Saturday and Sunday were spent getting acquainted with our West End neighbourhood, relaxing with our generous and welcoming hosts, and doing a small amount of shopping, browsing, and snacking. The major sight to see of our first weekend was the Botanic Gardens and greenhouses, including the impressive Kibble Palace.
On Monday we grabbed a train to Edinburgh, less than an hour ride, and were deposited at Waverley station in a gully between the Old Town and the New Town. Most of the day was spent in the Old Town on the Royal Mile, perusing cobbles, closes, cathedrals, and castles which are heaped layer upon layer on the old volcano core which peaks as the foundation of Edinburgh Castle. The Castle was expensive but astounding, a hilltop fortess that is at once museums, operating military barracks, medieval theme park, and an archaeology dig. I did in fact see the Honours of Scotland, the Crown Jewels of Scottish Royalty, and the fabled Stone of Destiny. We had high tea at the Queen Anne Cafe. Other Edinburgh highlights were the High Kirk Cathedral of St. Giles, the Scottish Parliament house, tagging on to the end of a tour that pointed us to the school which was the inspiration for Hogwarts, and the amazing crisscrossing of paths and closes in the old City.
My feet were killing me on Tuesday, the weather wasn't great, so we took the day to explore more of Glasgow, going "into the City" which is what most of us would call "Downtown" in a big city. Much more walking, rain, and a few quick stops at the Glagow Museum of Modern art and Merchant Square, and late afternoon saw us heading for the impressive St. Mungo's Cathedral, the Museum of Religious Life, and the Glagow Necropolis, a stark and beautiful planned Victorian Cemetery that overlooks much of the city from a great hill. 50,000 people are buried there, some 3500 with monuments and mausoleums, often ornate, and the rest in communal graves, unmarked, but reported to be meticulously recorded in the Mitchell library.
On Wednesday we rented a car, and our first road trip was west where we hopped a ferry to the Isle of Arran, known as "Scotland in Miniature" as it is bisected by the highland-lowland line, as is the whole country, and includes examples of most of the climate and terrain found on the mainland. Again stark, lush, and beautiful all at once, a highlight was tromping through fields of sheep to the Machrie Moore, a site of several neolithic stone circles, some of the monuments still standing.
Thursday was another day spent on the roads. Adam is driving and quickly got the hang of everything being on the wrong side, except for continuing to try to find the stick shift on the driver's door at times. We meandered, with several stops for the sleepy driver, to the village of Oban at the western seaside. Oban was nice, but very typically touristy, as it is the jump point for ferries to Islay, Mull, and the Inner Hebrides. Time and preparation unfortunately did not permit us a trip over, though I have decided Mull should be a destination in the future. The meander home included some foiled attempts to get to another castle, this one a lighting-blasted ruin apparently still privately owned. The ferry that used to visit is cancelled, and the road in is marked private and we weren't bold enough to tromp on in. We did find, on the way home on the far side of Loch Awe that another pasture had a hop-over built on the fence, so we got as close as we could ( a few hundred feet across the far side of the loch) braving another boggy sheep field. Adam should have photos up when we're back.
We've decided to extend the car rental another day, and go through Stirling (more castles!) and up to the more central-eastern Highlands to cover some slightly different terrain. I'd love to get as far as Loch Ness but it doesn't seem likely.
Off to snooze now, as we'll be up early.
1 comment:
Sounds fanatastic! I can't wait to see more photos.
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