral is known for its service and they were already giving me a demonstration of what staying there was all about.

Now, this is not a small hotel, however the assistant manager and the lady who seated me at breakfast every morning both remembered my name and referred to me as “Ms Lichty” each time they encountered me. The breakfast lady also remembered my preference in newspapers and where I liked to sit in the restaurant. I found that very impressive.

The breakfast was an enormous buffet. You could have anything you wanted from just some toast and butter to a full Scottish breakfast and everything in between. As anxious as I was to go exploring, it was raining and I was hungry, so I took my time with a modified version of the full Scottish. I don’t like blood pudding, but I do like haggis. Eggs, sausage, mushrooms, pork’n’beans, toast and jelly, orange juice and tea rounded out my meal.

By the time I was done and had grabbed my jacket, cap, camera and camera bag from my room, it was raining more lightly and I set off up and over the North Bridge. As I reached the Royal Mile, I also reached a souvenir shop. I knew there were several along the road and decided to walk a ways down the road to see what else there might be. I had a few people to get things for (especially golf items from St Andrews) and wanted to get some quality items without paying premium prices.

Down the road a ways I could get a good shot of St Giles Cathedral showing its very unique crown spire. The shops I chose to buy most of my gifts from were back down the road near that first shop I encountered upon reaching the Royal Mile. After buying what I needed and stashing most of it inside my camera bag, I headed back again towards St Giles. Before entering the cathedral, I decided to take a closer look at the Mercat Cross.

A Mercat Cross is essentially the Scottish version of a Market Cross. This was a central location in a city, town or village where people could find out the latest news, and where punishments, including executions, were often meted out. The current Mercat Cross in Edinburgh is a Victorian version of the original, located a short distance (a few feet) from where the original (14^th century) was located. The Mercat Cross is still a meeting point. Several of the walking tours that were offered in Edinburgh departed from the Mercat Cross.

From the Mercat Cross, I walked to the entrance to St Giles at the other end of the cathedral. There was somebody playing the bagpipes near there, so I sat down on a now dry bench by the entrance and listened before going inside.

The oldest part of St Giles Cathedral was originally built in the 12^th century and rebuilt in the 14^th century after it was burned by King Richard II of England during the First Scottish Wars of Independence. Inside it looked like several different churches were sort of knitted together with a few mismatches here and there. It was a fascinating church because of all of the different aspects to it.

There were memorials to such people as author Robert Louis Stevenson and Mary Queen of Scots’ half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray. As the High Kirk (church) of Edinburgh, the cathedral contains one of the original copies of the National Covenant, which was signed in 1638 and adopted by the Church of Scotland. A chapel for the Knights of the Thistle, which is a special Scottish knighthood with St Andrew as its patron saint, was added onto the cathedral in 1909.

The tombs of James Graham, Marquess of Montrose and Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll are on opposite sides of the church. It was Argyll who had Montrose executed during King Charles II’s exile. Charles had Argyll executed when he returned. He also had Montrose interred. Since Montrose had been hanged, drawn and quartered, he needed to collect all of his parts first. Argyll was merely beheaded.

While I was there, a prayer service was held. I sat down and participated. Most of the people in the cathedral at that time did the same.

Not far from Argyll’s tomb and the last thing I checked out before I left the building was a statue of John Knox. He was the minister at St Giles from 1559 to 1572, one of the leaders of the Scottish Reformation, and founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

After my long visit to St Giles, I went across the street to The Real Mary King’s Close. This was a series of closes (narrow streets, more like alleys) that were underneath the buildings of the Royal Exchange and City Chambers. The streets were bricked up during the plague in 1645 because of the overly large number of victims in that area (it is rumored that some of those victims were bricked up with the streets).

In the 18^th century, the streets and buildings were partially demolished and buried when the Royal Exchange was being built. The area was forgotten about until about 1970, when it was rediscovered. The area was opened to the public in 2003 for guided tours. The tour concentrated on the history of the area which included people who lived there, the professions of the people who lived there (as the remains of the buildings are toured), and the time of the plague. There was also discussion of the reported hauntings.

This leads me to an anecdote. Just after the photo of me looking happy and rather ghostly on the actual Mary King’s Close was taken, I walked slowly down to the bottom of the close at the request of the guide. I had been first to get my photo taken, so I was alone on that part of the darkened close. When I reached the bottom, there was a small amount of light. I turned around and looked back up at a group of people who were being photographed after me when one of the women screamed. She thought that I was a ghost. I thought it was quite funny. I do have a very pale complexion and very light blonde hair.

Since I had such a large breakfast, I hadn’t been too hungry until about 3pm at the end of the tour. The Real Mary King’s Close had a gift shop and café so I took a look at what they had on offer. I really like Cullen Skink, which is a creamy soup with haddock, turnips, potatoes, carrots and onions – usually blended until smooth. I got some of that and some Irn Bru, which is a Scottish soft drink that tastes somewhat like a cross between an orange soda and a cream soda.

As I left the close, a young man who had heard me speak to a couple who had been on the tour, asked where I was from. When I responded, “Minneapolis”, he told me about what a big fan of Prince he was. This ended up being just three days before Prince died.

Instead of returning to the hotel via the North Bridge, I swung down Cockburn Street to the Waverly Bridge. There I took a photo of the monument to Sir Walter Scott at the junction of Princes Street and the Waverly Bridge. It looks rather medieval, but it is Victorian. There is a statue of Scott seated inside.

Next time – a day trip to Alnwick Castle and the Scottish Borders