The Beauty of Fife

We bid farewell to Kirkcaldy this morning headed to the destination of Kellie Castle.  With atlas in hand, google directions in my lap, and Marty behind the wheel, we managed to find the place, back a long drive, off a very narrow road deep in the countryside of Fife.

We walked to the entrance, only to find that the castle didn't open until 12:30.  We decided to take the little nature walk around the castle, and head to the tea room, which opened at 10:30.

Along the walk, we discovered this very clever idea of a "Bird Hide".

Inside that ivy covered structure is a long bench and on the opposite side of this photo is a window, only partially covered with ivy, where one can peer out and catch a glimpse of the birds fluttering to and fro.

Stacey was very excited about this, and she was able to take several photos of various birds as they came to the feeders.

All of these were taken through the little openings in the window of the hide.  Is this a clever idea, or what?  Of course, it helps that there were just the three of us and no one else traipsing through the woods to scare the birds away.  So, we were actually quite lucky to show up so early.

Well, come to think of it, this place is pretty remote, so I'd find it difficult to believe that throngs of people would show up there.

After admiring birds for about 20 minutes, we decided to head to the tea room, where we were greeted by an extremely friendly woman who was so excited to meet someone from America!  She just thought our accents were so lovely!  Once we spotted the fresh, home made scones, Stacey and I had no doubt what we would be partaking. We placed the order for the scones with butter, jam and cream, and ordered a pot of tea.  

The woman went to the table where the scones had been fresh baked, and we watched her picking through the stack on the plate.  Finally she says, "I'm tryin' ta find the biggest ones for ya".  After she picked the perfect scones, she said that she would take them back and fix them up for us.

That photo doesn't do the scone justice.  Stacey and I called it the King of Scones.  It was filled with butter, jam, and a very thick layer of whipped cream.  All on a freshly baked fruit scone, which was so tender that it melted in your mouth.  I should stop before you start drooling onto your computer.  

By this time, the castle was open, and we could tour through the house, whose last owners were the Sir Robert Lorimer  family.  Two of the sons were quite famous, one of them, Hugh, being an architect, and the other, Robert, a rather famous painter.

The castle was filled with all kinds of interesting items, and it even included a small chapel that the Sir Robert  had installed in the one turret, after they converted to  Catholicism.  No photos are permitted of the inside, so, unfortunately, I cannot share the beauty that we were able to admire.

 The gardens were spectacular, and besides being ornamental, we spotted many plants that were growing to be harvested in the summer. I must have counted half a dozen varieties of rhubarb alone.  I had no idea that there were so many types.

Our destination for the day was Stirling, but I had planned one more stop for the day, which was kind of on the way.

Once again, we found ourselves traveling along small country roads, admiring the spectacular beauty of the Kingdom of Fife.

Marty stopped by the side of the road, so that Stacey could get a couple of shots of sheep.  There had been two cute little lambs, munching the grass by sticking their heads through the fence, but once Mama spotted us, she gave out a large BAAA which obviously meant "Get over here , NOW!", since the little lambs frolicked away before she could get a photo.  

Thank goodness for the National Trust of Scotland Brown Signs, or we would never have found this gem among the hills of Fife.

It's called the Hill of Tarvit, although I can't say that I know the history of the name.  This beautiful manor home was built in 1906 by a man named Schwartz who had made his fortune in Dundee in the Jute Industry.

He had a huge collection of antiques, and he wanted a place to showcase them.  So, this lovely house was constructed  with each room built to reflect the time period applicable to the antiques in the room.

It was designed by Hugh Lorimore, and many of the inside features reflected the interior details of Kellie Castle.  

This house stands out in the lovely countryside of Fife.  We walked down the road to admire the beauty of Ceres in the distance.

And, as if this isn't stunning enough, add to it sheep grazing in the field with the view of the town in the background, 

and you just can't help but be overwhelmed with the beauty of it all.

It was time for us to journey to Stirling.  With the rain falling rather heavily, it took us much longer than expected to reach the destination of our B&B.

We were warmly greeted by Laura, the owner, who brought us tea and tasty treats upon arrival, even though it was after 6:00 p.m.

What you see is Stirling Castle illuminated at night.  I took this photo while walking back from dinner to our B&B, which, by the way, stands at the foot of the hill of the castle.  So, while I am writing this, I can look straight up and see the back of the castle.

Now, if that isn't "cool", I don't know what is!

A Day for Celebrating

The weather today was pretty crummy.  But, the day was certainly festive.
Today is Stacey's birthday, and we set out to have a grand time in Edinburgh.

After riding the train in from Kirkcaldy, we walked through Princes Street Gardens on the way to Edinburgh's New Town.

The trees were budding and the flowers blooming, which offered a festive sight despite the gloomy weather.

Once in the New Town, we headed  to Charlotte Square where we toured the Georgian House which was  built in 1796.  The 3 story townhouse was decorated  with authentic items from that time period.

I was amazed to see the beautiful hand embroidered bed curtains, complete with sewn-on cut-out flowers, that had somehow survived over 200 years.  The colors were still brilliant, and one would be hard-pressed to find any wear in the fabric.   Amazing!

Once again, the staff proved to be very informative and entertaining. I just never cease to be amazed by  their enthusiasm . Every one of the National Trust properties that we have visited have had volunteers who have been welcoming and eager to share Scotland's history.   Touring these places has just been so much fun!

After perusing the 3 story house and hearing the history on each one of the rooms, we headed out towards the Balmoral Hotel for High Tea.

This place is truly grand, and the staff treated us like royalty, even offering to take our photo.

As you can see, we had three tiers of goodies to consume between the two of us, and, believe me, we enjoyed every morsel.  Actually, we had the shortbread cookies boxed up for enjoyment later, as we were just way too full to even consider a bite more.

We kind of waddled out the door and headed over to Old Town Edinburgh so that Stacey could check out the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby.

It was beginning to rain pretty heavily at this point, so we decided to walk through some shops, then head back to the hotel on the train.

Dinner was at Dunnikier house which was, once again, Fabulous!

I feel so blessed to have been able to share the day with Stacey.  I'm sure that this is one birthday that will not be soon forgotten.

Walking through Aberdour

Today, Stacey and  I hopped the train and headed to Aberdour, a quaint little town just a few stops from Kirkcaldy, where the oldest stone castle in Scotland stands.

I had toured the castle there in January, and knew how beautiful the area was.  As we walked through the castle, the rain began to pour, and suddenly, we were feeling hail stones.  That seemed the perfect time to stop into the tea room for a Cream Tea.

The original plan was for us to have a pot of tea and share a scone with fresh Scottish butter and home made strawberry jam.  But, when we went to order, the young lady pointed to the oven and mentioned that the scones would be just a few minutes as they weren't quite finished baking.  That's when we quickly changed our minds and ordered one each.  And, believe me, it was absolutely the right decision to make!

By the time we finished our cream tea, the raindrops had finally disappeared.

We headed to walk the Coastal Trail, and as luck would have it,  the sun broke through the clouds, making the walk quite comfortable.

We walked  past those houses that you see in the distance to discover this view:

Look straight out and you will see Inchcolm Abbey on the island in the Firth of  Forth, which we had explored on Sunday.

Just around the corner from those cliffs, we could walk out onto the rocks and I was amazed at the blue color of the Firth.

We climbed up a path to the top of the cliffs where I was able to take this photo of the town nestled in the distance.

Even though the sun was shining brilliantly at this point, the wind was still whipping by, causing quite a chill along the coast, so we decided to board the train back to Kirkcaldy.

Beginning today, Kirkcaldy hosts the oldest fair in Scotland, having been in existence for over 700+ years.  Stacey and I decided to walk down to the waterfront to see exactly what the fair featured.

We were pretty amazed to see full size amusement rides, one after the other, for most of the esplanade in Kirkcaldy.  I liken it to taking rides from Kennywood Park and putting them next to the firth.  We couldn't believe it when we saw a full-fledged flume ride, complete with log boat to ride in, as well as roller coasters, haunted houses, merry-go rounds,bumper cars, etc. The only thing I didn't see was a Ferris Wheel, but they have plenty of comparable rides that offer a similar type of ride, but with more thrills involved.  Nothing I'd be interested in seeing.

From my room window, I can see the arm of one of those rides sticking way up in the air above the rooftops in the distance.  I'm glad our hotel is a bit away from all of that activity!

One thing I noticed while walking along the firth with Stacey was that the water was actually lapping up and over the sea wall.  I had never seen such activity in the firth.

My friendly weatherman, Ernest, tells me that there is an unusual weather front over the United Kingdom.  "You must imagine a huge merry-go-round turning anti-clockwise," he told me. 

Well, that probably explains the white caps on the water.  Mother Nature must want to compete with the Kirkcaldy Fair.  I can tell you this much.  I'll be staying away from that kind of excitement for the rest of our trip!  

Dodging the Raindrops in Edinburgh

We went prepared for rain and we were surprised to see the sun, but not for several hours after our arrival in Edinburgh.

The castle was bustling with many tour groups, so the experience was not as pleasant as we would have liked.  But I somehow managed to get a lovely photo of Stacey without any unknowns lurking in the background. 

After leaving the castle, Stacey and I walked through a store where one can watch the tartan plaid being woven by machine below.

It was fascinating to watch these mechanical looms take spools of wool and quickly produce a tartan plaid.  The place was filled with so many different colored patterns to choose from.

As soon as we left the building,  raindrops began to fall, and we decided that this was the perfect opportunity to enter the "Whiskey Experience".  In case you didn't know, Scotland is world renowned for its Whiskey, probably because with the nearly year round cold damp weather, one needs a little something for warmth.

It certainly was an interesting tour, with us being transported through the distillation process in an "oak barrel,"  watching the barley and water being mashed, the yeast added for fermentation,

the heating and the distilling, and, finally, traveling past  barrels of aged whiskey on the wall.

We both agreed that the experience was rather "touristy", but, hey,  it got us out of the rain, and, aren't we technically tourists?

Plus, the sample that we tasted at the end really seemed to warm us up.  Or, could it just be that the temperatures actually did get warmer?   Either way, it seemed that we were much happier upon exiting the building. And isn't that all that really counts?

Destination: Falkland

Here you see a lovely photo of Falkland Palace, taken from the back gardens. Ahhh..what peace and tranquility.  After the morning Stacey and I had, we were perfectly happy to just absorb this serenity.

It all began with breakfast at the hotel.  Or, should I say, the almost lack thereof.  We headed down as we have nearly everyday in the past, only to find that there was no breakfast set up.  No coffee.  No tea.  No boxed cereals in a basket.  No bread for toast.  For goodness sake, there wasn't even a toaster!  And, obviously, no Dave!  He's been missing for a few days now, and didn't we feel the effects of that this morning?

The poor receptionist at the desk, completely flustered,  was running around, attempting to find us something to offer us for breakfast and delivering coffee and tea to keep us happy.  After a few minutes, Bobby, the owner, suddenly appeared, and he made all well by making us some breakfast porridge.  But we are still at a lost as to what exactly happened this morning.  We're hoping that everything is back to normal tomorrow in that regards.

Now onto more adventures.....  I had wanted to see Falkland Palace for quite awhile, but since it is nowhere near a train station, I never attempted to make the trip.  But, with Stacey here to boost my confidence, I decided that today would finally be the day.

I'll admit that I was pretty nervous about setting up the details, and I spent a lot of time determining the best way to make the trip.  It's kind of funny, because Falkland really isn't that far from Kirkcaldy.  It's just not that easy to get there because, as one woman put it, it's in the middle of nowhere.

According to the National Trust Website, the best way to get to Falkland was to take the train to Ladybank Station where there is a bus station.  From there, we would take Bus # 66/67 to Glenrothes.  The Busline info listed Bus #64 to Glenrothes.

The train trip didn't phase me, as I have been hopping on the train nearly daily now, and feel fairly comfortable with the system.  My plan was to get to Ladybank, head to the bus station, and just ask someone at the station which bus to take to Falkland.  We had half an hour from arriving on the train to get on the right bus.

Ladyband train station is only 2 stops north of Kirkcaldy.  We arrived with no problem, and Stacey and I spotted a woman who was just locking up the station, and we asked her if she could direct us to the bus station.  She was very cheery, and she led down the stairs to show us the bus station.

Well, you have just seen Ladybank Bus station.  Obviously no tellers to ask directions from.  Stacey and I looked at the routes in the two shelters and we decided that the bus route would be number 64 to Glenrothes.

The bus arrived a bit late, and we made certain that it stopped at Falkland prior to boarding and paying for our tickets.  We were feeling quite relieved as we finally sat down in the bus and we looked forward to the drive through the countryside to our destination.

At this point, I'd like to offer you some advice.  If you are ever in Scotland, and you are driving a little car along a narrow road throughout the countryside.....and you see a bus barreling towards you at very high speed, pull over, stop, and let the bus go by.  I only mention this for your own safety, and because, this is what we witnessed as we found ourselves hanging on for dear life as the bus driver was obviously attempting to make up for lost time.

Stacey likened it to the bus in Harry Potter. Since I haven't seen the movie or read the book, I cannot attest to that comparison.  But, I can tell you that I felt like I was on the Jack Rabbit at Kennywood park, flying out of my seat on occasion, and feeling like I was part of some horror movie!

When we arrived in Falkland, Stacey and I couldn't jump off that bus fast enough!

We headed right to the information center where we were greeted by an exuberant woman who made us feel quite welcome.

Falkland Palace was amazing!  No photos are permitted inside the building, so I can't share that aspect of history with you.  But we were entertained by one particular guide who was so excited to share the history of the Palace with us. Falkland was where the royalty went to get away from the big city, and Mary, Queen of Scots spent many days there enjoying the grounds and the countryside. 

Did you know that the oldest tennis court in the world is at Falkland Palace?  That seems to be its claim to fame.  Even more so than the fact that Mary, Queen of Scots often visited here.

Falkland continues to be the property of the monarchy, and the guide mentioned that if Queen Elizabeth decided to visit Scotland, this property would be at her service if she wanted to stay in Falkland.  But since it is not really set up for family living, were the Queen to make such a request....it would send everyone into a panic, according to our guide.  It would be like "throwing the cat in with the pigeons" as she so humorously put it.  Obviously, the Queen doesn't make overnight trips to Falkland.

The town is enchanting, and Stacey and I enjoyed walking through it.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat

 and decided to head to the outskirts of town and explore one of the many nature trails around the area.

The sign says it all.  We started our journey here and made our way through the woods, and up a hill, in search of a waterfall.

The path was narrow and windy and a bit precarious at points.  We kept wondering if we should turn back, but we both decided to just go a bit further when, finally, we came to the origin of the falls.

There it was....our first Scottish Waterfall, and did Stacey and I get quite a laugh out of that!

Rather than return the way that we came, we decided to continue on the trail which appeared to loop around and back to the origin on the other side. 

We weren't far from the falls, working our way down, when we realized that we were being watched.

That one ewe never took her eyes off of us.  I'm sure that we looked quite comical.   And, considering what we had climbed to get where we were, I can understand her curiosity myself!  But you must admit, if the waterfall was a bit of a disappointment, the view from the top was certainly worth the adventure!