Castles in the Cairngorms

The morning began with a fabulous breakfast in the breakfast room offering a lovely view.

This was the "Continental" Breakfast choice. 

Apparently people on the Continent can have some delightful breakfasts!

After our pleasant meal, we hopped in the car and headed out early to Balmoral Castle which is about 9 miles away, but the drive takes about 20 minutes.  My goal was to avoid as many tour buses on this narrow road as possible.  Early is always better, and it worked out quite well for us. 

The weather was a bit brisk today, and I'm grateful that I packed the wool liner to my coat, because I definitely needed it!  Braemar has the recognition of being the coldest town in Scotland.  That does explain the chill in the air.

Balmoral Castle is the Highland Retreat for the Royal Family.  The Queen visits from late July through late October, so the castle is only open to the public from April through mid-July.

 

Actually, let's say that the Castle Grounds are open to the public.

 £10 gets you onto the estate, where one can walk around at leisure, but there is only one room in the castle open for viewing. It is a very large drawing room, with wood paneling and many photos on the wall. A couple of display cases feature items from Victoria and Albert, and there were 6 dresses, one from each decade, that Queen Elizabeth wore at various events. They were pretty spectacular.  Unfortunately......no photos were permitted. 

Because this is the Queen's vacation home, the gardens are designed to bloom when she arrives, which is in last July.  There are very large rose gardens.....but none in bloom yet.  I'm not quite sure how they can control the blooming time of a rose. Since Roses tend to continue blooming through the summer,  this aspect of gardening confuses me.  The point is.....we didn't see one rose.

But, there were some other beautiful gardens to view. The flowers are grown in such a manner to assure plenty of various types to make up arrangements while the Queen is in house. (or should I say....in castle?)  Flowers adorn the interior daily.....at least that is what the audio guide stated.

This spectacular  castle was built by Queen Victoria, and Prince Albert was personally involved with planning the gardens.

This was Victoria's favorite retreat, and she and Albert spent many summers with their children on the estate.  It's really easy to see why she would enjoy coming here to escape the London dirt and heat.

There are very large vegetable gardens where the produce is harvested to serve in the castle.

The view of the castle from the gardens is beautiful.

The river Dee runs along the estate grounds.  Salmon and trout are fished from the river.

We spent several hours walking the grounds and enjoying the beauty of the surroundings.

One interesting fact of which I had been unaware was that Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip are both descendants of Victoria & Albert.  Their great-grandparents were siblings, and Albert and Victoria are  great-great grandparents to both.  I never realized that they shared the same lineage.

We finished our tour walking along the River Dee to get to the car park, and began the drive back to Braemar in what appeared to be perfect timing, as we passed several tour busses headed to Balmoral.

Our next planned visit was to Braemar Castle. 

One might think that this would be a disappointment after visiting such a grandiose estate as Balmoral, but our experience was quite the opposite.

We LOVED this castle!  It is community owned, as the locals did not want to risk losing it when the owner decided to sell it many years ago.  The castle was lived in until 1950, and the volunteers have been working hard to keep it preserved.  

We paid £6 to enter the castle where we were greeted by an extremely entertaining tour guide named Betty.  I can't tell you how much fun we had as she took us from room to room, explaining the history that is displayed in each.  

She began with the basic history:  Braemar Castle was originally built by the Earl of Mar in 1628. 

It's history included being burned during the Jacobite uprising,  rebuilt and used as a garrison until 1797, then taken over once again by the Earl of Mar, 10th Lord of Farquharson.

This castle consists of many turrets, and we began by entering up a set of stairs to the first level.

The first interesting thing that Betty pointed out is that the the turret steps lead up to the left rather than the typical up to the right. Apparently Lord Farquharson was left handed, and it was easier for him to maneuver the stairs in the opposite direction.   Pretty clever, don't you think?

The first flight was built with a couple "trip" steps, where the rise is slightly higher, so that an invader running up the steps, "trips" due to the slight difference. 

Betty took us through nearly 30 rooms in the castle, each decorated with furniture that had been donated to the castle. She explained that when the castle was sold to the community, the owners took all of the "good stuff", as she put it, with them.  So, there were only a few items originally left in the place.  But, local people donated many items of historical significance, and as people find items in their houses that have been squirreled away, they offer it to the castle to display.

Each of the bedrooms on the corners had a turret attached, and were set up with a desk, or vanity table.

Can you see the "curve" to the door to this room?

The curved door leads to the room of the "Black Colonel", a Farquharson who originally burnt down the castle.  The room is noticeably colder than the others which Betty told us is supposed to be because it is "haunted" by the Colonel.  People claim to have seen his face on the bedpost and smell tobacco smoke in the room.  It was funny to see Betty tell the story, because it was obvious that she found it all to be just a bit of hoopla.

The drawing room was large and inviting.

  The dining room table was set up for entertaining.

 The windows  offered a spectacular view of the sheep in the fields.  They were original, with wide sills,  and some of the shutters had "graffiti" markings from soldiers who had carved their names into the woods when the castle was a garrison in the 18th century.

The place was just brimming with history of the locals, as well as Royals, who used to attend the Highland Games on the Braemar estate.  There were photos of Queen Elizabeth enjoying the fun year after year.  This place has been buzzing with activity for centuries.

Betty was brimming with enthusiasm throughout the tour, and the next thing we knew, an hour and a half had passed before we walked back out the door!  I'd say that we got our money's worth.

One last significant landmark here in Braemar.

The front of this cottage holds an engraved plaque that states that Robert Louis Stevenson lived in this house while he wrote Treasure Island.  We learned from Betty that he actually wrote the first 18 chapters here and that the names of the characters actually came from the school ledgers in the town.  

Apparently the man was so popular here in the town, that his wife got tired of answering the door for people who wanted to see her husband.  So, when they knocked at the door and asked for Mr. Stevenson, she would tell them that he was not there, he was in Edinburgh.

In the meantime, Stevenson was out in a back shed, writing the book.  He had named the shed "Edinburgh".  So, when his wife mentioned that he was in Edinburgh, she wasn't lying.

Clever, don't you think?

Cranford in the Cairngorms

OK, I'll admit that traveling in the Scottish countryside with Marty behind the wheel can cause me a bit of anxiety.  It took me awhile to adjust to sitting in the opposite side of the car, and then there's the merging on the highways and the roundabouts and narrow country roads.

Marty has never had an issue with this.... just me.  

I found myself grasping the seat or shutting my eyes quite frequently.  But things got better, and I finally found myself much less stressed when we were driving around.

Then, Marty decided that it would be "cool" to drive a manual transmission.  He claims that he chose this option because it would guarantee him a smaller car, and he seems to have no issues with the shift being on the left hand side as he drives.  In fact....he drives it like a pro.

Or should I say like a wannabe pro race car driver?   

He used to get annoyed when locals would come right up against the back of the car, then suddenly pass him on the road.  He would say "No matter how fast I go, it's never fast enough for these people!" I would calmly tell him not to take it personally, and let the person pass. He would relent, but wasn't happy about it.

Well, yesterday, HE was one of those people, and I was sure to remind him of it.

Let me just say that my knuckles are still white from the experience!   

The drive north was certainly quite interesting.  I saw my very first SQUIRREL CROSSING sign.  I'm not quite sure what you do if you see a squirrel on the road, and Mr. Zippee was driving kind of fast if one decided to dart onto the road, but, luckily, we were spared that adventure.

Once you enter the Cairngorms, there isn't much but rolling hills with grazing sheep.  The roadside warnings here featured the head of an elk and a rotund sheep.  Marty says that the elk is really a sign for deer. They must have some large racked deer in the Cairngorms!  Luckily, we didn't see those either while driving in.

One sign stated, "Beware of animals on the road."  I suppose that covers it all.  

Our most exciting road moment occurred when we nearly reached Braemar.  There was  a large double decker bus heading towards us on the narrow road and I had always warned Marty that in situations like this, he needed to slow down and move to the side.  I had personal experience with this when Stacey and I took the bus to Falkland (which may explain my bus anxiety).  

Marty spotted the bus just about the same time that I saw a very large sheep that had managed to meander to the side of the road.   I yelled "Sheep", hoping that Mr. Zippee would slow down.  Marty did manage to swerve away from the bus, but we were fortunate that the sheep changed her mind and decided to hop along back towards the fence.  It was a close call, that's for sure.

We were almost at our destination by this point, thank goodness, and we pulled into our B&B and parked the car for the night.  

The Cranford Guest House is quite lovely, and Sarah, the owner is quite the hostess.  She offered us a cup of tea upon arrival along with home made brownies which were quite scrumptious.

Once we settled in, and Marty finished his conference call (which lasted an hour and a half), we headed out to dinner, and then explored the town.

This is the view from our bedroom.

We walked over the "Clunie" Water into town.

 We had a scrumptious dinner at the Braemar Lodge, just around the corner from our B&B.  Marty's ale glass confirms that we are in the Cairngorms.

Personally, I find the plaid carpeting to be entertaining.

After dinner, we decided to hike the Queen Victoria trail, since the sun doesn't set until about 10:00 p.m. 

 This apparently was one of Victoria's favorite loops to ride in her carriage

We walked along the trail past the grazing sheep, across the road, and up into the mountains, where we found an entirely different type of wildlife.

Slugs.

Lots of them.  And, Marty couldn't resist taking a photo of one of the many.

The only other excitement along the trail was spotting a red deer who seemed to be curious as to why Marty was photographing the slugs.

He was the only one that we saw on our walk,and to be quite frank, that was perfectly fine with me!

Today we're off to explore some castles.  No surprise there, right?

First on the list:  Balmoral, vacation home of the Queen.

Until next time......

Don't Do Anything Crazy!

That's what my husband says to me every morning before he leaves for the day.

Now, I ask you, what's up with that comment?

I'm not the one who slipped and fell on a rock while attempting to get a closer shot of a seal in the Firth.

And, I certainly wasn't the one who decided to try the 3 whiskey dram special and then let a local convince me to try 2 more.

So, I'll admit that I get a bit annoyed when Marty gives me this advice in the morning. But guess what?
This morning he merely said, "Have fun today!" No safety warning attached.

The sun was shining...the sky was blue..and I took advantage of both and headed into Waverly Station with the intention of touring the Royal Britannia.  The ship is docked in Leith, which is about 2 miles from Waverly Station, and I could not make up my mind regarding taking a bus, or walking the distance.  Believe it or not, my husband had suggested the night before that I walk.

Now, I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but I have an issue with riding busses.  Just the thought of getting on one by myself causes anxiety.   I know that I rode on busses with Amy in Slovakia, and I've hopped on a few with Marty, but I get palpitations every time I even think about getting on one by myself.

But, I honestly thought that I'd take the bus this time......until Marty put the idea into my head that I should walk.  After all......it was a gorgeous day.

So, I went to the information center and asked the young man to show me exactly where my destination was on a map, explaining that I was going to walk.

"You can't walk that!", he exclaimed.  "Do you know how far that is?"

"Two miles" I replied. "I can walk it."

"It will take you 45 minutes to walk it!"  Then he went on to give me bus numbers, circled  a stop and told me that I would need exact change....which was a problem...because I didn't have exact change.

But, really, that made no difference, because I decided that I would walk and take the bus back to the station.

So, I set off, with map in hand, and was quite pleased with myself.  After all, if I had been sitting in a bus, I'd have missed this

and the Theatre Royal Bar

St. Pilgris Church

Queen Victoria

and an anchor placed randomly in a plaza

not to mention the excitement of 3 firetrucks barreling down the road, sirens blasting,  towards some black smoke in the distance that I hoped wasn't my intended destination.

It took me 50 minutes to get to the dock, where I had expected to see the Royal Britannia Yacht.
Much to my surprise, there was no sign of it, as there are hotels and buildings blocking the view of the water.  I kept walking along Ocean drive, hoping for a glimpse, when this caught my attention:

This was an entrance to a very large mall.  Did this make sense?  Could the brochure have mentioned an entrance through a mall?  Could the information attendant, so keen on having me take a bus, have enlightened me regarding the entrance?  Perhaps I was asking too much.

I walked inside and immediately saw a billboard that stated that the entrance to the Royal Yacht Britannia was on the second floor.  I could take an elevator, or the stairs. 

Well...the stairs were easy enough, so I bounded up them to the next level where they ended.  I looked around, and realized that I was on Floor 1.  In the distance, at the opposite end of the mall, I spotted the escalators to the second floor.  So, I trotted to the other end and took the escalator to Floor 2, but I still couldn't see the entrance to the Yacht.  After asking an attendant at one of the stores, I was directed to the opposite side of the Mall, near where I had entered.  Apparently the lift takes one to the entrance, but the stairs do not.  Who knew?

Well....I was finally on my way to the yacht, weaving my way along a hall filled with tourists, most of them American from what I could tell. I was handed an audio guide and began the tour through the boat.

Once on board, it's difficult to imagine how one could not spot it from the road, but believe me, it was well hidden.

The queen had her own bed quarters in addition to a private office.  Prince Philip's sleeping room was adjacent to the Queen's, but his room was much plainer with no ruffles, by his request.

The honeymoon suite held a double bed that Prince Charles had brought on board for he and Diana when they were married.  

There was the drawing room

And the state dining room which was in addition to a family dining room and a private dining room on the first floor.

And, of course, the Royal family needed to travel with a Rolls Royce so that they could have transportation wherever they went.

The tour was very extensive, and I could look at things at my leisure, which was really a plus. The yacht was brimming with personal items, including photographs of the Royal family having great celebrations.  It was truly a refuge where the family would be free from intruders invading their privacy.  There was even a baby grand piano anchored into the floor of the drawing room that the family would use for personal entertainment.

To add to the highlight, there was a lovely tea room on the boat, and I opted to rest awhile and have a bowl of soup with a cup of tea.  After all....my tootsies could use a break!

Lovely!

And the view from my table was truly magnificent

When the tour was complete, I climbed the 4 sets of stairs back up to the exit in the mall, and made my way out of the building, fully intending to board a bus.

But, once outside, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  I didn't know which bus to take, or where to even get the bus.  There was no one to ask.

It's not that I'm cheap and wouldn't spend the money.  Lord knows, I spent 50 pence to use the bathroom!  I was desperate (and it was well worth it).

Let me offer some tips that I learned today:

1.  Never drink an entire pot of tea if you plan on hiking 2 miles, you could end up getting very lost and those 2 miles could extend far past that number.

2.  The numerous signs that say "TO LET" posted outside houses trick your mind into thinking that they say TOILET out of desperation.  Excitement ensues, then, reality sets in.....resulting in extreme frustration.

3.  Well dressed women pushing baby carriages will help direct you if you are lost, if you approach them and say, "Oh what a cute baby!  Will this road lead me to Leith Walk?"  This trick worked for me twice:  the first time I was way off track; the second time I was actually headed in the right direction.

4.  American tourists can be quite annoying.  I now understand why people from other countries can have an aversion to Americans.

5.  Always have loose change in case you need to use a bathroom.

6.  Get over your fear of getting on a bus.  (I suppose that I'll have to work on that one.)

7.  Take your husband's advice and don't do anything crazy.


Tomorrow, we're off to the Cairngorms in the Highlands.  Perhaps we'll see one of those Highland "coos"!

I'll keep you posted!

Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear UP!

Put on a happy face! And that's just how I'm feeling this morning as I gaze out the window at the beauty of the abbey against a bright blue sky.

What a great way to start the day, don't you think?

Quite the opposite of yesterday morning, where the skies were grey and rain kept falling sporadically.  I wasn't quite sure what the day would bring.  When I went to check my e-mail, I spotted a message from my good friend, Ernest.  It's great having a friend who is a meteorologist, because I have my own personal weatherman to give me a heads up on the day.   If pouring rain is predicted, I'm surely not going to be taking a walk in the park!

Well, when I opened up Ernest's e-mail yesterday, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Wednesday:   rain will stop in the late afternoon only , evening dry

Thursday    :   rain again and sometimes pouring rain in the afternoon

Friday        :   rain

Saturday    :   rain

Sunday      :   rain

The weather in Scotland has been beautiful for nearly two weeks, and then we show up!  The guys at the plant were giving Marty a hard time about bringing bad weather with him.

But, I have always said that I'd rather be in Scotland in the rain than miss the opportunity to be here.  Because, let's face it, we can't change the weather.

And don't worry, Ernest, I'm not going to "shoot the messenger" as they say.  Thanks for the umbrella update.

So,  I headed out yesterday morning, walking into town, with umbrella in hand and my raincoat hood up, since it was raining.  It seemed the perfect time to head to St. Margaret's Cave, which is open only a few months a year, so I was never able to actually see it previously.

I was told that the entrance to the cave stood next to a large visitor parking lot.  So, I headed into town in that direction, but did not expect to see this:

Obviously, this building is not a cave, but it was actually constructed to preserve the cave that was used by St.Margaret in the early 1000's.  In 1899, the first Catholic Pilgrimage was made here, and it became an annual event around June 10, the feast day of St. Margaret until 1974, although people continue to make their own personal pilgrimages.

In 1963, the town wanted to build a car park in the glen where this cave stands, and the plans were to merely bury it.  Luckily, public outcry prevented its destruction, and the car park was built while the cave was preserved.

In order to access the cave, I entered the building where I was greeted by a delightful man.  We struck up a conversation about the history of St. Margaret, of which I had been reading, and before I knew it, this man was speaking of his avid love of genealogy and I was totally enjoying his sharing his family tree findings back to 1650.  There's nothing quite like sharing a great genealogy story!

Now it was time to actually enter the cave, which is located several stories down below the car park level.  The history behind the cave states that St. Margaret used to come here to pray when she wanted solitude.  At one point King Malcolm III, her husband, secretly followed her, thinking that she having some sort of liaison in the cave.  He was relieved and surprised to find his wife in solitude, on her knees, praying here.  (Personally, I hope he felt like a real chump when he found her! Shame on him!)

I had been a bit worried that entering this cave would be creepy......sort of like the lava buttes that we climbed through in Oregon years ago, but this was a relatively simple experience involving descending stairs while listening to the echo of piped- in Gregorian Chant music.

Since one looks like they are descending down a giant dryer vent, the music didn't really add much to the experience.  There are very informative placards along the walk, describing the history of St. Margaret and the significance of the cave.

At the bottom of the steps, to the left, sits the original cave with a statue of a woman praying inside.  There is absolutely no doubt that you are in the original cave, and, I'll admit, it wouldn't have been my first choice for finding solitude.

But, then again, I wasn't living in a tower with 8 children either.  Perhaps this was the only solitude that this woman could find!

After leaving the cave, I headed to the spot where Malcom Canmore's Tower, the one where Margaret and her children lived, would have once stood.

Here you can see remnants of the tower in front with the steeple of the abbey peeking out in the background.  I had wondered why Margaret would seek solitude in a deep cave when there was a magnificent Abbey nearby, but learned that the abbey was built by her son, David, after Margaret died.

Note that by now, Ernest's prediction has come to fruition and there are bright blue skies in the distance.

Malcolm Canmore's Tower is just one facet of Pittencrief Park,  a lovely piece of ground donated to the town of Dunfermline by Andrew Carnegie.  I've spoken of it in past blogs, but the beauty continues to take me by surprise every time I visit.  And this time, I was able to see flowers in bloom.

So beautiful!

I cannot express how enjoyable it is to walk through this place.  Not only are there numerous photo opportunities

but the place is full of activity, with people walking their dogs, as well as babies out for carriage strolls with mommies and grandmas (and often time daddies and grandpas).

And even  a grey cloud sneaking in cannot spoil the beauty of this place.

In one of the gardens right outside the palace where John Forbes was born, stands this placard that tells of his 300 mile travel through Pennsylvania.

And the view from that spot was spectacular.

Imagine living in a house and gazing on this scene out of  the window.

Walking along one of the many trails, I spotted this intriguing tree which looks like a yellow wisteria.

The fragrance was light and lovely.  Do any of my blogger friends know if this is some type of wisteria?  

While standing there admiring its beauty, I suddenly found myself surrounded.

These little guys move pretty fast. When I went to snap this photo, there were no fewer than 6 of the little critters running circles around me.  They apparently thought that I had some sort of treat to offer.  When none was procured, they went hopping off to find another victim.

But this guy must have thought that it was worth hanging around....just in case.

When Marty got back from work, we headed back into town to dinner.  We just couldn't resist enjoying the good weather!

The sun was shining in such a way that the Railroad bridge and the Forth Auto Bridge were reflecting the light, making them easy to spot in the distance.

And that same sun continued to shine for many hours.

  Here you see Marty enjoying a piggy treat in our room, with the sun shining through the window.  Would you believe that this photo was taken at 9:30 p.m.?

No reprimands for indulging late, by the way.  Would you be able to resist that yummy looking piggie?

Well, it's time to get out and enjoy the day.

The sun is brilliant and the skies are blue.  But, I'm not ignoring Ernest's prediction of pouring rain in the afternoon, although I do hope he is wrong.  (no offense to you, Ernest)

If it does pour down rain....I hope that it will be where I am NOT!

I'll keep you posted.