Playing Catch Up

Well...we arrived safely in Newark, just over a week ago, to hot humid weather.  What's with that? And the mugginess had the nerve to linger for the entire week, which, to be quite frank, was a bit of an adjustment upon our return.

But I'm happy to say that the weekend welcomed true Fall temperatures, and today....well, today, with the chilly wind and the drizzly rain, I'd say it looks pretty much like Scotland!   I should actually make a disclaimer here:  we actually didn't see much rain on this past trip....just one day when we decided to walk out to see a lighthouse, and that day the wind was whipping up a storm along with the rain.  But other than that, there were cloudy days, but plenty of bright sunshine and blue skies to add to our adventure.  And very welcomed cool temperatures which makes gallivanting so much nicer.

My last post was late, in a cramped hotel room near the airport, (more about that later), and I just didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to finish the details of our last day in Scotland.

But now I do, and, hopefully, I'll recall most of the details that helped to make the day special.

We had begun the day at Dumfries house, which, as I had mentioned, was a Palladian Mansion that was rescued by Prince Charles in 2007.  The house was designed by the famous Adams brothers, and built in the Rococo style by the Earl, William Crichton-Dalrymple.   He had picked the furniture from Scottish carpenters Peter, Brodie and Mathie, as well as some of the finest pieces from Chippendale's workshop in London.  The authenticity of the items could be established from the original receipts which were maintained among the accounts of the house.  So, there was no doubt that the house was a real treasure worth preserving.

 The preservation was such a success, that profits have been used to upgrade the local town hall and swimming pool, as well as to offer courses in hospitality to students who might desire to make a future in that field.   And what is really appealing here, is that the grounds are free to anyone who would like to just come and have a look around.

The estate covers 2000 acres of land, has over 650 sheep complete with a shepherdess who tends them with her 3 dogs

as well a complete list of farm animals that one would expect on an estate.   One could well spend the day just walking around and enjoying the beauty of the surrounds.

There are several gardens worth seeking out,  but the one of most interest is a 5 acre walled garden, that had previously been used as a dumping ground on the estate.    What a magnificent transformation!

What I found particularly clever was how the gardener has used everyday foods to create a decorative border.

Different types of lettuces were planted to give the garden a custom, layered look. 

I think I'd like to try that next year at home!  Although I do think it would lose some of the visual appeal when the lettuce is picked. 

As it was late September, the majority of the blooms had disappeared, but there were still enough to add ambiance to the environment. 

 The gardens not only included varieties of wild flowers

poppies

 and roses (most having lost their blooms), but there was also a 1 1/2 acre educational garden that included all sorts of vegetables

and even a pumpkin patch.

Many of the vegetables were available for purchase at the garden gate if one chose to bring some home, but, believe me, it was quite some distance to be lugging a pumpkin to the car.  Better come with a sturdy bag in hand!

The Queen was present to open these magnificent gardens in 2014, and an engraved tribute is a reminder to all who visit. 

It lies at the foot of this sculpture, just outside one of the central greenhouses. 

I think one of the best features of this garden is the thought that was put into allowing one to rest and enjoy the beauty. 

There were many such benches situated within the grounds.

I can only imagine how glorious this garden must look during the summer months. But let's face it, it surely looked quite magical during our visit, and that brilliant blue sky couldn't help but add to the experience. 

As I had mentioned in my last blog, we had a most enthusiastic tour guide named Roger who thoroughly entertained us as he directed us through the many rooms.   The tour was an hour and a half long, but certainly didn't seem nearly that long!    We were actually fortunate that I had decided to book the tour the day prior, as all seats were filled when we arrived, and the afternoon tour was not available due to a Saturday wedding that was scheduled to take place in one of the rooms that we had toured.

As we were leaving, we spied some of the wedding guests arriving, all dressed in their finery, which included lovely hats.  And, what a spectacular day for a wedding!  

But, for us, it was time to make the trip across the country as we were scheduled to fly out of Edinburgh airport in the morning.  The drive was quite lovely, with the bright blue skies and sheep everywhere along the way.  The road takes you through several villages, but most of the drive really is country viewing and on a Saturday afternoon, it was really quite relaxing with no surprises.  How's that for lucky?

Our last planned sight for the trip was Malleny Gardens, which was located relatively close to our hotel.  It was a little tricky finding the parking lot, but once there, the entrance was easy to find.

The garden is run by the National Trust, but there is no fee required for entry.

Next to the parking lot stands the original Malleny Mansion, built in 1637 by Sir James Murray of Kilbaberton.  It is not available for touring, and I do believe that it is privately rented.

Upon walking through a gate, one is surprisingly treated to landscaping that has existed as such for the last one hundred years.   Among the hedges stand two yew trees that are believed to have been planted in the 17th century.  They were among 8 originals planted, but in 1961, the owners cut down six of them.  This garden is lucky to have two still standing from that time period! 

There was an interesting tree unlike any that I've seen, standing next to a glass house.  I'm not sure, but I think it might be a Persimmon tree.

You can't tell by the photo, but the fruit is much larger than a crab apple, but significantly smaller than an apple.   And the tree was bursting with fruit!

In the glasshouse, there were grape vines, loaded with grapes, hanging from the ceiling.  Ripe and for the picking.  Only the door was locked so we couldn't get a closer look.

Here are the two Yew trees that I mentioned. They are trimmed every year by a hydraulic lift to reach the top.

In the back of the property stands another walled garden.  This one is actually filled with about 150 different varieties of roses, but sadly, the blooms were all spent.  I'd imagine that this is quite spectacular in the summer months.

There is supposedly a dovecot on the grounds as well, but by this time, we were ready to make our way to our hotel and get settled in.  In retrospect....it probably would have been better to stay out later!

Although we were only a few miles away, the trip to the hotel was actually extremely stressful.  We had decided to fill the rental car with petrol, since there was a station near the hotel, but we couldn't figure out how to get into the station.  It  kind of reminded me of that Chevy Chase movie where he is driving around the round-a-bout, over and over, trying to figure out how to exit.

There were motorists rushing by, and there was also a large Morrison's store in that area, which seems to be where all of the locals go on a Saturday for their family needs.   Kind of what I would liken to a Super Wal-Mart here in the United States, which, by the way, I tend to stay clear of.  

So, after driving through the parking lot looking for an entrance, we were back out in the 3 lane round about, and, this time, I spotted the entrance to the petrol station.  Upon exiting, we were back in that crazy roundabout, but managed to get the right exit for our hotel.  

Now, let me clarify something here.  Marty has driven through countless round-abouts in various sizes and traffic conditions. But this particular one was really hectic, with shoppers obviously anxious to get on their way, zipping by at much higher speeds than was posted....just saying.

But, we made it to the parking lot with a sigh of relief, and headed to the Ibis hotel which is only about 2 miles from the airport.  I had picked this strictly for the convenience to the airport.  It was a brand new hotel, looked like lovely rooms on the website, wasn't expensive, seemed handy to the train station, so why not give it a try?

About the one redeeming feature was that there was an elevator to take us to the 3rd floor room.

Once we opened the door, Marty couldn't stop laughing.  We had just come from an awesome B&B with all of the bells and whistles (which, by the way, had only been $8.00 more a night and included breakfast, unlike this one. Oh, and let me just say a FABulous breakfast!)  The room held a double bed with a perpendicular bunk overhead.  There was just about enough room for me to walk along the wall with my suitcase to get to the other side of the bed.

Opposite my side, one could hop out of bed and brush one's teeth, because a tiny sink was right there, along with the shower next to it.  The toilet was in its own closet near the front door.  Thank goodness for small favors!

We were each given one measly excuse for a towel and one tiny bar of soap.  Honestly, if this were my first impression as a tourist from America,  I would have been quite worried about what was in store for the rest of the trip!

Obviously, this wasn't exactly the last-night-in-Scotland experience that I had been expecting.  And, I surely did NOT want to have to go out in a car and face that ridiculous round-a-bout again.  But, as I had noted when I booked, we were within reasonable distance of the train station.  So, we walked out to the highway which, luckily, had two sets of crossing lights or else we would never have dared even try to cross. On the other side there was a relatively new tram system that we took to the train station, where we then transferred to a train to Dalmeny and made the walk down to the pier in South Queensferry where we enjoyed a delightful dinner, and as I noted previously, an awesome view of the Bridge over the Firth of Forth.

We then began the near mile trek back up the hill to the train station to repeat everything in reverse.

And that, in combination with cramped quarters, is an adequate explanation as to why I could not complete this blog on our final day.

So, there you have it....the not so perfect ending to a fabulous trip.   But no worries, the ending will soon be a distant memory. 

And right now, thinking back on this adventure, 60 really isn't so bad.    I might still have a few years of gallivanting ahead of me....who knows?

Guess you'll just have to wait and see.    Thanks for following along!

Blue Skies On This Last Day in Scotland

We were sad to leave the Burnside Guest House as it was probably one of the best B&B's that we've encountered!  The hostess was a sheer delight!

And, as I mentioned, the view from the room was pretty spectacular.

And breakfast was quite tasty.

But, the reality is that we leave early in the morning, and I like to set up a place to stay near the airport to make our stress a bit lower, so we bid fond farewell, and began working our way across the country.

But not before stopping in Dumfries house.

Awhile back, I recall watching a documentary that featured Prince Charles establishing a foundation in order to "rescue" the contents of this house to avoid the items being sold off in bits in pieces.

It was  2007 when the house and its contents were scheduled to go to auction.  Somehow, Charles was made aware and he stepped in and pretty much saved the day.  Since that time, the estate employees over 200 people and it has offered all kinds of opportunities for local young people to expand their futures through learning various trades.

The compelling factor that caused Charles to step in was the fact that the house held an amazing amount of Chippendale furniture and adornments.  There are over 64 pieces attributed to Chippendale in that house, many of them sets, and Charles just hated to see them broken up.

Our tour included seeing many of those outstanding and unusual pieces, and hearing the story of the owners as well.  Roger, our guide, was entertaining as well as informative,  and although the tour was a complete hour and a half, we never felt bored or wishing he would end.  He really was excellent at keeping our attention. 

Photos of the interior were not permitted, but you can rest assured that its as truly outstanding.

In the meantime, let me show you some photos of the grounds.

That's Marty standing in a middle of a maze in the front.  You might not have recognized him with his new hat.

Actually, there are so many other photos that I'd love to share, but it's getting late, we have an early flight, and i'll have very limited wi-fi. 

So, I'm going to catch up on things sometime later, but in the meantime, on our last night here, we headed into South Queensferry for dinner, and just look at what we spied!

Wasn't it nice of Scotland to turn the rainbow on for us?
We had a magnificent trip, and I certainly hope that you enjoyed our adventures as well!

Until next time!

Bright and Sunny Day in Ayrshire

How awesome was it to awake to this?

By the way....don't you just love our room view?

We are on the top floor, which does mean climbing 2 flights of stairs, both with a curve at the end, but it is certainly well worth it.  Plus....I feel like I'm getting some much needed exercise to work off the treats I've been enjoying!

Breakfast was in this lovely dining room.

Our B&B hostess is delightful and we have really enjoyed our stay here.

After our delicious breakfast, we decided to walk around a bit to check out the area, since it was dreary and raining when we arrived yesterday.

We headed for that lighthouse

saw a wee cute dog along the way

as well as some fish seeking fowl

a boat getting ready to enter the Irish Sea,

and an stone of some sort.

The weather was quite pleasant. What a difference a day could make!

We are staying in Ayr, and only a few minutes up the road stands the Robert Burns Museum.  As Marty has become a sudden fan of the man, and this area is filled with references to his life, of course that was first on our list.

We parked in the lot next to the cottage where he was born, and headed along the Poet's Path towards the museum.  

The path has interesting markers along the way, each depicting a scene from a famous poem of Robert Burns:  Tam o' Shanter.

If you aren't familiar with this poem, (and I certainly was not), the storyline deals with a man named Tam, who, against the wishes of his wife, goes to the local pub and gets very drunk.  

He rushes on his horse towards home

and passes the local church, which appears to be haunted with witches and ghosts. 

I'm not sure if you can quite make out the ghosts and goblins.  There were several scenes for the poem along the path as well as a Fox, representing "On Glenriddel’s Fox Breaking His Chain", written in 1795 by Burns

and a giant mouse taken from Burns' poem "To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough", written in 1785, based on his own experience of the event.

I'm thinking that if you came across a mouse of that size in the field, you'd be running the other direction!  Not writing a poem about it! 

The museum interior was loaded with all kinds of fascinating information that included originals of many of the poems that Burns had written in his short lifetime.

I found it to be very cleverly presented.  

One thing of interest is the difference in the language as Burns wrote his poems in Scottish.

Under each of the poems that are quoted, there are definitions of the words that are not common to today's English language so that the reader could grasp what Burns was saying.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time going through the contents of the museum, but one thing of note was his father's original bible, where the date of his birth is documented among the pages,

as well as the bible that Robert Burns used to write in the births of his own children:

And a genealogy chart

"The chart suggests that there was some philandering going on, but that is something that was never mentioned when we were in Dumfries." 

Obviously, Tom o Shanter must be a favorite poem of Burns because there was more than one reference on the grounds:

there were these two statues, bantering in a room:

And, the Brig a Doon, which is also mentioned in the poem.

And, there's the testimony to Marty's love of Burns:  holding a collection of his poems while wearing his new Scottish hat.  Doesn't he look like he fits right in?

And the old kirk that was actually a ruin during Burns life but is part of the story itself.

As the day was glorious, we took some time to walk around the grounds.

Which took us to the birthplace of Robert Burns, known as Johnnie Souter's house.  It was here that Robert lived his first 6 years prior to his father purchasing a farm and moving the family.  Note the thatched roof that still adorns the house.

Here is the kitchen, which also held the bed in the corner.

and hanging above the bed were 4 white gowns embroidered with the names of the children who had been born in the house.

Personally, I found this far more eerie than the Tom o' Shanty story!

Since it was such a lovely day, we headed south along the shore, towards Culzean Castle.

We had visited there years ago, but the castle itself was closed at the time, so we decided to make the short trip today.

The interior, as you can well imagine, was quite grand.  This castle had been a holding of the Kennedy clan, and in the late 1700's, it was remodeled by Robert Adam who was a famous architect in his day, making many changes that have stayed in existence to the present day.

There were tall columns between the floors and a double staircase

Above which is an oval roof,

decorative friezes

 and stunning ceilings

and some very unique items among the various rooms that we could visit.

The first room we entered had weaponry hanging on every wall!

 There was a dinner gong

and an organ

an interesting display of china with various queen faces

a rocking cradle in the shape of a boat

the servants' bells

and the Eisenhower room.  Eisenhower had used Culzean during World War II as a base for operations.

The Scottish government was so thankful for his help in winning the war, that they gifted him his own set of apartments on the top floor of this castle, to be used at his leisure.

Probably the most interesting item in the castle (well...at least to me) was this once real alligator that had been shot by J.M. Barrie (of Peter Pan fame), and gifted to the Castle.  It was used as a walking stick holder.

There was a little boy putting his hands all over the alligator and the guide had to ask him to stop.  

Then, the guide, looking quite serious, but obviously joking, told the boy that the reason the barrier was around the alligator was because once, a little boy had been touching it, and the gator snapped the boys' foot right off. Then, the parents blamed the National Trust for the fact that their son would never be able to play Rugby due to losing his foot to the alligator. 

I don't know about you, but the guide's quick thinking really gave me quite a chuckle.  I'm not so sure that the little boy felt the same though.

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked around the grounds a bit:

and stopped for a cuppa before heading to the walled garden for a quick peek.

There weren't a lot of flowers, but certainly some very unique and stunning varieties.

On the way back to Ayr, we drove down to Dunure for a quick look.  Driving down the road, the castle ruins are quite obvious.

There is also a very small harbor.

and some lovely views.

By now it was time to call it a day, so we headed back to Ayr, and out to dinner.

And.....I ordered dessert!

And yes......it was delicious!