Tonight we are staying at the Dryburgh Abbey Hotel, in that middle top floor room which has a lovely view of the River Tweed.
That was quite unexpected since there were no river views when I booked the room, so something must have changed, and we certainly aren't complaining!
The drive here was calm and quite peaceful for a change of pace. We started out from our B&B around 10:30 AM and drove to Wycliffe, which is near Hutton Magna in County Durham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Here St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church sits perched at the top of a hill, graced by acres of green grass and grazing sheep all around.
The original church here was built in 1849, and the structure that we see today was rebuilt in the mid 1870's. It has some beautiful architectural features.
A guitarist with a melodious voice graced us with melodies throughout the service. It was certainly an uplifting experience and I was grateful that I had managed to find this gem that worked into our travel schedule.
After mass, we began the drive to Scotland, which we knew would take about three hours. The weather was fabulous, and the drive was very calm and scenic. What else could we ask for?
We found a place to stop for tea about half way. The proprietor was very excited to have two Americans in house, and she was more than happy to ring us up some scones, cream, jam and tea.
They were bursting with blueberries and had a hint of lemon. Delicious!
Marty went in to settle the bill, and the next thing I knew, he was coming out of the shop with photos of two of the scone recipes. Not too surprising there. I'd share them but I'd hate to cut into their business.
Back on the road, and soon we were crossing the border into Scotland, admiring the gorgeous rolling hills in the distance, and headed to our destination.
We knew we were close when I spied the black sheep.
We checked in and were told that our room was 218, just on the second floor. We began the climb up the ornate curved staircase
and then I remembered that in Scotland, the second floor is really the third floor as we know it, so it was another round of stairs, down the hall, up three more steps, turn right, and there it was! The White Wing room.
The sun was shining brilliantly into the room, so I couldn't get any photos of the River Tweed, but I hope to capture some in the morning.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but this hotel has fishing rights to the River Tweed, so while Marty went out to test his flies,
I took a little walk around the grounds, admiring the abbey ruins that are right next door.
We'd visited the grounds many years ago when Marty was working in Scotland. The author Walter C Scott is buried there in a special plot next to his wife.
Marty had no luck with the fishing, but we certainly had an enjoyable evening relaxing down in the lobby. The decor is entertaining. Note the pheasant displayed on top of the ornate mantle.
and then there's the large fish on the wall in the background.
I'd say that we are definitely in Marty's happy place!
Tomorrow's our last day here and we hope to make the most of it.
Thanks for following along!
Until next time...
