Trip to Scotland to visit our friends Myra and Malcolm
May 2012
May 2012
Arbroath Harbor in Scotland |
We arrived safely in Edinburgh at about 8 AM on Tuesday morning. Malcolm and Myra met us at the airport and we
drove about an hour and a half to reach their home in Carnoustie.
The trip to Scotland was uneventful. Although we had some worries as we waited to
leave San Diego. We were boarded on the
plane and then they announced that our takeoff had been delayed for about an
hour due to heavy rains in Newark.
Several people got off the plane because the delay would cause them
problems and went to see if they could make other flight arrangements. After about 30 minutes they released us from
the gate and we were finally allowed to take off. Laura had asked for us to be upgraded to
First Class seats and we were assigned them from San Diego to Newark. That was very nice. Breakfast served on china with linen napkins
instead of plastic bins and paper napkins.
The flight was smooth and we landed in Newark in a gentle rain at about
4 PM local. Our flight to Scotland did
not leave until 8 PM so we had plenty of time to wander around the
airport.
When it came time to board we were told that there were no
First Class seats available so we were disappointed but trudged back with the huddled
masses to the Coach seats. Just before
takeoff the flight attendant came up and said that several First Class
passengers had not made the flight and we were being upgraded. We grabbed our bags and headed to the front
of the plane. Our empty seats were not
together but I asked the gentleman in the seat next to me if he would trade
with Laura so we could sit together and he graciously consented. Oh what a difference First Class made. Our dinner was served in courses - again on
china. It started with warm cashews,
followed by an appetite course, then salad, then we had chosen the steak which
came with potatoes, asparagus, and spinach soufflé. Then they brought a cheese plate and a glass
of port. Dessert was an ice cream
sundae.
Laura watched a movie while she had dinner then we activated
the bed option on our seats and settled in for a little nap. I found that it reminded me of being back on
the USS Ranger. The noise, the movement
and confined space. Laura slept for
about 3 hours; I maybe slept for a little over an hour. Still it was much more comfortable than what
our coach seats would have been. Laura
is afraid that we will have become spoiled as a result of this trip.
Laura, George and Myra on RIB |
So after arriving and being met by Malcolm and Myra, we made
our way to their home. We unpacked,
stretched our legs and since it was such a beautiful day, Malcolm suggested
that we take a trip out to the Bell Rock Lighthouse which was about 10 miles
off the coast. We drove to the seaside
town of Arbroath where we boarded a 30 foot Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) which cruised
at 25 knots.
Bell Rock Lighthouse |
Arbroath Abbey |
Glamis Castle |
On Wednesday, we were taken on a road trip out of the area. First we visited the grounds of Glamis Castle which was the home of the Queen’s mother. We did not go into the Castle but chose to just stop and photograph the exterior view. We also stopped to allow Laura to take some pictures of the Highland cows.
Glen Doll |
The purpose of the trip was to picnic lunch at Glen Doll
which was about an hour away in the low highlands. It was a nice drive though the countryside on
narrow and twisting roads. We saw many
sheep and a few pheasants in the fields.
We had a nice lunch next to a small stream in a little park complete
with picnic tables. There were a fair
amount of people out enjoying the sunshine, walking their dogs and
picnicking. On the way back to town, we
stopped at the Glen Clova Lodge for refreshments. Laura and Myra had a shandy which is half
beer and lemon soda. I had Scots ale
which I thought was called Hanky Panky but was really Hinky Pinky.
On the way back we also stopped in Dundee at the Dundee Law
which is a high hill. Law in Scottish
terms means hill. The hill is actually
the volcanic plug from an ancient volcano.
It has a beautiful view of the city of Dundee and the River Tay. Afterwards, we returned home to clean up for
dinner. We ate at the Station Hotel. It was quite pleasant dining with Scot who is
Myra’s son, his girlfriend; Fiona, Graham and Wilma who are friends of Malcolm
and Myra. Laura and I had the steak pie
which is a favorite of customers at the Hotel.
House in Crail |
But before we departed we went to meet Bill, an 83 year old friend of Malcolm & Myra. He has a large cottage on the edge of the sea with a beautiful view from the front of the cottage. Bill was a Merchant Mariner for the Cunard Line and one of his final assignments was as First Officer on the Queen Elizabeth. He was every bit a gentleman and his cottage is filled with mementos of his travels and antiques that his deceased wife had collected. Bill’s hobby is making model ships which are powered and radio controlled. He was just working out the arrangements to donate his model of the Cutty Sark to the local maritime museum.
George & Laura on St. Andrews Golf Course |
We did drive into the town of St. Andrews and found parking alongside the approach to the 18th hole. Laura and I walked out onto the course and had our pictures taken on the Swilcan Bridge. We then walked up into town until we were looking back on the golf course and the beach where they shot the running scene in the movie “Chariots of Fire”. We walked through part of the shopping district looking at all the golf specialty shops before returning to the car.
Crail Harbor |
We got there
to find the church perched on a cliff overlooking the water. It
was closed for repair of the heating system but the contractors let us stick our
heads into the church and get a couple of pictures. What made this
church different was that it was for the fishermen. There were
models of the fishing boats suspended from the ceiling. Like most
European churches, it is surrounded by the graveyard. I did find
several interesting stones most were from the 1700-1800’s. The one
stone that struck me the most appeared to have a bas-relief carving of a
hourglass on one side of the front of the stone and across from it was a deaths
head. Afterwards we returned to Anstruther harbor to have a fish
and chips dinner from an award winning chip shop. Upon our return
to Carnoustie, we were taken over to Dave and Shelia’s home to have a gin and
tonic before retiring for the night.
Blair Castle |
We then
stopped briefly in the town of Inverness. The plan was to find
parking and then walk along the riverbank to allow our legs to stretch, but we
could not find parking except up in the center of town. We did
park there and walk down to the riverside. Malcolm was
disappointed because the town had gone downhill and the area was getting pretty
seedy. We did find the old Victorian Market but the shops were in
the process of closing for the day so we headed back to the car and headed on
towards Loch Ness.
Loch Ness with Urquhart Castle in background |
Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness |
After the
visit to the castle, we hit the road for Skye. The weather has
continued to be bright and shiny. Malcolm and Myra are really
happy that we brought the good weather with us from California.
The drive was long over narrow roads. I am glad that I am
not driving this time. It is bad enough that in town the cars are
parked in the lane and you have to stop to let other cars coming the other way
pass before you travel on. Now out on the Isle of Skye the road is
only wide enough for one car in places so they have pull offs to allow cars to
pass each other from opposite directions.
Eilean Donan Castle |
While on the
way to the B & B, we stopped in the town of Portree to look around.
One thing I need is a hat because the bright sun is making my nose a
bright shade of red. We did not find any hats that were
appropriate but we did stop for a beer at a local pub. Today and
the past two days, they have been having a Fiddle and Accordion Festival.
They were playing Scottish folk songs and it was beautiful to
hear. The beer was good also. I have been trying the
locally brewed dark beer. While it takes a little getting used to
drinking beer that is at room temperature, I have found the choices so far have
been much better than the Guinness that I have drank at home. Laura has stuck
with the Shandies. She likes them also.
Sunset on Skye |
Sunday was a
driving day over the southwest coast of Skye and then across to the west coast
and back up to Waternish. Our first stop of the day was at the
Talisker Distillery. As luck would have it, it was closed.
If we had come next week, it would have been open on a Sunday.
But we were able to sneak a peek at the big copper stills before we
left. It was most likely a good thing that they were closed as we
had many more hours of driving to complete before we returned to
Waternish.
Fairy Pools on Skye |
Our next stop
was at the Fairy pools. We hiked down the hill about a mile and
found some small pools being fed from the remains of the snow melt.
Did not see any fairies but did see a couple of gentlemen of questionable
gender.
We stopped for
lunch in Broadford and had a impromptue picnic on the grass next to the parking
lot of the food co-op. We continued on down to almost the end of
the road to Glenbrittle and stopped at the local boot sale to see if we could
find any treasures. Alas none were found.
Skye |
The
countryside had many faces. At times we saw barren rock and
heather, there were also places where some trees grew. Some
evergreens, many beeches. My favorite tree was the copper beech
because its red coloration really set it off from the others. We
saw meadows of bluebells that tinted the hillsides. Near the
southwestern end of our journey there were many rhododendrons growing
wild. We also were able to see primrose, daffodils and
irises.
The owner of the Loch Bay Inn had recommended that we stop at the Edinbane Inn for dinner. We got there at 5 PM and they did not start serving dinner until after 6 PM so we were forced to have a drink in the bar. It was quite a pleasant place packed with people who came to listen to the live music.
Edinbane Inn, musical group |
The owner of the Loch Bay Inn had recommended that we stop at the Edinbane Inn for dinner. We got there at 5 PM and they did not start serving dinner until after 6 PM so we were forced to have a drink in the bar. It was quite a pleasant place packed with people who came to listen to the live music.
We
awoke Monday to gray skies and a cold wind whipping about at 20 mph.
It was a certain change from what we have been experiencing the past
week. But as we got on the road to leave Skye, the sun came out
and the wind died down. Our good luck for weather
continued.
Ferry from Dunoon to Troon |
The
plan for the day as to reach the city of Dunoon where our hotel was and then go
past about 9 miles to search for the Castle Toward, which belonged to the Lamont Clan. If my family
research is correct, the Lusk (Luck) family was a sept of the Lamont
Clan.
After
several attempts and after stopping to ask directions, we tramped through the
waist high grass and bushes until we found some stone walls that were covered
with moss and debris. The castle is a ruin so we think we found
parts of it. Anyway, I was happy.
Burns Memorial in Troon |
Culzean Castle |
After we left there, we drove down to Culzean Castle. It was late in the day so we did not opt to visit the interior of the castle but instead walked the castle grounds stopping for a coffee and soda after the mandatory shopping experience.
We then
headed off to our hotel . We arrived there only to find that they
had suffered a plumbing accident on the 3rd floor and that had
damaged rooms below so we were being shifted to another hotel about 8 miles
north of there. The Gailes Hotel is nice but it is much more
modern that the Royal Mariner.
Laura crossing rope bridge |
Cliffs at Carrick-a-Rede |
It started to rain which
made the rocks very slippery. Laura and I had climbed to the top
of one area and rather than trying to come down the other side, we opted to
retrace our footsteps. We knew we could maneuver on those rocks
but the other side looked much steeper and we did not want to send the next trip
report from some Irish orthopedic ward. It was getting pretty wet
compounded by the fact that Laura had left her coat in the car. I
gave her my coat, nice guy that I am. We lined up for the bus but
unfortunately both buses filled before we got to the front of the line.
I won’t say it was Laura’s fault but she did wander off to get some
pictures and a bunch of German students crowded onto the bus.
Fortunately we only had to wait about 15 minutes until the next bus
arrived to take us up to the visitor’s center and another shopping
opportunity. At the shop, Laura purchased a gray fisherman knit
long sweater with a hood, I bought a T-shirt.
Giants Causeway |
Portrush Harbor |
I understand
why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle. It is very green.
As we drove along through the countryside, we could see one green field
after another. Unlike what we have seen of Scotland and Skye, the
soil here appears to be deeper and richer. Don’t get me wrong,
Scotland and Skye were beautiful but they also had vast areas of peat bog and
heather.
Thursday
morning was started under leaden skies with some minor misting rain.
The rain did clear but the sun never broke through the clouds.
We stopped at several castles during the day but mostly kept on the
road. We stopped in Sligo for a quick look around
and a shopping opportunity presented itself. Laura bought me a hat
because when we had good weather, I had sunburned my nose. I
thought buying a hat would be a good idea and maybe would be a charm to bring
the sun.
Malcolm calls
the roads the “BWE” roads meaning that they are barely wide enough. His GPS
Navigator who we have nicknamed Satellite Sally had taken us on some roads that
would be a stretch to call a paved road. We spent the night in
Galway. Our dinner at Maxwell’s was very pleasant.
I had a beef and vegetable stir fry that left my lips tingling and Laura
had a seafood pie.
Friday
morning was also gray and cloudy but no rain. We continued our
drive south. We stopped at the Cliffs of Moher but because of the
fog could not see anything.
The first
picture is what we saw, the second is what we should have seen if the fog had
not blown in that morning.
The Cliffs of Moher how we wished we had seen them |
We continued down the road, we stopped at Dunguaire Castle and then later at Bunratty Castle. We passed through the town of Limerick and in honor of that event the following is submitted:
There were two tourists from Chula Vista,
who came to Scotland and Ireland with a list-a.
When the roads got rough, the driver stayed tough
and we are writing this to tell you we miss ya.
Bunratty Castle on our way to Limerick |
We finally
reached our final destination for the night, the city of Killarney in the County
Kerry. As we came down the road, we noticed increasing numbers of
motorbikes on the road. In Killarney, we learned that they were
having a motorcycle weekend in town. Lots of bikers from all over,
we saw a group from France at one of our stops. It was strange to
see that many Harley Davidsons on the road this far from the U.S. of
A.
We are
staying in the Abbey Lodge which is the best bed and breakfast that we have
stayed in so far in Ireland. It is time for bed now, we are going
to try to beat the tour buses out to the Ring of Kerry before we continue down
to Waterford.
Rainy drive on the Ring of Kerry |
We arrived in
Waterford and found our way to our night’s accommodations. They
were not the best that we have had on the trip so far. They met
the minimum standards as to cleanliness. But it was cheap.
We were pleasantly surprised by the breakfast. It was very
good, certainly not what we had expected from the rest of the place.
Jerpoint Abbey |
We continued
on into Dublin arriving at our home for 2 nights. Ah, fair
Dublin towne. After we left our luggage at the B&B, we caught
one of the local buses to the city center. We knew it was going to
cost us 1.90EU apiece but what surprised us was that they would not accept paper
currency; it had to be in coin. We did scrape up enough to almost
completely pay for the journey and the bus driver told us that was close
enough. We got off the bus and wandered around for a while until
we ended up at Grafton Street which is a prime shopping area. We
walk through it and onto the grounds of Dublin Castle.
We crossed
the Grand Canal and then re-crossed it via Ha’ Penny Bridge. The
hour was getting late so we caught a bus back and rested for a little while
before we headed out for dinner. The girl at the reception desk
had recommended a restaurant about a mile away so we headed there.
When we got there we were told that they were not serving dinner tonight
because it was a Bank Holiday weekend so we continued down the road a bit until
we found another restaurant which was open for business. Dinner
was very good and the staff was very friendly. The restaurant was
up at least 4 flights of narrow stairs which were a little exciting.
We had to stop on a landing to let another party come down the stairs
because they were so narrow.
We then
walked down to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and found that they charged an admission
fee to go in so we opted to walk around the outside. We walked
back to Brewley’s for another lunch and then wandered around St. Stephen’s
Park. There were lots of people out today. One of
the reasons other than the Bank Holiday was that they were having a Woman’s Mini
Marathon. So there were thousands of runners wandering around
before the start of the race. We had a nice time in the park,
watched a mother swan herd her flock of young swans about while people threw
bread to them and the multitude of seagulls.
Tuesday
morning, we awoke to what has been typical Irish weather – grey and
drippy. Lusk was only about 30 minutes north of Dublin so it took
us an hour to get there. The round tower was easy to find as it
was the tallest structure in the area. We walked around it but did
not venture into the town at all.The round tower was
built in the 500’s and the church was added to it at a later date.
It was a cool feeling to stand there touching the wall of the tower and
to think that Vikings had attacked it in the past.
We then drove
onto Stormont Estate which is the seat of the Northern Ireland
government. It was wet and rainy and we were getting tired so it
was a quick Kodak moment and then back into the car to head to find our B&B
for the night.
We arose and
headed out after breakfast to the Titanic Quarter which was only about 3 miles
from where we were. The display is located in a fantastically shaped
building. We arrived to find out that there were no tickets available to view
the display. That was very disappointing because we had called ahead and was told that since we were arriving mid-week that we didn't need reservations. We wandered around the gift shop. It is surprising
how many products they have developed for sale to commemorate the loss of life
of the Titanic disaster. We finally decided to take the Titanic
Walking Tour which included the building where the plans for the ship were
drawn, the area where the ship was laid out, the dry dock and pump rooms.
Afterwards we headed for the ferry for our trip back to Scotland.
The crossing was smooth and we arrived back in Carnoustie at about
11PM. Thursday morning has been a time to recover from the weeks
journey. Laundry to do, souvenirs to sort, photos to download and
just relaxing.
There tragedy
struck. I was not watching where I was stepping and my foot hit an area where a
cobblestone was missing. Down I went, rolling in the gutter like
some drunk. Other than wrenching my back and knee there was no
major injury except to my dignity.
Exterior of Dublin Castle |
We entered
the castle grounds and found a tour group that was getting ready to enter a
building, so we tagged along with them and listened to the tour guide explain
about the castle fortifications and the city wall. The tour then
ended, we went to the ticket office and found that all the tours for the day
were sold out so we just took some pictures of the exterior of the
buildings. We then went to Brewley’s, a famous coffee
shop/restaurant. James Joyce was a patron of the
establishment. After a nice lunch, we continued our wandering
about the city center. It was quite noisy as they had streets
closed off for a grand prix type auto race. The cars were roaring
through the town, tires screeching on the cobblestones which were made even more
slippery by the rain.
On the Streets of Dublin |
Monday
morning, we arose to blue skies. It was a first for
Ireland. After breakfast, we caught the bus back to the city
center. Our first stop was Trinity College. We took
a 30 minute tour lead by a young student who told us about the college and added
a fair amount of humor to his presentation. We then entered the
Old Libary to view the Book of Kells. In the Old
Library, we saw a copy of Shakespeare’s first folio and a second edition of his
works. Laura noticed that both books were open to the
Tempest. While we were touring the College, students were handing
out flyers advertising an “Indian Tempest” being presented by the Dublin
Shakespeare Festival. Laura asked one of the attendants if that
was in coordination with what the students were presenting. She
was informed that it was highly unlikely that the staff of the library would
coordinate anything with the students.
Swans at St. Stephens Green |
Street Entertainers in Dublin |
The streets
were filled with shoppers and there were many buskers out attempting to
entertain the shoppers. We stopped to watch a young man on the
violin that was very good, a juggler who was mediocre and a
bubble-maker who was pathetic.We decided after a bit
to head back to the B&B, now it got a little exciting. Because
of the Marathon, the bus routes were modified. The bus drivers we
talked to did not know where the bus that we needed was picking up passengers,
we went to the tourist information booth and were told to go down a
street. When we got there we found that it was the bus stop but no
busses were going there because of the race. The entire street was
filled with busses to take the runners to their rally points after they
completed the race. We finally gave up and caught a taxi but even
he could only get us about a quarter mile from our destination because of road
closures. So we walked the remaining way which was exciting
because we were walking against a sea of runners. They filled the
four lane street and overflowed onto the sidewalks. It was
colorful, exciting and a little frustrating.
George at Lusk Round Tower |
Carlingford |
After Lusk,
we continued north stopping in the small village of Carlingford for coffee and a
berry scone. Carlingford is a medieval village complete with its
own castle, which was called Carlingford Castle until the village fathers in the
1990’s thought it would draw more tourists if they renamed it King James’
Castle, even though he only stayed there 3 nights. James was the
brother of Richard the Lion Hearted.
After
Carlingford we continued on to Lisburn, in Northern Ireland, where we toured the
Irish Linen Museum. It had a good display of the process of how
flax was turned into linen cloth. The biggest let down was that
the weavers had the day off so we did not see them working the looms.
We did get a demonstration by a young lady of how the flax is spun into
thread.
Entrance to Stormand Estate |
Like Joseph
and Mary, we found that there was no room at the inn. When we
arrived at the B&B, there was a note on the door – Back in 10
minutes. We waited 20 minutes and then called. The
manager showed up and told us that he did not have a reservation for the 4 of us
and he was full. He was very helpful and arranged a place for us
nearby, got us a better price and made up the difference between his price and
the new price. It turned out that we ended up in a much nicer
place so all are happy. Tomorrow the plan is to visit the Titanic
exhibit and then head north again to catch the ferry back to Scotland.
We estimate that we will arrive at Myra and Malcolm’s home at about 11
PM.
For those of
you who know me or have visited us in Chula Vista, you know that I have
collected beer mugs/glasses from the various countries that we have
visited. I have added 3 more to my collection – a Harp glass from
Belfast, Northern Ireland; a Murphy’s Irish Stout glass from Cork, Ireland; and
a Bellhaven Best glass from Scotland.
Titantic Exhibit in Belfast |
The older Building is where the Titanic was designed The new modern building is the Titanic Exhibit |
Laura standing where the bow of the Titanic rested when she was being built on the slips |
Thursday
started off as planned. We did laundry, Laura sorted her swag and
we generally relaxed for the morning. In the afternoon, we drove
to Arbroath to visit the Signal Tower Museum and to purchase some Arbroath
Smokies. When we arrived at the museum we found that they were
being attacked by hordes of school children so we decided that we would drive
into town and purchase the Smokies. They are haddock which have
been smoked over an oak fire.
Lighthouse Museum-Arbroath |
We also visited the Barry Mill which is one of only two mills operating in Scotland. It was very beautiful walking through areas of the mill.
Stream by Barry Mill |
Queen's View Lookout |
We then stopped for lunch along the road before continuing on to visit several small towns and their shopping opportunities.
Falls of Acharn |
The day was
coming to an end so we headed back for home then. Myra had a nice
dinner of Smokies for us and then we continued our education on Whiskey by
trying a wee dram or two of Glenmorangie, a 10 year old Highland Single Malt
Scotch Whisky. Glenmorangie translates to Glen of Tranquility and
after a drink I certainly felt tranquil. To finish off the night
we had a drop of Glayva which is a whisky liqueur which is lighter than that of
Drambuie. Then it was time to toddle off to bed to
dream.
Saturday
morning, we arose to what was becoming a typical weather for the day – gray with
the chance of rain. After a late start, we headed out for Falkland
Palace in the Kingdom of Fife. It was the hunting palace for Mary,
Queen of Scots and King James the 4th who was her
father. Falkland Palace |
We did manage to evade any rain and returned safe and sound to Carnoustie for a dinner of Macaroni and Cheese. I also received my second lesson in Single Malts – Malcolm served a dram of Highland Park which is made in Orkney, Scotland. It is the most northern distillery in Scotland. It had a definite smoky taste from the peat added to the mix.
Sunday morning, we ventured out to Stirling to visit the William Wallace National Monument and to take a tour of Stirling Castle.
Plague on the wall of the Wallace Monument |
Stirling Castle |
Most of the castles that we have visited have been just gray stone but Stirling Castle they attempted to show what the colors were both inside and outside the buildings. The great hall was repainted a few years ago and the local populace was in an outrage but the archeologists had found traces of the original paint and had duplicated the hue
Inside Stirling Castle |
We had a nice visit to the castle and enjoyed the guided tour which was offered. We then returned to Carnoustie for dinner and another lesson in the appreciation of Single Malts. Tonight’s sampling was a twelve year old single malt called The Balvenie, a DoubleWood whisky. This means that the first aging is done in a traditional Whisky oak cask and the second aging is done in a Sherry oak cask. It was very smooth and had none of the smokiness of the Highland Park. It was a suitable ending for a glorious day of adventure.
Monday was a quiet day; we started packing for our departure tomorrow. We went with Malcolm and Myra to the store while they shopped for dog food and other necessities for Clova and Kia. For dinner we accompanied them to a friend’s home – Ronnie and Rachel. They have a nice home outside the town of Carnoustie. A small river runs along the property. One side of the property opens out on a field so they have a very pastoral view. There were red squirrels which came down to feed in their back garden as well as several China pheasants.
We are now
settled in for the evening and enjoying my final single malt lesson.
Tonight’s sample is a 15 year old Glenfiddich – Solera Reserve distilled
in Banffshire, Scotland.
Tuesday was
up early and at the airport in Edinburgh by 9:30AM, plane left at noon, we
arrived in Newark at about 2:30PM local time and left for San Diego after 6PM,
arriving at about 9:15PM. The plane trip was long and
tiring. It was fairly smooth except the portion from Newark to San
Diego; there we had a lot of bumpy air with which to contend. We
arrive home at about 10:30PM and were greeted by two very excited
schnauzers. I hope you have enjoyed the reports. We like to share our adventures. Hope your travels are safe and you have many adventures. George & Laura
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