So, here we are, back in Edinburgh, and loving the experience. It sure doesn't hurt that I found this awesome place to stay for quite a reasonable sum. In fact, this just might be the deal of the century and you can surely bet that we aren't complaining! This place might just go down on the record books as our best experience yet. I suppose we'll all just have to wait and see, won't we?
Marty was eager to get out and show Suzie a section of the Fife Coastal Trail, and so we just ignored the cloudy and chilly weather, bundled up and headed to the train station to start the adventure.
Marty's enthusiasm was quite obvious, as he was determined to photograph Suzie just about every step of the way. For awhile there, I felt like a bystander to a professional photoshoot. And, Suzie, being the sweetheart that she is, happily complied. Wasn't it nice of her to appease her uncle?
We began our adventure by boarding the train in Haymarket Station and riding it across the firth into the Kingdom of Fife.
The Royal Burgh of Burnt Island would be our starting point with Aberdour as our destination.
When one follows the signs, as those of us shown above, it's fairly easy to follow this trail in this section.
But, when you are in the company of someone (who shall remain nameless) who does not follow the signs......well.....what can I say? The fact is, you can't climb over the railroad tracks, (which is a great safety precaution.......and probably why there are signs to follow). No worries, a little diversion here and there has become fairly common as of late. At my suggestion, we headed back to the marked trail and were soon back on track.
The beginning of the trail at this point is really scenic, with a stone wall along either side.
Walking along, one can well imagine carriages traveling on this ground in past centuries. It is quite obvious that those walls have been standing for quite a long time.
Today, the trail was enhanced by flowering gorse, adding a splash of color along the way.
This trail is always so scenic, and today, it was enhanced with variant weather conditions as we watched storms looming over Edinburgh in the distance.
We were fortunate to never see anything more than a few raindrops on our walk today, and we were well prepared for the cold in the air. It certainly appears that other areas where not equally fortunate.
Finally we were on the silver sands of Aberdour.
and, obviously, the girls were loving it.
As we headed back towards the trail, we ran into a local man who was very excited to meet us. He shook Marty's hand and welcomed us to Aberdour, giving us a rundown on the all the exciting amenities that Aberdour had to offer. We were polite and listened to him quite attentively as he obviously had no idea how often we had visited here. He really was very entertaining, and the girls loved hearing his cute accent as he talked with us. And, it reminded me of just how welcoming the Scots have been, and continue to be, to us. You just don't see that kind of hospitality too many places.
We began the trek up these steps to the top of the cliff.
where, once again, we were awed at the sheer beauty of our surrounds.
I never tire of seeing these views.
Marty continued his role as photographer.
and Suzie certainly seemed happy to comply.
And, of course, Marty couldn't resist the selfie at the top.
If you were the least bit curious about the weather, I'd say that photo should clear up any questions that you might have had. Brrr!!!
We finished the trail, and walked up the hill into the town of Aberdour, making our way to the lovely castle that stands on the edge this quaint little village.
I soon learned that an episode of Outlander was filmed at this castle, which explained the number of visitors that were there today, as well as the few cafes that had popped up since our visit just a couple of years ago. This has always been one of my favorite castles in Fife, and one of the most well preserved and scenic ones in my opinion. You just can't beat the convenient location to the train station, that's for sure!
Speaking of which, it was time to head back, so we once again hopped the train, this time taking it towards Edinburgh.
We made it back to the B&B just in time for the High Tea that we had reserved at 3:30.
It was to be served in the library, so we headed there to find the table all set up and ready for us.
Isn't this just lovely?
Believe me....those items were as wonderful as they look in this photo.
We had hoped to treat Suzie and Amy to high tea, but when we tried making a reservation at the Dome on George Street, it was already fully booked. When I realized that our B&B offered this luxury, as long as we made a reservation, it certainly seemed worth trying.
We had the library completely to ourselves to savor our treats and just relax after once again walking a record number of 9.7 miles. No wonder we were beat!
This is our last evening in Edinburgh, and we certainly did try to make the most of it.
Amy leaves tomorrow from Edinburgh airport, while Marty and I accompany Suzie back to London on the train, where she will get back to her studies and Marty will retire from his photography duties. And we will head home on April 1.
Yep....we travel back on April Fools Day. And, tonight we turn back our clocks for the second time in a month. And that's no April Fools Joke.
Oh well..... perhaps we'll get a chance to snooze a bit on the train.
I'll keep you posted!
No comments:
Post a Comment