August 31 - Day 13

Left very early this morning.  Cooked breakfast and not much choices, but included potato scone!  We change seats every day in order to give every one a chance for the front of the bus. The front has benefits, they do open a second door in the other side mid bus but it’s very steep.  It is the well for the emergency toilet, we call it the wine cellar.  We drive along the north coast going east. We are now in the Atlantic Ocean and we can see the moisture in the air away from the drier north sea.  We are seeing some spitting and low clouds but there are signs of clearing.  We stop stop at the Weaver’s cottage in Tongue.  There used to be weaving there but the loom is now in a museum and it’s a restaurant and gift shop.  They views over the sea are stunning.  Next we stop at Smoo Cave. It’s a hike to the bottom but spectacular views.  I huge opening carved by the sea but internally carved by a river.  The ceiling is at least 40 feet with interesting naturally carved rock formations.  Not sure how far the sea comes up at high tide but says not to go down when it changes.  The early Norwegians used it as a port to store provisions.  The river is a high falls that comes down internally and there are deeper caves off the side.  Quite a sight.  Above ground are holes in the ground showing the above ground river disappearing down into the cave.  It’s a interesting phenomenon.  We are greated by the guides with Tunnocks carmel, chocolate, marshmallow and wafer cakes.  They tell us they are baby haggis, and we believe them.  NOT.

Drive from cave to Ullapool is incredible.  It’s a combination of Alaska and Canadian mountains.  The elevations are under 4k but since we see them at sea level they are impressive.  The sea intrudes into the mountains on a regular basis. These are lochs, where the rivers meet the sea, fresh water meets salt water.  The mountains are mostly grass covered due to the moisture, warmth of the Atlantic and lower elevations.  There are some craggy outcroppings and glacial rocks strewn everywhere.  But they manage to keep the occasional farm and the sheep are everywhere including the road.  It’s hard to describe the beauty of the region.  We have seen some incredible mountain vistas and this rates right up there.  They are farming mussels in some of the locks.  The thing that’s missing is any wild animals of any size.  We don’t see anything but one scared deer.  They killed the wolves off long ago.  The elements are what are dangerous to hikers, not wild animals except the 2 legged kind.  We continue through the day with one incredible view after another.  These are old mountains, it’s obvious they were carved by glaciers during the ice age.  They are not growing with the collision of tectonic plates.  They are eroding over time.  But they are grand and given us a thrill with their show of the forces of nature.  There is water every where.  There is no snow pack in these mountains.  There is no snow pack in these mountains.  Streams and falls coming down from kettle lakes higher up.  Rain is the source and there’s plenty of it.  The water is brackish from the peat.  We see peat cuttings piled for drying along the way.  We are in and out of sun now. A much more spectacular light than full sun.  Stop at Ullapool on Loch Broom.  A cute seaside town with ferry service. There are a number of net fishing boats sitting in the port.  The row of shops line the harborside.  The low mountains around the port are very similar to being in southeast Alaska.  We eat fish and chips at the Chippy.  It’s not good for us but it’s so good tasting. We site outside on benches overlooking the harbor, surrounded by green mountains.  We see two harbor seals bobbing up by the fishing vessels. Drive on to Loch Carron on a single track road.  This huge bus has to pass anything that come toward us.  We stop at a high elevation to look over the Loch and can’t describe the beauty. The loch connects to the sea and we can tell the tide is coming in.  High mountains running into the water.  The little village of Stromeferry is below us.  They used to ferry passengers back and forth across the loch.  Continue to drive through lovely lower mountains and lots of rivers and lochs, in full sun.  We stop at Eileen Donan Castle on Loch Alsh for photos.  This is the same castle used in James Bond films and other famous movies.  It’s small by sits out in the loch connected by a bridge, used to be surrounded by tide for security.  Moving on and crossing the new bridge to the Isle of Skye.  The bridge was put in in 1997, after we left Scotland, up to then you had to use a ferry to get over.  It’s sunny and breezy.  We are staying on the tiny main street of Kyleakie at the King’s Arms Hotel.  Very historic and another one of those hotels that go on forever with miles of narrow hallways. At least it feels that way after a day of travel.  Thankfully the staff bring our bags to the room, the weight has increased with the purchases made.  They have allowed us to put an extra bag under the bus as long as we shlep it.  More tartan carpet, every hotel has had their special carpet.  There are no trains or main drags for noise so we assume a quiet night.  Dinner at the hotel, pork loin with applesauce and Hake, a kind of fish.  Fish done well but a little strong.  Fresh potatoes and veg.  Starter is a pate with oat crackers, very good.  Stroll after dinner and take pictures of sail boats bobbing in the bay.  We can see the mainland immediately across from us.  The sunset is bright rose pink on dark gray clouds, hard to describe the beauty.  Take a picture of the launch area and it is lined on the bottom with square stones taken right out of the hills.  The water is so pure it is clear to the bottom. Stop at the Saucy Sister for  hand pulled cask beer brewed on Skye. The Red and the Black are both very good.  Back to hotel for a much needed rest.  We have an early day again tomorrow.  We are nearing the end of this bus trip but more to come so have to stay well.  Some of the passengers have gotten cold, we are trying not to breath around them.  LOL.  Nighty night.

August 30 - Day 12

Early morning and full day ahead.  The town is quiet, finally, mostly because it is Sunday morning.  The ‘kids’ were on the town last night all through the night  There is nothing much going on around here and they take over the downtown after 10PM on a Saturday .  Lots of shouting and racing cars around town.  Don’t know where the police are, they seem to be inside watching the telly.  We’re told they are high spirits but very annoying for tired travelers.  We swear the close set stone buildings actually amplify the sounds. Down to breakfast.  Lot’s less choices for fruit and bakery.  A hot breakfast is being served with the usual suspects.  We take a quick stroll around the sleeping town and thinking how to find the noisemakers and go sing outside their houses.  LOL.  On the bus on our way to John O’Groats.  It is sunny and warm with some wind.  This site is the northern top of mainland Scotland, 864 miles from Land’s End the furthest south point in Great Brittain.  It’s a great picture spot with a Starbucks.  But only a facsimile of SB, the coffee not so good.  Past Castle Mey, one of the royal family homes, with a stunning view of the sea.  The flag is up so it means Charles and Camilla are in residence for their usual August holiday.  Our bus backs onto a catamaran ferry at Scrabster.  The ferry is privately operated.  It’s amazing the vehicles they get loaded on.  Two buses our size are parked within inches of each other.  We walk up to the top deck and stand through the one hour trip to be able to see everything.  We are in mostly sun, the sea is relatively quiet and wind is low.  We begin to see the many islands that make up the Orkney’s.  There is the rare house and farm and lots of sheep and cows. The islands produce enough milk to meet their needs without imports.  Also, they produce enough wind power to power all islanders with enough to sell to the bigger grid.  They are working on tidal power and plan to have it operational in next couple years.  The islands appear mostly treeless.  We are looking at the North Sea side and the wave crash up on steep cliffs.  We can see a large oil refinery on Hoy Island.  A tanker comes in once a week to unload into an underground pipe leading to the refinery.  It would be a great shame to have a spill of magnitude up there, it’s a fragile environment. It is an irony that they pursue the wind and tide power for their own use but happy to ship the oil out.  LOL. There is a lonesome looking bare island of old stone houses and buildings stretching out over the moor.  They appear empty and abandoned, very sad thinking about who built them and lived there at one time.  We disembark in St. Margaret, small quaint village that used to be where herring fishermen lived and worked. The day remains sunny and clear.  It’s a very lucky thing given the reputation of the area of severe gale force winds and rain and heavy cloud cover.  Not only are we at the same latitude for Alaska but we are where the North Sea and the Atlantic converge.  The only land north of here is the Shetland Islands.  It’s very green but covered with fields of barley and hay for their thousands of sheep and cows.  They grow Angus beef for sale and milk cows for their dairy and sheep, all have to be fed. There are two distilleries and two brewers on the island.  We tried the Orkney stout before we got here and we weren’t fans.  The Highland Park whisky distillers use local water and unlike the big boy operations they still dig out local peat from the bogs to burn in the processing of this single malt. We buy a bottle to take home no tastings so it will be a mystery until then.  We have to pinch outselves with the day we are getting, the Orks are known for fog and low visiability.  We get a few spits but it doesn’t last and then the sun comes out. We have a new bus driver for the day and a local guide who is a wealth of information on all island subjects.  The Norwegian influence here is unmistakable.  One third of Scotland (north) was ruled by them until the Scots took it back until 1498.  The houses are built like mainland Scotland.  We travel around Scappa Flow, a bay where the Royal Oak was sunk during WWI by a German sub. During WWI they decided to sink ships to block access to the connecting waters.  Their ghostly hulls are still seen in the water near the barriers.  The influence of war is very prevalent here, early transition of invaders like the Norwegians and two WW’s.  After the sinking of the Loyal Oak, killing most on board, Winston Churchhill, then naval commander, ordered the building of the Churchhill Barriers, four barriers joining four islands and closing off free water passage between them.  The Germans bombed and attempted to invade through the north of Great Britain in both wars, the Orks were a focus of their attacks.  Some barriers take brunt from storms but still stand but also create huge waves on cars, another one has built a natural sand dune on one side and subdues the waves.  Without these barriers we would have to have gotten off and on ferries several time for access. We see what are called Block shipsThere us a main island of Orkney and it is referred to as the mainland in comparison to the surrounding islands.   Added all together there is only a couple thousand people.  We venture on around the island and pass by the Highland Park Distillery, they use island barley and water and burn island peat. We don’t get to tasted it but buy a small bottle to take home.  We anticipate it will be very smoky. The names on the island are all Norwegian influenced and there remains today a special alliance and shared events between them and Orkney’s.  The Orks have their own flag, yellow background and red cross.  There are lots of festivals to draw tourists to the area.  Cruise ships come in with as many as 4000 at a time.  We stop for lunch in a tiny village at a restaurant called Smithfield Hotel.  Carrot and coriander soup and four kinds of tea sandwiches, carrot cake and shortbread.  We stop at Scara Brae, which is a highlight of the trip.  A Neolithic village found by accident by a farmer. They excavated the sight and today we are able to walk along the top and look down into the subterranean homes made of stone.  They had round hide roof tents that covered them.  Many artifacts were found that tell the story of their lives.  The site sits right on te beach.  It is amazing to see it in person.  Then we walk over to Skaill House an intact house from the 1400’s which is very opulent for the times.  It has connections with Captain Cook.  We also stop at the Ring of Bogdor.  Earlier than the druids at Stonehenge but similar design of a perfect circle ringed by large standing (up to 12 feet) local stones.  There is a ditch that forms an outer ring. Also what is called the comet stone stands at a distance aligned with the center of the circle.  They don’t know what it depicted but knew it was important.  The Picts also existed in the ORks There were two prisoner of war camps during WWII. The Italian camp prisoners were used to build the Churchill Barriers.  They were homesick and among them were many artisans. The base commander gave them two Quonset huts that they welded together and out of camp scraps the created a beautiful church. It stands today as a memorial to the church and efforts.  There were witches in the Orks and many were burned at the stake but that had been a few years ago.  The town of Kirkwall is lovely, especially with St. Magnus Cathedral, a very early church built by Norwegians on the island.  It is an incredible place with soaring vaulted ceilings and a variety of architectural early styles in red sandstone.  The bones of St Magnus are found in one of the walls.  Back on the bus and onto the ferry.  Still sunny and relatively warm.  We know we have been incredibly lucky. Back at the hotel for dinner of fresh cod and ham, new potatoes and steamed veg, Cheesecake and ice cream.  Quieter tonight.  Bars closed, it’s a 4 day bank holiday but I think this town has its limits.  We have not been able to get the pictures downloaded onto the blog, hope to do it before we leave Glasgow.  This has been a fantastic trip but very demanding schedule wise.  All we can do to get the blog on.  We have had a magcal day in the Orkney’s, which should be named the orneries weatherwise.  Nighty night.

August 29 - Day 11

Up for an early start.  The room was so tiny we had to take turns going from one side to the other. Every shower and light fixture is different in each hotel.  That is part of the learning process.  We can’t run the shower without keeping the door closed or it will set off the fire alarm.  Breakfast downstairs and it is mostly what we have had most mornings but this time there is porridge.  On the bus to Loch Ness, famous for the Loch Ness monster.  The Ness River runs out of the Loch through Inverness to the North Sea.  Our hotel is located away from the town center so we see it for the first time today as we drive through.  It brings back memories of bringing the kids up here and staying downtown on the river.  The Caledonian Canal runs parallel to the river and lake.  We have seen so many canals this trip it’s beginning to be a theme.  We take a cruise on Loch Ness aboard a catamaran The Jacobite.  The loch is actually a combination of fault line that completely divides Scotland in two and an inland fjord formed by glaciers.  The sides are steep and it is very very deep.  The water is brackish with peat runoff.  The area reminds us of areas of Alaska with a lot of pine trees.  There’s a few houses/farms on the hillsides but mostly it’s too steep to hold much. We come into view of Urquhart Castle, old ruins and scene of war and conquest.  We alight here and walk the Castle and visit the Visitor’s Center.  We have to walk many steps and steep hillside, it is very demanding.  We are traveling mostly narrow roads that parallel the ocean.  We stop at Dornoch, a quaint little town with  many historic buildings including Dornoch Castle now a hotel and also see a large church.  We have a quick lunch at The Eagle, an historic pub on the high street.  Pat finds a charity shop and a nice Edinburgh vase for a steal.  Back on the bus to Dunrobin Castle.  The drive takes us through a lot of fields and then areas so rocky nothing can grow.  We follow the water most of the way and cross two lovely firths (bays) with picturesque surroundings.  We see a dormant oil rig in one of the bays and then further out we can see working ocean rig platforms.  We didn’t think the North Sea drilling was this far west but there it is. Explains why there seems to be so much wealth in Inverness and surrounding areas besides all the agriculture.  We arrive at Dunrobin Castle and it is incredible.  The home of the Sutherlands.  The building itself is a fairy tale with turrets and facades. The inside is very pleasant with interesting antiques.  But it is the gardens and the views from the building wide veranda.  The gardens are very sophisticated with mazes made out of bushes, a fountain and all forms of geometric patterns.  It is as beautiful as anything we have seen in the English style gardens.  The view from the veranda overlooks the huge gardens down to the sea.  There is also a separate building serving as a museum of the family’s collections of animals and other collectables.  The best was thing was the falconry demonstration. Their falconer who lives on the property breeds raptors from various parts of the world and also is a recovery for injured birds.  He demonstrates the hunting practices of the owl, Harris hawk (American) and the peregrine falcon.  It is an amazing demonstration.  There is an exhibit of live hawks, owls and an eagle. Back on the bus to the town of Thurso.  This town of 9k sits on the top northern edge of Scotland.  It is our gateway to the Orkney Islands tomorrow.  We are staying near the high street in the Royal Hotel.  We have had this experience in other UK settings.  Old hotels that they build onto and produce a maze of hallways and stairs to get to the room.  In all hotels so far there are only two elevators.  One is used by the staff to try to get our bags to the room in an efficient manner and the other by bus loads of tourists.  So we end up taking the stairs a lot.  It makes for a day full of stair taking.  We take a quick walk around the town.  Very simple with a couple cute shops, a beautiful town square and garden and a central large church.  We walk over for a view from the beach because the town sits on the North Sea.  We can see the Orkney Islands off in the distance shrouded by clouds.  And the coastal cliffs are quite dramatic. We see the ferry coming in from the Orkney’s, we’ll be on it tomorrow.  We have begun to see a strange kind of stone wall used for fencing in the fields and as a border fence in Thurso homes.  The only other place we have seen it is in Galway, Ireland, particularly at the Cliffs of Morr.  We go back to the hotel for our dinner served on the tour. Pat has fresh caught cod and Chuck has the chicken, simple cooked potatoes and veg.  Chuck has chocolate cake and Pat has profiteroles (cream puffs). After dinner we go to see the Thurso pipe and drum band playing in the square nearby.  They are in full dress tartan and march very smartly and play well.  Then comes the local girl Scottish dancers.  Ranging in age from 5 to 18, in full dance tartan.  They do a couple highland dances including the sword dance.  The little ones are adorable, they frown in their concentration.  Back to the hotel it’s a very early and long day tomorrow.

NOTE:  Our room is huge and so is the bath, quite a contrast to last night!  We’re tucked up under the roof and on one of the main drags.  It’s Saturday night so there will be activity.  Hope it’s minimal!

August 28 - Day 10

Today is our son in law’s birthday, Happy Birthday Zach, Brenna says he received our package and hope he enjoys the day!  Heard from Seth, our  killer tomatoes are finding homes with Seth’s friends.  Sun is shining and it’s a little cool.  There was a full moon last night outlining the hills around us.  Was a bit quieter except for the young hotel staff who sounded like they were partying after work.  And then there is the train…. There are a lot of eastern Europeans working in the hotels and restaurants all along the way.  Breakfast is buffet with the usual eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding (which we didn’t try), beans, bakery and fruit.  We stop in the town (Pitlochry) to tour Bell’s whisky aka Scotch.  Scotch and whisky spelled without an e is only made in Scotland.  We have done tours on the whisky trail in previous trips but still learned a bit more especially about the business and distribution connections of today.  Pat not liking Scotch took a small sample sip, it was definitely smokey which comes from peat.  We tasted a single malt and the waters used in the area are brownish from the peat.  We leave town after that.  We are definitely leaving the crop farming terrain and climbing onward up into the highlands. At times it reminds us of the Independence Mine area north of Anchorage.  Braided, rocky streams and terrain that shows the movement of past glaciers.  Sheep are everywhere.  The heather covers the ground in purple, the fireweed is blooming bright pink and the gorse also called broom is bright yellow.  We come to a farm where the champion sheep herder lives.  It’s obvious he is breeding sheep dogs.  We travel down a rocky ‘drive’ and are greeted by a bunch of black and white dogs, all ages, including puppies.  There are very friendly but they continually look for their master.  He finally comes out with his staff and greets the tourists.  We decide not to stay for the show but go on into the town of Aviemore.  This town sits in the Cairngorm hills, the elevations run some thousand feet (nothing over 5K)  This is a town for sports, hill walkers, skiers and all manner of snow sports.  It’s very touristy with little shops and restaurants.  We ate lunch at a local hotel, very fun authentic and old with antler lamps and tartan carpet.  Walked to a few of the shops.  This is a long Bank holiday weekend for Scotland and there is a motorcycle festival in town.  Lots of Harley’s and riders in full leathers coming in for it.  There will be a rally ride as part of the three days.  Pat films a Harley with a single sprig of heather sticking up out of the back.  They seem like very nice bikers but they look tough.  There is a central stage set up and a piper is playing.  As we leave there is a guitarist singing Free Bird.  Interesting weekend.  We drive to Culloden, the historic battle field of the Jacobite uprising, a civil war.  There was a lot of cruelty to the average people who were starved, killed and tortured.  This is a National Trust property and the visitor’s center is very nice.  Best thing for Pat was the National Trust Gift Shop.  The story is always too sad for her.  We drive on to Inverness for the night.  We come down a steep hill and all the bay and city is open before us.  We are in bright sunshine which is a miracle.  There is a KFC right across the street from the hotel Thistle Inverness.  But we are going on a pub meal tonight in Cawdor.  Yes, the setting for Shakespeare’s MacBeth is Cawdor Castle which is located in the small town..  The hotel is modern downstairs but very old upstairs.   We barely get our bags before we have to leave for dinner.  We have opted for the pub meal in Cawdor and have a half hour drive out of town.  It is sunny and the views into the Firth of Moray are beautiful.  The village is tiny, the road is so narrow and lined with trees that we are barely making it through.  The Cawdor Pub is very quaint and old with interesting antiques.  The meal is a blue cheese, apple and walnut salad and smoked mackerel mousse, Scottish salmon, veg and new potatoes, Scottish cheese plate and fruit and meringue Pavlova.  Delicious dinner and sitting with new travelers we hadn’t met before.  Ride back in the bus and driver playing Rod Stewart music, another Scottish singer.  The moon is full and it’s a warm evening.  Writing a note before bed to say Happy  Birthday to Zach and wish he and Brenna good luck on a bid they have put on a house.  Tired after another great day.  To Lock Ness tomorrow and Thurso at the top of Scotland’s mainland.  Nighty Night. 

Note:  the grass is very green, Scottish grass is fine, dense and short, it’s like a sponge so not only does it get a lot of rain, it is like a sponge.  Most houses are detached, semi-detached or row houses or flats.  The outsides are either cut stone or plaster/adobe with a stippled finish.  The roofs are either clay tile, usually dark orange or cut slate.  The slate roofs are amazing, there are so rare in the USA.

August 27 - Day 9

Got up early to sunshine and cool temps.  We are so close to the Tattoo that we have heard the fireworks at 11PM every night.   This has been a wonderful trip and our location has made us familiar with areas of Edinburgh we were not familiar with.  But we are ready to leave the city noise behind us.  Same breakfast buffet but they have added a strange sausage that is dry and like saw dust.  Obviously we didn’t eat it.  On the bus.  The driver allows us to put extra luggage in the hold as long as we handle it ourselves which really helps.  We drive north east out of Edinburgh over the Forth Bridge.  We parallel the Firth of Forth train bridge which is still an awesome sight, constructed in the Victorian age.  A fellow passenger tells us that her great grandfather worked on the bridge.  We enter the Kingdom of Fife of ancient history and ancestry.  We drive out of the sun and into the black clouds.  The countryside is one field after another of potatoes, turnips and barley.  The are hills building all around  Had no idea of the impact of agriculture in this area.  Farms are large and have big silos to hold grain.  Lots of cows and sheep. We enter St Andrews under clouds.  The bus is only stopping here for an hour and is parked outside the town center.  We walk along the historic golf course and enter the town.  We find the West Port, the remnants of the medieval wall that surrounded the city.  It begins to rain.  We only have a short time to walk to the town center. Pat drops quickly into 2 of the numerous charity shops, no luck. It’s getting miserable with heavy drizzle and wind.  We at least get to see the street of Kathleen and John’s house where we stayed some years back on the Lade Braes.  The neighborhood pub is still there.  We have to walk quickly back for this short stop.  Not only is this the center for golf but it has a long history including the University of St. Andrews.  This is Prince Williams School and where he met Kate.  We pass the coffee shop where they had their early dates.  We drive by Abbey ruins which we have viewed in the past.  We pass the restaurant we dined at in the past with a glass deck over the sea.  The golf courses are busy and the rain doesn’t stop it at all.  There are wind surfers on the water.  This is the beach where Chariots of Fire was filmed.  We drive into sun and clouds through rising hills and more farming.  We pass through Dundee over the wide Tay River.  Annie Lennox is from here so they play some of her music.  There is a large drilling rig sitting in the Tay, non-operational.  We enter a deep and step valley of ferns and hardwood trees on a very narrow road. We arrive at Glamis Castle, the royal home of Queen Mum, the Bowes-Lyons.  It’s a beautiful grounds with shaggy red highland cattle grazing.  There are 5 calves and a large bull among the cows. They are interesting beasts with big horns, but they are very ornery as well.  We walk the grounds and see huge old trees of various species all around.  The copper beaches are particularly spectacular.  We take the tour of this old castle. It is said to be haunted and we are told stories supporting it. This is where Shakespeare wrote MacBeth (the play that shall not be named).  It has passage ways and secret doors and lots of stone walls. The rooms that are refined with furnishing and draperies are spectacular.  We have a brief meal in the restaurant.  They have adapted the kitchen into a dining room. The huge stoves and ovens and long line of various sizes of copper pots are intact.  The food is delicious; Scottish smoked salmon sandwich and Cullen Skink ( smoked haddock, potatoes and leeks in a cream base.  The outside of the castle looks like a fairytale with turrets and openings for weaponry.

Taking a back road to Pitlochry.  The road is so narrow we have no idea how this huge bus is making it past other vehicles including trucks.  It also twists and turns with blind corners.  We are sometimes in a tunnel of hedgerows and stone walls.  When we go through villages the front doors of the houses open with one step and narrow sidewalk to the street.  We joke we could reach out the window and take fruit right out of the sidewalk stands.  We are officially in the highlands as we entry Pitlochry.  The mountains are rising around us and the quaint town is the home to heather gemstones and Bell’s distillery.  This town is one of the stepping off points for ‘walkers’ to begin their treks and overnight in hotels.  Our hotel is old and sits on the high street, Fishers.  There’s one lift for the whole hotel and we must use old style room keys.  We walk around the town with many cute shops and lots of flowers. The Old Mill hotel is off the main street with a working wooden mill wheel operating off a little burn (creek).  We try out a couple Scottish ales at the Auld Smitty and McKay’s. There must be an air base nearby, supersonic jets are flying low back and forth.  Back to hotel for an included dinner. We have haggis with Drambuie sauce, steak and ale pie, veg and mash, finished with rhubarb crumble.  The hotel is very large and the large group dining areas are comfortable and nicely decorated.  There are multiple tours coming and going along with us.  Lots of chat with fellow travelers, we are getting to know each other better.  The Winnipeg couple had to drop out due to illness and we hope they can meet up with us.  Our room is down a long very narrow hallway.  A small but adequate room with a double bed and ensuite with windows overlooking the courtyard and rising hills off the main street. Should be much quieter.

Heading to Inverness tomorrow, moving deeper into the highlands and making our way to Inverness, the capital of the highlands and largest city north of Aberdeen.

Nighty Night.

August 26 - Day 8

Up for hotel breakfast buffet, same as yesterday.  We leave for the Borders via the bus.  The Borders lie in southern Scotland, just above England’s border.  They don’t speak any Gaelic but are known for ‘olde’ Scottish dialect.  This is a wealthy farming area with rich soil.  Lots of cattle, sheep and fields of barley.  It’s very beautiful with huge hardwood trees and high rolling hills and many streams.  This area is known for their abbeys.  We drive to Jedburgh Abbey that sits in the town of same.  Beautiful picturesque village and river running through.  The Abbey is in ruins but very imposing still.  We get some very good pictures here.  There is a sample of dry dyck wall building, a vertical sample supporting a horizontal sample.  We head on to the next Abbey, Melrose, set in the town of same.  Another beautiful medieval abbey made of gold and red sandstone.  The earliest portions of the Abbey are gone but outlined in the grass.  What is left is very imposing with some of the window shapes still intact.  This is where Robert the Bruce’s heart is buried.  The grounds show outlines of more areas of the earlier stages of the Abbey.  Many old gravestones, very ornate, surround it as well.  We decide to climb to the roof of the Abbey.  It is a column about 18 inches wide with spiraling, narrow stairs going straight up.  At times we are in near darkness.  The only thing to hold on to is a thick knotted rope running up the side.  The view is great but not sure it was worth the stress and strain!  We walk around the village and it is very lovely and quaint.  Neat as a button with a high street of shops and many pots of brightly colored flowers.  Pat stops at one of the charity shops and finds a really cute crystal thistle vase, very tiny.  Try to shop National Trust or charity shops when we can.  Bus back to Edinburgh and traveling on to the Royal Yacht, The Britannia.   This is the last royal yacht that was commissioned and used by Queen E and family for affairs of state and family functions.  It was decommissioned in 1997 and Edinburgh won the bid to keep the yacht for tourism.  It was not as ostentatious as we thought it might be but it has many natural products used in its building so demands a lot of upkeep.  We saw the Queen and Prince Philip’s bedrooms and the honeymoon suite that Diana and Charles used.  Pat had tea in the grand salon before leaving the boat.  The yacht is moored on the Firth of Forth (the estuary of the Forth River) It is a tidal area of the North Sea.  An oil rig platform sits in the Firth.  Back to the hotel and free time.  Pat and Chuck walk back down to Grassmarket to the Bee Hive Pub.  We have dinner in the back garden.  Scottish beef burger, Steak and Ale Pie are the choices.  The Fringe Festival continues and we happen into an improvisational comedy on Freedom of Speech.  Thought provoking but not everyone’s cup of tea.  Back to hotel and getting ready for tomorrow.  Today was partly sunny with a few occasions of light rain, (mostly while we were in the bus). We will be on the road and only stay for one night for a couple nights for a few days.  We are heading for the Highlands.  First stop St. Andrew.  Luggage out the door by 7:45 and leave hotel 8:45.  Nighty Night

August 25 - Day 7

Room is facing a main street, but that didn’t stop sleep! It’s a bright sunny day in the low 70’s. Down for breakfast buffet in the hotel.  Sausages (not like American), haggis (spicy recipe and good), eggs, pork and beans (very British), grilled tomato and sautéed mushrooms and hash browns, pancakes, yogurt, fruit, all kinds of breads and jams, cereals, juices, slices of salami and cheese.  What we have is very good! On the bus to tour Edinburgh.  Pass through New Town (1800) with Georgian architecture and streets laid out by grid. We pass Princes Street with the tall Walter Scott monument and a smaller version of the London Eye (Ferris wheel).  There are 9 festivals going on in Edinburgh throughout August.  Kiosks of art, hand craft and entertainment are on most corners and pedestrian ways. The city is about 500k normally, during festival is at least 1.2 million given any day.  We arrive on the Royal mile (Old Town) on the upper end at Edinburgh Castle.  The lower end is the Palace of Holyrood House (Holy Cross) and the Parliament. It’s a cobbled street getting into the Castle lined with small shops and cafés.  The entrance to the castle is staged with huge bleachers for the Tattoo that we will see tonight.  We stop for a group pic in front of the castle.  The first try for smiles is 1,2,3 WHISKY!  The second pic is 1,2,3 and the tour guide lifts his kilt!  (only the top layer, no exposure.  LOL) No problems with smiles now.  We have visited the Castle on many occasions and can’t remember a day this clear.  We see well into the Firth of Forth to north and to the borders in the south with a panoramic view of the city.  We spend more time outside than in because we want the views and not repeat earlier sights.  But we must visit Margaret Chapel, the highest point of the ‘rock’ (the castle stands on old volcanic plug) and can see the top of the rock coming up through the walkway.  The Chapel is tiny but very beautiful.  We stop at the banquet hall and see the beautiful hand carved oak walls and ceiling beams, the stained glass and armaments.  They have two ancient displays of flags.  The one is being preserved forever so we are some of the last to see it displayed.  On to the jewel house, to give a nod to the crown, sword and scepter and large jeweled pieces.  Mostly we want to pay homage to the Stone of Scone (Scottish).  All GB royalty and earlier Scottish royalty have been crowned when sitting over the stone.  It has been in Westminster Abbey for years but now returned to Scotland where we get to see it again.  On the bus, we pass by the many buildings that make up the University of Edinburgh, very fine reputation over all but well known for their medical school.  (early school notorious for buying exhumed corpses from hawkers for autopsy practice.) Walk back to the hotel and then bus our way to Roslyn Chapel about 5 miles outside the City in the town of Roslyn.  There were and are lands owned by the St Clair family as old Barany; part of the lands and the chapel are still owned by them today.  The chapel was built as a Catholic place of worship in the 1400’s as the Baran’s attempt to serve God in an obvious way and then fast track to heaven.  It is a medieval sandstone structure filled with ornate carvings religious.  This chapel was used to film some of the scenes in the Da Vinci Code.  Unfortunately, the restoration methods applied cement slurry onto the stone which makes it all gray. Originally it would have been red and gold sandstone.  This chapel saw the demise of the Catholics and rise of Protestantism and Oliver Cromwell’s push.  The grounds are beautiful and serene with hill and valley views over the stone walls.  Have a nosh, never far from tea and biscuit!

Back to the hotel for some ‘free’ time.  Take a hike up to the Royal Mile once again.  Visit the woolen mill shops and navigate the crowds.  There are performers and craft tents set up everywhere.  We pass by a sand sculpture that looks like the Petrusa family dog, Brodhe. We stop at some churches, one is active with history of the covenanters, another is St Giles, the national church of Scotland and Tron, now used for music venue.  Stop at the Royal Mile Pub for hand pulled cask pints.  Still not quite got the hoppy IPA thing going.  Have an Orkney Stout, hard to beat Southern Tier.  Walk back to hotel via Cowgate and Grassmarket.  Pat remembers visiting Grassmarket that sits far below the Castle more than 20 years ago.  Back then it was a sleepy, dusty area with small odd shops.  Today it is young and very hip with art and new businesses.  We are near Greyfriars Church, famous for Greyfriars Bobby.  Multiple venues for plays and improve comedy up and down the street.  We stop to look over the White Hart Stag Pub, very old and ornate.  Then stop at another historic pub called the Beehive, low ceilings, flocked Victorian wallpaper and wood turned chairs and tables.  We find our way into the back beer-garden.  Very nice open area with a large tree growing through the decking, can look up and see the Castle above us.  Back to the hotel to catch the bus for the pre-Tattoo dinner.  We go with the tour to the International League House found on Princes Street.  A very historic and conserved  building. We’re led to the second floor dining room and the windows open into a full view of the Castle above us.  We have Ham Hough, lamb/mint, carrots and parsnips, new potatoes, ended with cheese cake and Pavlova (meringue, fruit and cream).  On to the Tattoo, a Scottish tradition of honoring their heritage and the military.  We sit in bleachers in the esplanade leading to the Castle as a backdrop.  There are thousands of views from all over the world.  For 2 ½ hours we watch military bands from around the world, and bagpipe and royal bands, Scottish dancers, violinists from the Orkney’s, Indian Bollywood display, and a Chinese troop acting out a story that includes 4 dancing dragons.  The whole time a variety of themed light displays are shown using the whole castle as a screen/backdrop.  The evening ends with fireworks and the lone piper high on the castle rampart playing the final song.  Walk back to the hotel, dark and drizzling.  The rain held off until we were leaving the Tattoo.  In Scotland a wee distance is at least a mile!

Nighty Night

August 24 - Day 6

Rained heavily through the night but this morning the clouds are clearing with some sun, no rain.  We hear the pitter pat tucked up in on the charming but tiny second floor of Ferguson’s nearly 100 year old bungalow. Today we head to Edinburgh where we meet up with our bus tour group.  Have a quick breakfast with McLean and Marion and finish packing.  We bid them both farewell with thanks for the hospitality!  We are returning here for a few days at the end of the bus trip so we are able to leave some things behind.  The tour only allows one suitcase for 14 days, it will be a challenge.  McLean drives us to the Whitecraigs station where catch the 10:08 for Glasgow Central. We are able to get our Edinburgh tickets at an electronic kiosk.  We leave at 11AM for an hour’s trip to Waverly Station in Edinburgh.  The scenery is not too striking, but pleasant with rolling hills, lots of stone walls, sheep, cows and stone houses, little villages with church steeples being the high points.  It only takes about an hour to get from Glasgow to Edinburgh, but we have totally crossed from the west over to the east with different ocean waters.  Waverly is a large station with the same Victorian iron work and glass ceilings but it has its own character.  Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital so the station is much larger.  Luckily we get there early enough to stow our bags at a baggage drop off station and head off on foot to the Scottish Parliament building on the lowest end of the Royal Mile.  Edinburgh Castle sits at the top of the long incline and Holyrood Castle sits at the bottom.  Across the street from Holyrood Castle is the Parliament building completed in the last 6 or so years.  We take a free tour of the Parliament and get an insider view of the architecture including a view of one of their conference rooms where hearings take place and the main speakers hall where debate ensues and votes are taken. The only real nod to tradition is a scepter made out of solid silver with a Scottish gold medallion, crafted by a Scottish artisan and gifted by the Queen. The architect for the building is a Spaniard from Barcelona (which we thought strange for a very special Scottish structure) and his design is based on organic shapes that make the building appear as if it is growing out of the soil.  There is a lot of concrete, metal and wooden beams and Scottish stone floors.  They incorporated a lot of nuanced Scottish design, namely St. Andrews cross or the saltire, the white cross on dark blue background, the Scottish national flag. They used as much Scottish natural resourced materials as possible in the building.  Throughout the building any signage is quoted in English but also in Gaelic.  We are impressed in this effort to build a deeper sense of Scottish identity.  There is no way we can begin to pronounce the Gaelic but we really like seeing it.  We didn’t realize Gaelic is part of a grouping of Celtic languages, Welsh, Irish, Scottish etc. One of the tour couples from the Hebrides began speaking to the guide in Gaelic and he responded without hesitation.  There were many aspects of the ultra-modern building that were attractive, curious and feats of design but overall we were not terribly impressed.  Partly because the maintenance and upkeep on the oddly shaped windows, glass ceilings and external metal plates require a lot of time and are labor intensive.  Our guide was excellent.  The most impressive and most important aspect of this building is that it represents the devolved government for which it stands.  Scotland lost its independence to England in early 1700 (after having a sophisticated system of royal rule and as of 1998, the central government of Great Britain voted to allow Scotland a significant amount of independence under the definition of devolution.  Scotland rules over most of its various governance needs but still depends on GB for foreign security matters etc.  Scottish Parliament has its own MSP’s Members of Scottish Parliament (elected legislators representing regions/districts) but they also elect MP’s Members of Parliament to serve in the GB government on non-devolution issues and powers.  The guide made one thing clear, multiple times, the Scottish parliament is there to serve its people and respond to their needs, they have many checks and balances in place to assure transparency and accountability, something they pursue with vigor.  Must hurry back to Waverly Station in order to meet the three hour time limit on baggage storage and get a cab in time to check in at the hotel with the tour.  Fast walk up the incline, our age is showing.  As we leave the Parliament building there’s a new and very fancy Queen’s Gallery and Exhibition frontage on Holyrood Castle.  We have been there in the past.  The lower end of the Royal Mile is now a hopping place for visitors to see and experience. The path to Arthur’s Seat, a huge rocky incline leading to a high elevation outcropping is here.  We have not done the view over all of Edinburgh and surrounding areas, it would be awesome to do, especially seeing the parliament design from that elevation.  Pull the bags, get a taxi and high tail it to the Novotel Hotel on Lauriston.  We thought it was located way out of the way, but turns out we are just below the castle.  On the way here we see the crowds in Edinburgh for the Fringe, Art and Book International Festivals.  There are crazily dressed entertainers performing spontaneously on the streets.  We check in, we’re a large group and everyone is a stranger and a little awkward.  Off to dinner at a mystery location.  The bus is a behemoth vehicle that has a ‘downstairs’ restroom.  We are taken to the Edinburgh Zoo’s Mansion House.  A gorgeous red sand stone Georgian house with dark woods, hand carved and ornate plastered ceiling medallions and cove moldings and stained glass windows.  The view looks out over to Arthur’s Seat.  Where the wood floor is not covered there are carpets made of wool Lyndsay tartan patterns.  We are served beer and wine and asked to find the person who belongs to a name tag we are given.  It makes for a lot of spontaneous conversation and then we are seated at large tables, by the end of the evening there are few strangers.  Of course, we are all of similar age, Chuck and Pat tending on the younger side, so we have lots in common.  Meet 5 couples from Australia, some from Canada and US and a few Scots and Brits.  Our buffet dinner consisted of a Scottish smorgasbord: Cullen Skink soup with rolls, Haddock and chips, Scottish venison burger with a layer of black pudding on bun, steamed veg, Mull cheddar and pepper fritters, chicken satay (node to their love of Indian food), Scottish beef pies.  Followed by chocolate hazelnut tarts, nut custard and cream.  Really good, especially as it was made in large quantities.  We see a few animals in the zoo as we pass by, lemurs jumping in the trees.  We have pictures of Brenna and Seth as young children sitting in front of the Edinburgh Zoo sign, so it had special significance for us.  Bus trip home and itineraries discussed.  There is so much more to come.  We have two more days in Edinburgh until we leave cities behind for several days and enter the remote Scottish landscape.  We’re very tired but pleased.  Up early.  Nighty Night.

August 23 - Day 5

Wake up to blue skies and sunshine, windy but warm.  Marion and McLean work their magic at the griddle and we are served a fry-up breakfast of potato scones, streaky bacon and eggs, toast and fresh nectarines.  They have threatened us with black pudding and haggis but have relented. Very enjoyable.  McLean takes us on a local tour of our area digs in Whitecraigs.  First stop Rouken Glen Park.  Pat spent many hours walking and exploring this park after dropping the kids at school.  We walk around a bit and find the lovely walled garden is closed to the public with renovations happening inside  There are families with kids and dogs everywhere, everyone is enjoying this respite of sun and warm winds.  We pass by the Garden Center where Pat and friends enjoyed many cups of tea and chat.  Our favorite Chinese restaurant is still there in an old stone building, it was decorated in McIntosh theme.  We drive past the boat house and we can see the island in the center of the small lake.  Many happy memories in the park.  Next stop, 5 Lethington Road, the house we lived in.  Looks very much the same, there is someone living in the house, not sure if it is still a rental or has sold.  Looking at the driveway was a reminder that it was not much more than a luge edged in rocks.  Yikes, no wonder Pat had a perpetual fender benders coming out of the drive.  We could still clearly see Whitecraigs Golf Course across the street.  Next stop Broomhill Kirk (Church of Scotland), the church we attended.  Still looks the same, very lovely building and so well cared for.  The Parish Hall sits next door, it brings back memories of summer ‘play schemes’ with the neighborhood children acting out plays and doing crafts.  Next stop Kirkhill Primary School where Brenna and Seth attended.  Still a lovely little school and looks very much the same from the outside.  It sits tucked into the neighborhood and they have added an obstacle course and eco-garden area for student play and plantings.  Able to peak in the front door and see mannequins dressed in the school uniforms as a sampling for students to know the dress code.  Still navy and or gray, but didn’t see the tie like Brenna and Seth had to wear.  Next stop Green Bank Gardens, operated by the Scottish Trust.  This is one of our very favorite places, a country manner in miniature with working farm buildings and carriage house.  This is an oasis of green space, the buildings surrounded by open fields and old trees.  One of their claims to fame is selling plants that are grown on the property.  We stop long enough to take a few pictures and visit the gift shop- tea room.  The Scots are so civilized we are never far from a cup of tea and biscuits!  The building looks like an old byre or barn.  It is has been built out of stacks of sandstone with a high ceiling.  The walls are a couple feet thick, original and very rustic. Pat finds a stash of spurdles (porridge stirrers), a must have for every kitchen!  So far we have stayed true to only buying Scottish made products and will continue so to do.  We head down the old Ayr road traveling south west.  We follow the spine of the Eaglesham Moor, the land opens wide and treeless.   The moor is covered in thick clumps of purple heather, bloomed purple thistles and bright pink fireweed.  The wind is blowing hard and steady.  We arrive at the White Lee Wind Farm.  The first impression is war of the worlds.  Two hundred and fifty white wind turbines go on for miles, most of them in operation.   The scale fools you until you see people standing at the bottom of a turbine and they look like ants. We stop at the Visitors Centre and see the displays on wind power.  We learn that it is more complicated than just having a giant fan turning in the breeze.  All the turbines are operated by remote control.  They can be rotated 360 degrees and the blade angles changed.  The exhibition is very impression with hands on interactives.  Scottish Power has a goal to go all green with their energy in the next decades, the young students who speak with us are proud and excited by this operation.  The Centre is equivalent to a US Leed Certified building using various forms of natural energy to operate.  And of course, they serve tea and chocolate slices.  So we imbibe because we must do what we can to help the economy.  The view from the deck is breath taking.  Wide open moor with aliens turning in the breeze.  We are sunny but distant view is clouded, we can just make out the hills around Troon (sits on the Atlantic) and the peaks of the island of Aran. In Scotland we are never more that 50 miles from the Atlantic or North Sea). A drive through another favorite place, the conservation village of Eaglesham, pronounced Eaglesem.  The historic Wishing Well tea shop is still there as is the well known Goldsmith/Jewelry store and little stone kirk.  There is large open grass and tree green that cannot be built on.  In fact, we believe the village has zero growth ordinances and the historic buildings must be maintained on the outside as original.  On to dinner at a small Italian restaurant on the Ayr Road, Oscars.  Needless to say the wait staff get a friendly work out from us.  It’s a joyful and delicious meal.  Our private driver, McLean, leads us back home for the night.  But we can’t give up yet, we must torture our hosts with games of Euchre with rules that defy logic.  They are gracious, but remain confuse.  Big day tomorrow, heading for Edinburgh to meet up with our bus tour.  The sunny day is gone, there is a storm brewing.  Nighty night.

August 22 - Day 4

Waking up at 46 Atholl Road after a good night’s sleep.  Breakfast with Marion and McLean and planning the day.  On the road to see the Kelpie’s in Falkirk, a city just off the far west end of the Firth of Forth, about 30 miles northeast of Glasgow.  It’s overcast and cool but no rain.  The Kelpie’s are a monument to noble Clydesdale horses that labored in various ways in the region.  Clydesdale horses are a breed specific to the Clyde River Valley (runs through Glasgow into the Atlantic Ocean.) Think Budweiser horses.  Particularly they pulled canal boats from the tow paths. These huge work horses stand anywhere from 6 to 8 feet from hoof to head (18 or more hands).  The monument is a pair of horse heads structured out of laser cut and designed plates of stainless steel towering to 100 feet.  It is located on the Clyde and Forth canal with many canal boats moored in the area.  They have structured a new lock to run between the horses and surrounded the horses with water streams.  The lock is part of a new stretch of canal that was designed to extend from the Clyde Forth Canal to the local river. The structures are only 2 years old and the park is continually being developed.  The heads are eerie but very beautiful, one is stretched to the sky and the other looks down on us with big eyes.  They have been modeled on two Clydesdales that live and work in Pollacks Park, Duke and Baron.  The Kelpies are mythical creatures that can shape change, one of the shapes is as horses.  So there is myth, legend and history combined in the park.  Our tour takes us inside one of the Kelpie’s and it is like looking up in a cathedral.  The cut outs look like images of stained glass windows with the varied designs.  They say on a clear day when the sun shines in it is jewel like and when the wind blows it sounds like the howl of a Kelpie.  On to Falkirk Wheel only a few miles away.  An engineering marvel completed 8 years ago.  Found on the Clyde and Forth canal with more canal boats moored in the area.  This huge metal structure looks like aliens landed; it was engineered to lift canal boats from one elevation to another from Clyde and Forth Canal to the Leith canal.  The area used to have a ‘flight’ of locks, 9 in total but they deteriorated.  It was a huge drop in elevation in a short span.  So they built this huge structure that operates on an electric motor.  It’s a balancing of tandem gondolas filled with water. One boat locks in on the top and one on the bottom, then slowly the wheel cogs winds the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top.  The tourists are floated into the gondola on canal boats and then the water is locked in. They ride top to bottom and vice versa.  When the cycle is completed the boats are released and they go on their way in their new elevation.  There is a huge gift shop with everything Scottish and Wheel themed.  There is a very nice restaurant and outdoor dining areas. We have delicious sandwiches and a slice of caramel, chocolate shortbread.  Good that we got a hike in.  Back home and trying out a new fish and chips take away for dinner.  The new shop is called The Catch, besides the best haddock and chips we’ve ever eaten we missed the haggis and black pudding also on the menu. That’s okay.  Enjoying one more day in Glasgow before starting our bus trip.
 

August 22 - Day 3

Pat woke with sinus and ear issues.  Came on all of a sudden on the plane and not going away. There was something in the air, really. Taking meds and Airborne fizzies.  Room is roasting, can’t figure out the shower, trying not to fry off our skin.  Once we’re dressed, we open the door to the hall this allows a breeze from the window.  The fan is useless.  It’s only one night we tell ourselves.  Walk with all our bags to Euston Station about 2 blocks away.  On our way north to Glasgow. Londoners are awake and on their way to work.  Buses crowding the street and people bustling. It has been a shock to be in a throng of people hustling and bustling, we’re not in Hudson anymore!  Challenging for visitors loaded with heavy luggage with wheels out of control.  We get our tickets and go to main hall. This station is very modern looking than some.  We have a light breakfast, again, pastry shops are way too plentiful.  And they know their way around a good cup of coffee. A rush to the train, luckily we beat the crowd and put our bags into a slot. When you don’t travel first class it’s every person for themselves, must be quick and assertive.  Sitting at a table with two Middle Eastern women in head dress who seem to hold some high positions.  Lots of phone calls, making appointments to speak at symposiums.  They are very friendly and have good humor.  Lots of the countryside looks like home, in flatter areas. We pass cows and fields and hay rolled into shredded wheat shapes.  Chuck gets excited when he spies a nuclear power plant.  Apparently it’s one of the big boys with 4 stacks, mega power. And then we pass an 8 stack plant – amazing.   But in the fields are many wind turbines producing natural power.  We are following one of the canals going north.  There are canal boats moored along the way and charming little brick canal bridges arching overhead.  The canal is so narrow here a single canal boat can barely make it through and then it opens up again to be larger.  We pass and Aldi’s grocery store, just like home!  Passing small town train stations.  New metal roofs but maintain the Victorian ironwork supports and decorated with flower baskets.  The train seats have plug in’s for recharging.  We pass through the Lakes District, the ‘hills’ are high and bare with deep valleys and running rivers, lots of dry dyck stone walls and fields of sheep.  On to Glasgow Central train station.  Feels very homey.  Same Victorian metal structure and dark wood surrounding the various shops.  In fact many of the shops are similar or same to Pat’s many trips into the City for shopping.  We get on the local train for Whitecraigs.  We pass by Janna and Tom’s condo at Muirend and Phyllis and Ray’s house on the way.  Arrive at Whitecraigs and McLean is waiting to pick us up.  On to 46 Atholl Road.  Lovely house and lots of beautiful flowers and plants.  McLean is growing tomatoes and green peppers in his greenhouse, will be some time before they are ripe.  Nice tea and good conversation followed by a great dinner and French wine from the family in France.  More laughs and shared memories.  Time for sleep. 

400 miles approximate

August 20 - Day 2

Landed at Heathrow in clouds.  It’s 830AM their time.  Relieved our luggage has arrived given the change of planes.  Get through Customs and Immigration without problems.  There is a big difference from the past.  The staff is very diverse in ethnic backgrounds, so changed from years of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ airport staff.  Note to self: why we usually fly into Gatwick and not Heathrow, by the time we get through the immigration, baggage and to the Heathrow Express train we have literally walked miles.  There are slow moving people mover belts but no trams.  Good to walk after long flight but it requires good shoes and good health to make it. It is fascinating to deal with the ‘walking’ ticket people.  They wear electronic equipment that processes your credit card, produces a hard copy ticket and receipt. The day is partly cloudy, warm and humid.  The Heathrow Express ends at Paddington Station (15 minute trip).  Cab to Hilton across from Euston Train Station. The hotel is not very convenient with many stairs to haul up luggage. No doorman ready to help.  Shop keepers and hotel personnel are more likely to come from Eastern Europe, Africa, India or Middle East these days.  Our hotel is very near the British Museum and British Library.  Three large train stations are nearby, King’s Cross, St. Pancras and Euston. These station trains go all over the UK.  The Chunnel train to France now lands at St. Pancras, used to be at Waterloo.  It’s too early to get into our room so we store our luggage and set off for the Regent Canal. (Mind that we have not slept for nearly 24 hours and have 6 hour time change) After 20 minutes we come to Camden Town high street.  Very funky, punk rockers would be comfortable here. Very eclectic art and young crowd.  Tiny little shops and businesses set in old building fronts.  We stroll through the Camden market, lots of T-shirts. There are actually 3 outdoor markets, we move onto Camden Lock Market.  We have found the Regent Canal. Very historic area.  The market is basically any kind of food you could possibly want from any country.  Little open air shacks showing food preparation from start to finish.  Tandoori clay ovens and a guy making pitas from a big pile of dough.  We are offered tastings and everything is good!  Onsite, we board the Gardenia, an historic canal boat from 1940, decorated with traditional canal designs.  The ticket lady is carrying the old ticket ‘board’ and old metal ticket stamp. There is a tree lined tow path that parallels the canal, lots of people walking and riding bikes.  We pass through some old brick tunnels, some a couple hundred feet long.  We ride through the canal stopping at the London Zoo and on to Little Venice.  We pass a two story painted red Chinese decorated restaurant built on top of a canal boat.  We pass lots of privately owned canal boats, each decorated in the owner’s style, some live on their boats all the time.  Little Venice is a basin in the canal with an island in the center.  We see lots of water fowl along the way. Our tour stops for 20 minutes and we go onto the River Garden canal boat café.  A light lunch and back on our boat.  Unfortunately for us, all pastry is excellent!  We pass beautiful mansions on part of the trip.  We are very near Primrose Hill, an exclusive London neighborhood.  After disembarking we walk the tow path in the opposite direction toward the Canal Museum. Two young men offer info on the Canal, there is a big effort to preserve the canal with volunteer efforts.  We pass big construction projects, the canal is becoming very popular, old buildings coming down, yet trying to keep old façade on new construction. The museum sits on a basin, it’s a very modest place with private canal boats moored outside.  Including a canal boat ‘tug’. The building was the Gatti Ice House in Victorian times.  Two deep stone lined cells can be seen, remnants of ice storage.  Ice was shipped in from Norway and kept frozen (no electricity) for months.  Find a Martindale at the gift shop, the strap holder for horse brasses. Buy a Regent Canal brass to add to the ones we have at home.  Walk back to the hotel, very warm and humid, feet hurt and tired.  Pass by the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, absolutely magnificent or Victorian nightmare hotel building.  Would be fun to come back and walk through.  Everyone has their head down.  Electronic communications are everywhere used by everyone.  No going back, we tech dummies will have to catch up or  be left behind.  In the room, put in the back off the street so quiet.  But the whole hotel is like high summer in Calcutta.  We swear they have the heat turned on.  Drinks in the bar, back to the room and room service.  Room is stuffy, we know they know because there’s a fan running on high and the window is wide open.  The room thermostat mocks us, the fan refuses and the temperature stays around 80.  Nighty night

Walk between 5-10 miles, got our 10,000 steps in, no joke, we feel it!