Location: Scotland/England
Travel dates: October 11, 2001 – October 21, 2001
Travelers: Bev, my mom Shirley, and my kids Jon & Britt
Originally posted on Thursday, December 20, 2001:
The trip to Scotland was marvelous – we saw so many things, it was incredible. We got to see SIX castles and it was SO awesome to traipse around Edinburgh – both the old and the new sections of the city. We ate lunch at a place called The Witchery – they used to hang witches outside of the place in the 1600s! It’s a very well-known place – lots of celebs have eaten there! The atmosphere was VERY pagan – but quite frankly, the food was sparse, expensive, and tasted below average. =( I think people eat there just to SAY they’ve been there! LOL. They DO have a website at http://www.thewitchery.com if you care to check it out!
Edinburgh castle was probably my second favorite (next to Eilean Donan castle) and the view from the castle is magnificent!We saw the crown jewels of Scotland, but couldn’t take pix in there . Saw the room where James I of Englandbe James the 6th of Scotland> was born – he was the son of Mary Queen of Scots – was born.
Also visited the memorial to soldiers/sailors of the Royal Air Force – they had TONS of books with names of fallen soldiers from many wars – it was somber, indeed. The Great Hall which houses suits of armor, various swords, shields, and other assorted finery, nearly took my breath away. There was also a grand stone fireplace and stained glass windows of blue, red, yellow, white and green which had names of some of Scotland’s bravest and best kings/warriors etched in them.
As you enter the section of the castle with the Great Hall, you see the crest of Scotland with the rampant lion and the unicorn on it – both symbols of the country. When I viewed them, along with the weapons, I felt a sense of pride and nationalism sweep through me – all of a sudden I understood WHY the Scottish people preferred autonomy from England. You can still hear sarcastic humor on the part of the Scot’s regarding England and Englishmen. It’s all in good fun, but you KNOW underneath all that that there is a grain of truth in it!
On the grounds of Edinburgh castle stands St. Margaret’s Chapel – a beautiful little chapel that can only fit maybe 10 to 20 people inside, if that! The stained glass windows were exquisitely designed. Inside there’s a small altar with an altar cloth and a Bible on top. This was the family’s private chapel – their personal place of solace and worship. Although I’m not Christian, you could sense the spiritual energy in the place and a quietness wafted over everyone who entered that sacred space.
Edinburgh – what is NOT to love about it?! I just fell in LOVE with that city! The old section is charming and there are so many quaintlittle closes that you can wander through and find neat things – like I discovered a writer’s museum when I walked through one of them! =) The displays were a tribute to mainly Robbie Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson – also got to travel to Robbie Burn’s cottage and to see the churchyard that inspired him to write “Tam o’ Shanter” where he talks about the wild, dancing witches, the leader of the witches is named Cutty Sark – an interesting fact that I didn’t know! I’d heard of Cutty Sark whiskey before, but….
Went to Glasgow and that was cool – not as much as Edinburgh, though . Got to see Stirling Castle, William Wallace’s monument, Loch Ness and shopped till we dropped in the woolen mills – they were AWESOME! Brought back some Lindisfarne mead, which was tremendously yummy! I want MORE, waaah! The shopping in Scotland is incredible! Not that I’m a shopaholic by ANY means – but the bargains were unbelievable. I came home with a fleece coat for 14 pounds and I’m sure if I’d purchased it here in the U.S., I’d have paid $50 – $60 for the SAME coat!
About William Wallace – the statue looked like Mel Gibson and they had a fence around it – cause people keep chipping off parts of stone to take with them! Of all the art/architecture I saw there – and the statues – his was the ONLY one that had a barrierof some sort around it! Wallace was a 6′7″ giant of a man and his sword was FIVE FEET, SEVEN INCHES long! Geesh! I’d have paid to go back in time to see him wield that heavy thing! Needless to say, he was a giant among his countrymen!
Another cool castle was Culzean Castle – the entranceway is amazing – it’s decorated with 400 swords and 900 pistols! When you walk through the elaborately decorated rooms resplendant with period furniture and artwork, you feel like you’ve literally gone back in time hundreds of years. The gardens of the castle were meticulously cared for and you felt like you were walking in the Garden of Eden, so to speak. There was also a herd of red deer nearby, just lounging in the early morning daylight. SO very peaceful!
My favorite castle, hands-down, was Eilean Donan. That’s the castle where they filmed the movie, Highlander. I swear, once I got in there, I didn’t want to leave! As we crossed the bridge over the water making our way toward the castle, I tried to envision what it must have been like to live in that castle. We spent a long time looking out over the loch from the stone overlook there. The wind was quite brisk that day, and I remember standing there alone and closing my eyes, breathing in the air and drawing in the ancient energies all around me. I felt at home and at peace. It was a moment of profound deja vu!
During the tour, we were fed for what seemed like ALL the time – but alas, the food was often a bit bland and I had my fill of “tatties and neeps” for one weekAlso tried haggis several times and had some scotch for the first time in my life! That night I especially remember because we were gathered in the entertainment section of the old and majestic Ben Wyvis hotel in Strathpeffer up in the highlands. A local band provided music – well, it was two guys w/ guitars – not REALLY a band! They were dressed in these god-awful plaid shirts, had a 70s look about them, and they were playing nothing but old American hits – like Roy Orbison, etc.! In between sets, they would tell these lame jokes, but everyone laughed nonetheless.
We had a dear old Scottish couple next to us and they chatted with us for quite a while till we retired to our rooms around midnight. Also had a tarty English gent near us, too. He heard our accents and asked if we were “yanks.” =)
The highlands were SO beautiful – it was like stepping back into centuries long before! The Isle of Skye was my hands-down fave — it’s so utterly green and enchanting up there that you are literally standing in the midst of postcard-level beauty. One thing about the highlands is that they’re racing toward the 19th century. We had NO phones at ALL in the hotel, and for the first night, NO hot water as the big, ancient boilers broke down! The curtains and furniture are old and heavy – and the only real modern-day convenience you
had was an old television set that had maybe three channels on it at best. LOL. Oh – there was an electric tea warmer in there, too. One thing’s for sure – you won’t find many hotels in the UK w/o a tea maker in the room!
During our trip, each night we went on various excursions – to a Best of Scotland show with dancers/pipers/singers, and to several fancy dinners/shows – we also visited world-famous Harry Ramsden’s in Glasgow – that was delish! We also trekked up to see Robert the Bruce’s statue That night we were also treated to recitations of Robbie Burn’s poetry, including the aforementioned “Tam O’Shanter” and the “Address to the Haggis.”
We also saw the cave where Rob Roy and his clan used to hang out – we took a boat across Loch Lomond and the Trossachs were breathtakingly beautiful! During the boat ride, we were treated to coffee and tea, and then, later, to drams of whisky and what tasted like Irish Creme liquor – the Scottish people are always plying guests with something – either food or drink!
Overall, I took 15 rolls of film – some of which are at: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/scribequill It was definitely a trip of a lifetime – and I’d go back in a heartbeat for sure! The hospitality of the people – and the UNIQUE brand of Scottish humor won me over. It sure as hell didn’t hurt to see men in kilts over there on a regular basis, either! Our tour director wore one nearly every day and I must say that he had GREAT legs! =) I say it takes a REAL man to wear a kilt!!
So that was the trip to Scotland – something I’ll NEVER forget. I can’t believe we made it over there – some days I cannot believe it REALLY happened! But alas, I have the photos to look at when I’m older and more sedate, and I can smile, knowing that I had the pleasure of taking both my kids and my mother on a trip of a lifetime!
Ah well….
It deserves one of its own!