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!

Hopetoun House & the Hunt for Puffins

We began this chilly morn near Queensferry, at Hopetoun House, a beautiful manor house that lies close to the Firth of Forth.  The house was magnificent, and the inside details were reminiscent of the recent PBS series, Downton Abbey.

The female guides located in the house were delightful, each one eager to share some history associated with the house. The downstairs guide explained some unusual details of the house, and I couldn't help but chuckle when she described  a "Bonnie" well-carved doorframe at the top of the stairs, installed by a "chap" named Bruce.

Personally, I find the word "chap" to sound so much more genteel than the word "bloke", but that is certainly only my opinion.  In case you are wondering, that door is constructed from Scotch Pine.

The interior was intricately decorated and each room had a unique feature of interest.

One of the bedrooms:

The dining room:

Calling bells for the servants in the Butler's Pantry.

Some interesting wall decor:

And a beautiful view of the Firth of Forth from the roof:

The grounds were filled with gardens, surrounded by fields filled with sheep grazing in the distance.

 We could have easily spent the day enjoying the beauty of the surroundings. 

But, we had bigger ventures planned and so we hopped in the car and drove the few miles into Queensferry where we embarked by boat for Inchcolm Abbey. 

If I told you that we were headed to Inchcolm Island, I would be redundant, as I learned that the word "inch" is actually Gaelic for island.  So, we were headed for the Island of Colm.

When Stacey set up this trip, she had no idea that temperatures in Scotland could be so frigid in April.  But we bundled up as best we could and set off for this island that features the Abbey.

We were told that we might even spot Puffins, which are known to inhabit the island, and we were ready to face the challenge of finding them.

The island is about 4 miles east of Queensferry and the view upon approach is phenomenal.  

After we were dropped off, we had 90 minutes to explore the island before our transport boat would return to pick us up.

The abbey began as a Monastery, built by David I.  His brother, Alexander I, had been sheltered here during a storm, and in thanks, promised to build a monastery.  But he died prematurely, and his brother made certain that the promise was fulfilled.  In 1235, the dwellings were raised to full Abbey status and were occupied by Augustinian monks.

Obviously, this is not a monk, but Marty contemplating some of the important features of the chapel.

After exploring the Abbey, we set out on our search for Puffins.  We couldn't help but notice that we were being carefully scrutinized as we walked along, hoping for a glimpse of just one Puffin.

Marty was on a real quest, scoping out every possible spot where he thought that a Puffin might set up home.

This is not a wave of triumph.

Rather, this is Marty letting us know that he was coming back down from his climb, as it was almost time to embark upon our journey back to Queensferry.

And, so, we bid farewell to this lovely island without nary a sight of a Puffin.  We were just a wee bit disappointed.  But, this guy decided to cheer us up on our way back to the port:

Suddenly our search for Puffins was forgotten as we were entertained by this large grey seal who actually gave a wave our way as we were passing by.

Who needs Puffins, anyway?

Chillin' Castles

Don't you just love the panoramic setting on my little sony camera?  Kind of makes you feel like  you are standing right there, doesn't it?

This is Loch Leven Castle, one of several castle where Mary, Queen of Scots, was held captive, and in this particular castle, she was forced to sign a paper of abdication.  

Mary's captors went to great lengths to keep her isolated, and this particular castle is located in the middle of a loch (lake as we know it) and is only accessible by boat.  

As we loaded into the boat for transport to the castle grounds, snowflakes started to fall, so you can only imagine how frigid we felt motoring the 10 minutes from start to finish.  

The palace looks so serene as you approach it from the water.

The grounds are nature at its best.  Swans were floating on the lake.  A kingfisher swooped by and this pheasant was having a great conversation with his friend who was hiding somewhere nearby.

And the lake is apparently filled with some kind of unique brown trout, but that was of way more interest to Marty than to me. 

Knowing some of the history of Mary, Queen of Scots, this castle just didn't seem large enough to hold the entourage that accompanied her during her captivity, as well as the family that lived in the house.  And it's hard to believe that she even managed to escape across the loch from captivity here, although she was soon captured afterwards.  Being rowed across that loch must have seemed an eternity to her.

From the photo, you may be deceived into thinking that the weather suddenly changed and that we were lucky enough to warm up a bit. No such luck!  The weather changed from cold and sunny to frigid and snowy several times while we visited the island. 

And, I love the fact that my cohorts for the day were prepared for the weather.

With our teeth chattering, we were eager to make the trip back to the mainland and warm up somewhere.  My original plan was for us to hike "Mary's Gate Trail" along the Loch, but the weather was way too frigid for enjoyment so we decided to drive to Dollar Glen and check out another castle, this one located way up on the top of a cliff.

The entrance to the castle was not easy to find, so we stopped to asked directions.  I no sooner rolled down the window when the man who was washing his car looked at me and said, "Castle Campbell?"  I nodded to which he said, "Not to worry...I have someone ask me nearly every day."  He directed us back down the hill to a very narrow road that was bordered by 6 ft. high stone walls.  

We found ourselves climbing this narrow road for quite awhile until we came to a car park where we parked and began the hike to the castle grounds.

I have to admit, it was pretty spectacular.  High up on a cliff, it made one wonder how anyone actually managed to visit.  Once again, we were told that Mary, Queen of Scots was a guest at a wedding at this castle.  She certainly got around, considering her limited mode of transportation in the 1500's.

We toured the interior then hiked along the ground taking advantage of sunny moment opportunities to capture photos such as this panorama.  

Once again, snowflakes began to fall as we walked the castle grounds.  Typical Scottish weather.

We certainly enjoyed finding ourselves engrossed in some fascinating Scottish History.  And the guide at the castle was extremely friendly, giving us a personal talk on the history of the castle  and directing us to some significant features.

The drive back to our hotel was surreal, passing flocks of sheep grazing on the hills and watching the frolicking of tiny lambs enjoying the day.  We couldn't help but smile.

And then we passed this:

Giant Iris along the road near Glenrothes.  I'll bet you weren't expecting to see that. 

And that's why I took the photo.  Hope you found it entertaining.