And then it was on, further north! We had one day for sightseeing in Edinburgh. Our Air B&B was in an old Georgian row house on Scotland Street (of Alexander McCall Smith fame). The three flights of steps up to the flat were steep and worn!
The first place we visited was the Writer’s Museum. This museum honors three prominent Scottish authors, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Each of these authors has made their own significant contribution to English literature. Robert Louis Stevenson has had a huge influence on my writing, particularly through his poetry in A Child’s Garden of Verses. Robert Burns also wrote beautiful poetry and songs. Sir Walter Scott wrote the first historical fiction novel (Waverly), which I read right before my trip. The museum was in a beautiful old house and contained many artifacts connected with each of them including first edition copies of some of their works, their writing desks, portraits, and a printing press which had been used for the first printing of Treasure Island.
We also went into St. Giles’ Cathedral which had many beautiful features in the architecture. Along our walk down the Royal Mile, we stumbled on some unexpected findings. Adam Smith (the Wealth of Nations) and John Knox (of the Reformation) were also from Edinburgh.
We climbed Arthur’s Seat for a view of the city and the ocean. It was all downhill from there! Haha! We took a very long walk down to the beach. We were trying to figure out the city bus system, but having some trouble with intermittent data and a dying phone battery so we just kept walking in the direction of the beach. This is when we probably should have asked for help or found a cafe with wi-fi instead of continuing to walk. We did eventually get down to the beach, got some tasty Greek food, and walked around for a while on the shore looking at shells. We did see some swans at the park along our long walk!
The following day, we took a van tour of the highlands. It was nice to have someone else driving and taking us to and from places! We stopped at Doune Castle. From what our tour guide said, it was probably best known as being the castle where Ponty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed, but it also had historical significance as well. It was built in the 15th century, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his men sheltered there before retreating to France.
We saw several interesting sites from the road including Campbell Castle, the ruins of Rob Roy’s home, the Kelpies sculpture, the William Wallace monument, hairy “coos”, etc.
We had a long stop in the town of Inverary and got a tour of the castle there. This is a privately owned home (belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Argyle). The interior was beautiful! The entry foyer with all of the arms was particularly striking, but I also loved looking at their china (in a rounded turret room), and the luxurious parlor and dining areas. Before we left the castle, we got our lunch here at their tearoom and, of course, ordered tea as well.
As our tour turned and started heading back in the direction of Edinburgh, we heard more of the history of the highlands, took pictures in Glencoe, and stopped briefly at Loch Lomond (on its bonnie, bonnie banks). I so enjoyed all the natural beauty of the mountains and lochs.
And the next day, we were setting our alarms for 2:30 AM to begin the long journey home. So thankful for the opportunity to see more of the United Kingdom!
Welcome To The Carriage House 