Blogs from East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

After a little drive through the village for blister medicine and a walk to the harbour where the Fringe Festival, an addition the the Edinburgh Festival, was taking place, we faced with another amazing day on the links. North Berwick has been described by many as quirky, others call it the best golf of the lot. Certainly Gracie has good memories as he shot 60 here. Playing the outward nine into a two to three club wind was no big deal for us, the "wind people from SFL". The first offered a big landing area similar to the Old as the 18th shared the same space; but the second shot presented a different challenge - uphill to a half-blind landing area. The next three were also formadable as well. but our cameras were out as much ... read more

Day 2 in Edinburgh Had to find a place to do all of our washing it has been ages and I'm desperate for some clean clothes, we found a self service laundrette Benedix what a great place the assistant was so lovely and helpful, we were going to drive around but got up to the corner and saw some shops so that was it had to go and spend some money. Edinburgh Zoo today to track down some more pandas we arrived at 12pm and the earliest viewing time for the pandas was 3.45pm so we had 4 hours of walking around this zoo on a hill. (Very much like Wellington Zoo) then it started raining so we had to purchase some rain ponchos then it cleared up and was sunny and hot and then it ... read more

It was around this time last year that I thought to myself that I hadn't really been anywhere in Britain. I had been to places like China, Dubai, Italy, but never had I really explored anywhere right under my nose in Britain. As a massive history geek, I had spent most of my younger years learning about the exciting past that Britain had lived through, and yet never decided to explore the places that these memories had been created in! So in July of last year, just after I graduated, I treated myself and my boyfriend to a trip to Edinburgh. I don't know what it was exactly that attracted me to Edinburgh exactly, but there was just a certain charm I had seen in the photos of it that I just wanted to see for ... read more

South East Coast of Scotland A very long day of driving and touring. Started off with a distillery visit (shouldn't every day??). Glenkinchie - one of 2 lowland distilleries. Very light tasting treat. We then moved on to visit Melrose Abbey. At one time the monks here had the largest sheep herd in Europe. Originally settled in the 1100's it went thru many changes. The key item here is the burial place of Robert the Bruce's heart. The story goes that before he died, Robert wanted to go to the crusades but he died before going there. One of his comrades gathered up the heart and tried to take it there but he died before completing the task. Robert's heart was brought back to one of his favourite places and buried on these grounds. We then ... read more

Inverness, our northernmost visitation point in Scotland, was an amazing city. Again, as the largest city in Northern Scotland, it has combined the historically significant with the modern, on both sides of the River Ness. Their hospital is impressive and the old Castle is currently Town Hall. The Cathedral is currently closed to visitors for restoration, but it's deep doorways provided a respite from sudden showers and a picnic niche. The Culloden Battlefield visitor center is a history lesson in itself. The pride of the Highlanders is palpable throughout the center as well as in the outstanding Inverness Museum and Art Gallery that provides a free and comprehensive story of the formation of the land, the struggle to maintain control of it over the centuries and what that has meant to all of its citizens. Loch ... read more