Gallivanting in Dunfermline

Greetings!  You are gazing upon a photo of the Auld Mill House Hotel & Restaurant on the outskirts of Dunfermline.  Yes, Marty is once again in Scotland, and with only a little over a week at home, he decided that he would like my company on this trip.  How could I resist that offer?

I booked a flight in early February and began the arduous task of finding a room for the two of us.  You'd think that would be easy enough, but believe me when I tell you, it can be quite a challenge.  And I have an e-mail box filled with declines that will prove it!

"Why?", you may ask.  Well, tonight it became quite obvious to me, when we were having a delightful conversation with an engineer from Newcastle, England about his working on a site nearby.  Apparently many industries in the area are contracting out people from other countries.  And they all need a place to stay, which is why I have such difficulty finding rooms in the off season. (Or in any season, for that matter.)   My suspicions were confirmed when three oriental men came walking in with computers on their back, ready to check in for the night.  I felt lucky that I had managed to book this place!

We arrived far earlier than expected due to an early landing, no Passport Control Queues, quick luggage retrieval, easy car pick up, and negligible traffic due to the early hour.  In fact, we showed up at exactly 8:25 a.m., much to the surprise of the people who own this place.

We really could have shown up later, had we taken our time and not rushed our way through the airport.  (That would be in reference to my better half.  I would have actually enjoyed having time to catch my breath rather than hustling through the building after only a couple hours of sleep.)  But,  I suppose old habits die hard with some.

 The proprietors here were quite friendly, had the room serviced and made us some terrific porridge.  Slow cooked, as Alan, the owner explained.....  "none of that quick stuff at this place", he assured me.  Actually, cooking the porridge was probably the slowest event of the day for us!

And it was fabulous!  I can see why Goldilocks raided the 3 Bear's stash of the stuff.  Wait!  Was Goldilocks Scottish?  Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if she was!

After breakfast, we were shown our room, which is really quite cute.

Note the fancy towel structures on each bed.  They kind of look like Bishop's hats, don't you think?
I find it interesting that the room comes with a standard size bath towel, and an extra large bath towel, but no washcloth or hand towel.

At this stage of the game, I know to pack my own washcloth.  But what I forgot to pack this time was shampoo.  I forgot that some places seem to think that body wash should suffice for the hair and the body.  I honestly gave it a try today....and, believe me....there is a huge difference.  So, I decided to make it my mission to find a store nearby and buy some shampoo.

Generally, when I travel with Marty, I try to find a place near a train station so that I can easily seek out interesting places to visit while  he is working.  Let's face it.....I've found some pretty awesome sights here on my adventures.  Well....at least I've found them interesting.

So, when I headed out from the hotel this afternoon, the first thing that I did was check out the nearby train station.  It's actually not far from the hotel, but you have to stick to the roads to get there, and so, that makes it a bit longer of a walk.  But, it really is quite convenient.

You can see the hotel roof from the Train Station ramp here.  The only problem with this particular station is that it is unmanned, making the adventure a wee bit more challenging, but not impossible.

After reading through the timetables that are posted outside, I headed back down to the street in search for some sort of store where I could satisfy my mission for soft, clean hair.

I noticed some people jogging through a park, and I decided that I would take a walk along a bike trail to see where it led.

The path was filled with birds chirping and fluttering around.  I spotted what looked like a black capped chickadee, but he had a very yellow belly.  There were goldfinches, and something that looked like an Indigo bunting.  I was having a grand time enjoying the rare sunshine and the singing birds.

But, do you know what my problem is?  I never seem to know when I should just give it up and turn around.  I seem to think that the end of the path will be just around the corner.....kind of like those dunes that we walked along the Oregon coast that never seemed to end.

Well, let's face it, I knew that this bike trail would have to eventually end....and it did.  But was there an Asda?  A Pharmacy?  Anyplace where I could buy a bottle of shampoo?

Nope....not a sign of one nearby.  I passed a cemetery with an old stone wall on one side with a retired Stadium of some sort on the other side of the path.  I passed a parking lot filled with cars, which made me wonder just where those folks were, if there weren't any stores nearby.

But, I kept on going.....and I was lost, for sure, without a map.  But not worried for a minute, because I had been to Dunfermline before, and  knew that it was a big place, but eventually I had to find something familiar.

That's when I spotted this sign:

Piggies Lane was pretty much nothing more but a little side street, but I felt compelled to take a photo. And, when I turned around, this is what I saw:

Now, how was that for luck?  The sign boasted a "you are here" sticker that helped me get my bearings.  I hadn't been on this side of town, but I had been on High Street, and I knew that there were many shops where I could find the source of my quest.

I decided to jaunt across the road to walk along the park, and, suddenly, my right calf decided that it was not happy.  Out of the blue, I had an unbelievable cramp in the back of my leg and I could barely make it across the street.  This is the same leg where my achilles tendon had ruptured years ago, and the peritoneal tendons had torn last year, so, needless to say, I was a bit concerned about what potential damage had suddenly occurred.  After all, I wasn't doing anything crazy. 

But, my foot still worked, so that seemed like a positive sign, and I decided to just take it easy and walk a bit slower and make it my new mission to figure out where the nearest train station was so that I could just take the train back to the hotel.  Obviously, I made it back without incident since I'm able to write this blog so you can stop worrying now.

In the meantime, my adventures took me past Carnegie Hall

 Across the street was St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church:

If you recall, St. Margaret was Queen Margaret, married to Malcolm III at Dunfermline Abbey, who was instrumental in helping so many pilgrims visit St. Andrews.

I headed down a set of steps, and was surprised to find these beautiful leaf motifs in the concrete.

The road led me straight to small store, sort of like a pharmacy, where I easily (and inexpensively) purchased a bottle of shampoo.  (My hair will be happy now....and so will I!)

I headed out the door, turned the corner, and spotted a yarn and fabric store that I just couldn't resist walking into.

The ladies were so friendly, and I ended up buying this:

Doesn't look like much, does it?  But wait until you see what it will become:

Pretty cool, don't you think?   Well, at least I thought it was.

The store was just a few building from the information center, so I popped inside, had a wonderful conversation with the attendant who was from Poland.  She loaded me up with brochures and, more importantly, a map where she highlighted the route to the train station.

Lucky for me the station was downhill.  And, when I disembarked at the next stop, that was all downhill as well.  So, I managed to make it back to the hotel, with my mission accomplished:  a bottle of shampoo, plus a few other unplanned items.

And, when Marty returned from work, we went to the bar for dinner, where he enjoyed Scottish Steak Pie with a Bellhaven Best.

He doesn't even look tired, does he?